The Value Adding Web Concept of Clusters – Strengthening and Extending the Fundament: Resources, Capabilities and Rents

A sound understanding of the key resources and capabilities that span firm boundaries in regional clusters is important for firms embedded in networked structures to exploit strategic opportunities and manage associated challenges. A resource-based perspective of value creation in clusters to develop a better conceptualisation of strategic competitive advantage on different levels is also a relevant topic from a strategic management perspective. Therefore, the aim of this research is to strengthen and extend a resource-oriented perspective on clusters, according to the value adding web (VAW) approach developed by Brown et al. (e.g., 2008, 2010). This contribution complements the state of the art of contemporary concepts with a coherent fundament for the resource-based value adding web concept and thereby develops the basis for further empirical studies. In this conceptual paper, we focus on the interaction between actors and relationships as sources for value creation within clusters as well as gaining a better understanding of value creation based on shared relational resources. We illustrate this approach through a discussion of a maritime cluster. Specifically the role of social capital and the relevance of knowledge-related resources on different cluster levels is elaborated. Building on a descriptive and theoretical fundament, we present a set of propositions reflecting our chain of arguments.