Strategy, Governance and Industrial Organization: Historical Perspectives on the Dynamics of Industrial Clustering in England

The paper integrates two important areas of literature, the Chandler model of corporate hierarchy and the discrete alternative models of small firm flexible specialization, in order to explore long-run processes of structural and strategic change. To achieve synthesis, resource based view (RBV) and resource dependency theories are combined to explain the evolution of different industry structures. A typology is developed delimited by the opposite cases of classic industrial district and managerial hierarchies, as well as hybrid alternatives to each. Empirical cases are offered, showing historical examples of conditions favouring each and also illustrate the sufficient and necessary conditions underpinning transitions from one mode to another. The paper has important implications for conventional interpretations and for the main areas of theory hitherto considered separately.