Spin-Offs, Innovation Spillover and the Formation of Agricultural Clusters: The Case of the Vegetable Cluster in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, China

Abstract

Agricultural clusters play a powerful role in promoting the agricultural transformation and rejuvenation of rural areas. However, no in-depth exploration has been made on how agricultural clusters form and evolve, especially in the context of China’s long-term small-scale rural economy. The purpose of this article is to reveal the formation process and evolution mechanism of agricultural clusters by case study research. With the knowledge flow as the starting point, this article takes the Vegetable Cluster in Shouguang City of Shandong Province, China as an example to construct a theoretical framework in the three dimensions of points (spin-offs of enterprises or farmers), lines (network-spillovers of various innovation) and planes (the formation of new regional industry spaces) and put forward theoretical hypotheses. It is shown that: (1) The local spin-off of seed farmers is the main path in the transformation of traditional farmers into enterprises. (2) The network-spillover and adoption of innovative knowledge promote the derivation of specialized farmers or enterprises and realize regional agricultural specialization and spatial agglomeration. (3) The formation of the agricultural cluster resulted from the joint effects of spin-off derived from the entrepreneurial spirit of the farmers, network-spillover of various agricultural innovations and spatial integration of the agricultural landscape. The formation of local agricultural innovation systems marks the maturity of an agricultural cluster. This article contribute to the field by studying one source of Alfred Marshall’s knowledge of external economy from the perspective of spin-offs and innovative spillovers, analyzing the agricultural increasing returns to scale neglected by Krugman, and exploring the micro mechanism of farmers’ enterprise-oriented evolution and the formation of agricultural clusters in underdeveloped rural areas. The research results are of profound referential significance for the cultivation of agricultural clusters in developing countries.

Everywhere the same? Competitiveness of two regional vegetable production clusters in Southern Germany

“…water regulations, cooperation with city councils). Specific conditions of production clusters can be positively influenced, for example, by political initiatives (Yue and Cao, 021), technical progress (Tavoletti and Te Velde, 2008), and the presence of entrepreneurial spirit (Ekelund and Tjärnemo, 2009), The latter can also be encouraged by the state through professional training and support as well as by reducing bureaucracy and simplified regulations (Li et al, 2022). Findings in this study support the viewpoints of other literature that restrictions in these areas limit competitiveness and industry development.…”

“…In agriculture, a continuous trend toward the formation of regional production clusters can be observed worldwide. (Li et al, 2022). In this line, research into these developments and effects on the actors involved have also attracted the attention of scholars and academics (Sporleder, 2009).…”

“…Industrial clusters have long been an important component of economic geography research. A large body of literature deploys cluster concepts to analyze and elaborate strategic tools for improving competitive advantage, improving production conditions, organizing networks within clusters, and implementing technological innovations (Gordon and McCann, 2013;Guiliani, 2008;Li et al, 2022). With his theory of 'the competitive advantage of nations' (Porter, 1990), Porter made a highly regarded, referred, reviewed, but also criticized contribution to analysis of the (international) competitiveness of industrial countries in the 1990s (e.g.…”

“…In addition, agricultural production stands out from other business sectors regarding many key elements of cluster formation such as the stakeholders involved, the multi-layered nature of commercialization of agricultural products, and the local roots of farmers as the central cluster actors. As family farms constitute most regions, characteristics such as business management, social constellations, and rural communities need to be considered (Li et al, 2022). Another characteristic of agricultural clusters is the hierarchical imbalance between the production level and other actors in the multi-stakeholder value chains (Stringer and Heron, 2008).…”

Endogenous Driving Forces in Ecology-Production-Living Space Changes at Micro-Scale: A Mountain Town Example in Inland China

“…Regarding rural development, this means that China's villages have experienced in just a few decades the same transformation process that took place over a century in developed countries. Rapid urbanization and industrialization have led to significant changes in the industrial structure, employment structure, and social structure of rural areas [17][18][19]. While promoting both urban and rural economic development, these changes have also caused the disordered expansion of urban land and a sharp reduction of rural land, giving rise to environmental pollution, ecological destruction, low land use efficiency, and other problems [2].…”