Clustering as a Tool for Enhancing Export Performance of SMEs : A Study of Brass Manufacturing Units in Jamnagar

Industrial clusters are swiftly expanding as instruments for both economic growth and balanced regional development via strengthening the local firms and providing them with a raised platform to access global markets more successfully. Earlier studies in the field of firm-level export performance have sought to ascertain several determinants of export success however, devoting very little attention to the effect of being member of an industrial cluster on the same. In this light, this study is an empirical attempt to examine the effect of clustering on export performance of firms and to find how management of these units could leverage the advantages available to them via the cluster initiatives. Sample for the study is drawn from the brass products manufacturing cluster of small and medium sized exporting firms operating in Jamnagar region of Gujarat, India. NOTE: Full paper has been uploaded with the permission of the Pezzottaite Journals. However, the copyright of this paper remains with Pezzottaite journal only and their permission is necessary for any commercial use of the paper