Article
A challenge to Marshallian orthodoxy on industrial clustering
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents (the medieval guild) of modern day industrial clustering. The paper challenges the notion that work of Alfred Marshall provides the
intellectual underpinning of cluster thinking. Design/methodology/approach – The source material uses archival research on medieval guilds and historical texts. In tracing the development of forms of co-operative association this paper employs the technique of genealogical spanning. The prism of forms of co-operative association is used to examine the rise and fall of the medieval guild.