Agglomeration Theory Research Articles

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Study on food quality and safety management model based on industrial agglomeration theory

This article has been retracted from publication in the Taylor & Francis journal, Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B — Soil & Plant Science. Following publication, concerns were raised by multiple third-parties around the content of the special issue and the decision-making process. Following an investigation by the Taylor & Francis Publishing Ethics & Integrity team in full cooperation with the Editor-in-Chief, it was confirmed that this article included in Special Issue titled “ Envisage Computer Modelling and Statistics for Agriculture”, guest edited by Gunasekaran Manogaran was not peer-reviewed appropriately, in line with the Journal's peer review standards and policy. As the stringency of the peer review process is core to the integrity of the publication process, the Editor and Publisher have decided to retract all of the articles within the above-named Special Issue. The journal has not confirmed if the authors were aware of this compromised peer review process. The journal is committed to correcting the scientific record and will fully cooperate with any institutional investigations into this matter. The authors have been informed of this decision. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines.

Specialty towns in China: Towards a typological policy approach

Recently, a new state-led platform of regional development in China, known as specialty towns, has been launched and rolled out nationwide. Despite the greater emphasis on place-based industry specialism and agglomeration, the new strategy suffers from a typical top-down governance approach that has confronted emerging problems. In this paper by using the agglomeration theory we link regional preconditions for industrial and social (dis)advantages to various patterns of specialty towns. Drawing upon modern policy concepts from an evolutionary perspective, it offers a basic ex ante policy approach, by developing more specific policy orientations suitable for different types of specialty towns. Combined with our survey, on-site interviews and policy material analyses, we examine the historical foundations, industrial attributes and developmental aims of 134 provincial-level specialty towns in Zhejiang. We have identified three key types of specialty towns with grounded empirical illustrations: 1) State-planned platform specialty towns for developing emerging industries (Dream Town and Photovoltaic Town); 2) Specialized market-based specialty towns for upgrading mature industries (Socks Art Town) and; 3) Natural/cultural asset-based specialty towns for fostering the tourism industry (Hot Springs Town). A typological policy approach is proposed in order to avoid the potential ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy trap for future’s ST development.

Taking root in fertile ground: Community context and the agglomeration of hybrid companies

Where do hybrid companies flourish and why? We draw on economic theories of agglomeration and sociocultural theories of community to examine the specific contexts in which hybrids flourish, and offer an understanding of why place matters to the unique business models they employ. We hypothesize that a community's collectivism, political orientation, and third sector munificence have distinct roles in promoting hybrid company agglomeration. We test these hypotheses with data drawn from a variety of sources, covering 260 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas across 17 years. Our results indicate that both economic and sociocultural theories offer explanatory power, and their union more completely explains hybrid agglomeration. Additional analyses enrich our understanding of how this agglomeration unfolds over time.

Experimental justification of sediment recirculation application

The article provides an experimental substantiation of the use of sludge as an opacifier and the use of its recirculation during sedimentation of suspended matter in horizontal sedimentation tanks. Based on the theory of agglomeration of suspended solids (Kalitsun V.N., and Laskov Yu.M.), the agglomeration coefficients can be calculated for treating water with one reagent and when using sludge recirculation for natural water purification.

Analysis of socio-economic spatial structure of urban agglomeration in China based on spatial gradient and clustering

Research background: Previous studies on the economic and social development of urban agglomerations mostly focus on a single primacy comparative analysis and efficiency evaluation. Spatial structure differentiation is an important feature of urban agglomeration. The lack of economic and social analysis on the spatial structure makes it impossible to determine the development positioning of each city in the urban agglomeration, which affects the sustainable economic devel-opment ability of these areas.
 Purpose of the article: The objective of the article is to analyze the spatial development law and experience of urban agglomeration, this study explores the practice of economic and population spatial structure of city areas in China. For this purpose, CPUA and its central city Zhengzhou was taken as an example, the spatial gradient structure of example was analyzed.
 Methods: Using economic and population data of 32 cities in this region, growth pole theory, and pole-axis theory, the economic and population spatial structure of urban agglomeration, the spatial gradient structure of central cities in urban agglomerations were analyzed with the method of cluster about radiation index.
 Findings & value added: (1) In the process of the formation of CPUA, the geo-graphical spatial pattern plays a decisive role in economic and social development. This is an experience from developing countries. (2) CPUA presents a gradient development pattern with Zhengzhou as the center, and economic and social development gradually radiates to the metropolitan area, the core development area, and the character development demonstration area. (3) The economic and social gradients of Zhengzhou, the central city, present the hierarchy rules and characteristics which are driven by the Beijing-Guangzhou-Railway axis and the Longhai-Railway axis. (4) The central city of Zhengzhou still presents insufficient primacy in regional development, which shows that Zhengzhou accounts for 6% of the population of the Central Plains Economic Zone and 14% of GDP, and insufficient agglomeration. Different countries at different stages of economic development have different urban agglomeration development models. The conclusions from China provide new decision-making ideas and methods for spatial structure research and development strategy analysis of urban agglomerations.

