Effects of Industry Clusters on Company Competitiveness: Special Economic Zones in Taiwan

According to the Global Competitiveness Report released by the WEF in 2007–2009, Taiwan has been ranked No. 1 in the assessment of industry cluster developments for three consecutive years. It is one of the success stories in the worldwide development of innovation and industry clusters furthermore the creation and driven Taiwan economics development of benchmark is special economic zones. This paper examines the special economic zones and performs an empirical study on industry clusters and company competitiveness. A questionnaire survey is conducted and the statistics are regressed and analyzed. The purpose is to explore the strategic resources of industry clusters in special economic zones, the relationship with company clusters and the effects on company performance. The study finds that the strategic resources of clusters in special economic zones are indeed a key factor that influences the relationship with industry clusters and also enhance enterprise competitive advantage. All the hypotheses are supported. The study also proves that the resources and relationships associated with industry clusters have impacts on company performance and can enhance company competitiveness.