Explaining ICT Infrastructure and E-Commerce Uses and Benefits in Industrial Clusters-Evidence from a Biotech Cluster

The literature on Industrial Clusters has not focused heavely on the role of the ICT infrastructure, nor on the potentail implications of electronic commerce. In this paper, we examine the theoretical bases for bringing these research streams together, and develop expectations for how firms in an industrial cluster might utilize and derive benefit from a public, broadband ICT infrastructure, particularly in support of e-commerce applications. A case study of a successful biotech cluster in Denamrk and Sweden-The Medicon Valley-provides a preliminary test of these expectations. Distinctions in uses and benefits based upon firm size are considered. A key finding is that small firms that would not otherwise be expected to gain from global e-commerce can rely on the cluster "brand" to enable trade with unknown and distant partners.