Power of information transparency: How online reviews change the effect of agglomeration density on firm revenue

Agglomeration benefits firms because it minimizes consumers' search costs and information asymmetry. However, the effects of agglomeration may change due to the considerable amount of information available in online platforms. Thus, drawing upon the theoretical lens of information transparency and agglomeration theory, we investigate how online reviews change the effect of agglomeration on firm performance. A total of 11,528 observations of 467 hotels show that agglomeration density positively affects firm revenue in the hotel sector. However, such an effect decreases with the increase in online review quantity (including volume and length). This change is manifested in two forms, namely, minimizing information asymmetry and increasing competition cost due to information transparency. Moreover, the positive effect of agglomeration density decreases due to the quantity of high-quality (few spelling errors and easy to understand) online reviews, but not with low-quality. We further discover that the substitution effect of online review quantity on agglomeration density is stronger for independent hotels than for branded ones, whereas the effect is similar among hotels with various qualities. Our findings provide implications for the management of online channels in changing the local agglomeration effectiveness.

Effects of financial agglomeration on green total factor productivity in Chinese cities: Insights from an empirical spatial Durbin model

Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP) is a critical indicator for measuring the development and transformation of green economy, with profound implication for achieving a win-win situation of conserving energy, reducing emissions, and developing economy. The promotion of GTFP cannot be separated from the financial support and guarantee provided by financial agglomeration. According to the theory of new economic geography and agglomeration, this study uses location entropy and directional SBM-DEA methods to calculate the financial agglomeration level and GTFP of 283 cities at prefecture-level and above in China from 2003 to 2018. A temporal and individual two-way fixed-effect model and a spatial measurement model are constructed to empirically study direct and spillover impacts of financial agglomeration on GTFP. The empirical results show that financial agglomeration facilitates GTFP growth in a given city, but it significantly reduces GTFP in surrounding areas of the city. Divided the cities by their geolocations in eastern, central, and western regions, we find that, in each region, financial agglomeration can significantly promote GTFP of a city but does not have a significant impact on its surrounding areas, indicating a weak spillover effect. Cities with a population of less than 3 million are associated with higher GTFP. Industrial structure, foreign direct investment and human capital play a positive role in GTFP growth, but the role of urban infrastructure construction appears trivial.

