Industrial districts, clusters and global value chains: Toward an integrated framework

The location of economic activities in specific territories and the reorganization of industries into global value chains have reshaped analysis on the competitiveness of regions and countries in recent decades, while leaving still many questions open. This introductory chapter of the book motivates the importance of bridging the industrial districts and global value chain literatures to understand development dynamics. After providing an overview of the origins and the recent developments of both literatures, the chapter provides a joint framework for the analysis of GVC and clusters based on three pillars: economic activities, key actors and relationships. Furthermore, it discusses the key emerging research questions regarding the global/local nexus and how the two literatures can address them. It also presents the remaining chapters of the book.