Cluster-Based Development Strategies: Lessons From the Plastics Industry In North Central Massachusetts

Much written attention has been given to the rise of technologically dynamic industrial regions. These regions are characterized by the spatial clustering of small firms into flexible production networks that have the ability to quickly respond to changing global markets. Case studies generally have been limited to high-tech manufacturing clusters, even though mature industrial regions have demonstrated similar traits. A case study of the plastics industry in north central Massachusetts gained a formative perspective on a mature industrial cluster and an appreciable understanding of the correlation between the industryʹs spatial concentration and organization of production, The case study findings have clear implications for regional economic development. Planning for industrial development will need to rely more on "grounded" contextual analysis, give greater focus to local capacity building, and devise more formalized networks of institutional support.