АНАЛІЗ ЕКОНОМІЧНОЇ ДУМКИ В РОЗРІЗІ ПЕРЕДУМОВ РОЗВИТКУ КЛАСТЕРНИХ ФОРМУВАНЬ У ПРАЦЯХ ЗАРУБІЖНИХ ВЧЕНИХ

The process of forming the concept of “cluster” included a centuries-old history. Theoretical and methodological aspects of this definition were presented in the works of a big number of foreign scientists, such as M. Porter, M. Enright, R. Nelson, A. Lesh, W. Rostow, W. Isard, N. Rosenberg, A. Phillips, J. Tyunen, J. Van Dein, I. Fezer, S. Sweeney, M. Janikas, S. Ray, P. Stout, A. Weber et al. The formation of the modern understanding of clusters was influenced by the theories of agglomeration, industrial complex and industrial areas. Analyzing the history of economic thought, we can say that the approach to cluster economic development was formed gradually, but ideas about the advantages of economic clusters as forms of business organization arose quite a long time ago. In the middle of the XVII century, the «theory of pure agglomeration» was wrote by J. Tyunen, V. Launhardt and A. Marshall. The formation of localization theory is usually associated with the name of the German economist J. Tyunen. The beginning of the “industrial cluster” theory was laid by A. Marshall, who saw the following pattern: enterprises will be able to achieve savings due to internal resources and a system of interaction with suppliers of raw materials and in the presence of highly specialized specialists. A. Lesh studied the agglomeration effect and the scale effect, as a result of which production has properties relative to geographical concentration. In addition, he said that each industry has its own maximum level of production concentration. The theory of the information society was associated with the concept of social networks, which was formed at the end of the twentieth century in the works of certain scientists: S. Berkowitz, S. Wasserman, B. Wellman, D. Nook, P. Marsden, K. Faust, L. Freeman and others. The formation of the modern understanding of clusters was influenced by the theories of agglomeration, industrial complex and industrial areas. In addition, technological and innovative approaches were identified, which were based on the analysis of the competitiveness of the regions. The network approach to economic development has had a significant impact on the modern understanding of clusters. The above-mentioned aspects are formed on the basis of the approaches of a number of foreign scientists, whose main research results are presented in this article. The authors present the evolution of the formation and development of the cluster approach in Economics in Western Economic Thought, give the author’s definition of the concept of “cluster” and describe the common features characteristic of clusters, provide reasoned conclusions.

Pola ruang sebaran objek dan fasilitas penunjang wisata berbasis sistem informasi geografis di kawasan Taman Nasional Bali Barat

The West Bali National Park area is a nature protection area that has a conservation function as well as educational tourism. This has boosted enthusiasm for tourist visits, followed by a rapidly increasing development of tourism support facilities in the TNBB area and its buffer villages. However, these developments have not been properly recorded and mapped, so a mapping process is necessary. The method used in this research was a survey with data collection techniques including direct observation, interviews, and literature study. The stages of this research were the identification of tourism support facilities and objects according to the tourism support facilities criteria indicators, analysis, and synthesis. The GIS analysis process used the nearest neighbor analysis approach to study the distribution patterns formed from the distribution of tourism support facilities in the TNBB area. This analysis process produced recommendations for the development of tourism support facilities based on accessibility factors, distance, and the agglomeration theory approach can be used as a basis for regional development, especially in the elements of facilities and infrastructure in the TNBB area.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ И РАЗВИТИЕ ГОРОДСКИХ АГЛОМЕРАЦИЙ: ТЕОРЕТИКО-МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЙ

The article systematizes the scientific heritage of retrospective and a number of modern domestic and foreign theories of urban agglomeration. The subject of the study is the analysis of the fundamental theories of the formation and development of urban agglomerations, starting from ancient times through the modern period. The aim of the study is a comprehensive analysis of scientific schools and trends that are the conceptual platform of the theory of agglomeration, in order to develop possible directions for further promising trends related to the theory of agglomeration development. The following research methods are used in the article: methods of theoretical knowledge, general logical methods and research techniques (abstraction and generalization, induction and deduction, system approach, structural and functional method, methods of comparative analysis).The result of the study is the analysis and justification of the most promising directions of foreign and domestic theories of agglomeration processes. The scope of application of the results is that along with other works, the article expands the scientific field of fundamental research related to the theory of spatial development in the context of the theory of urban agglomerations. As a result of the analysis, conclusions are drawn about the priority trends of scientific research in the theory of agglomeration, focused on the search for reserves to improve the efficiency of spatial management by activating agglomeration processes.

A meta‐analysis of agglomeration and venture performance: Firm‐level evidence

AbstractResearch summaryAgglomeration theory has long explored and asserted that similar firms locate in close geographic proximity for performance‐related benefits. However, no study has systematically assessed the literature to determine whether the relationship between agglomeration and firm performance holds. Through a meta‐analysis of 42 studies and nearly 200,000 firm‐level observations, our study estimates the relationship between agglomeration and performance, showing the importance of knowledge spillovers in this relationship. Specifically, we find although agglomeration confers innovation benefits, it does not consistently offer financial performance benefits. We also highlight several important conditions, including firm age, industry technology intensity, and economic development level that impact the agglomeration–performance relationship. Together, our work advances agglomeration theory by suggesting when, and to what extent, agglomeration holds the most promise for organizations.Managerial summaryAll firms must address a fundamental question before launching their firms—where to locate? Existing thought largely suggests that locating near similar firms offers certain advantages, such as reducing search costs for skilled employees or gaining access to knowledge spillovers. By examining the body of literature on this topic, our study analyzes the collective evidence of the performance benefits of co‐location. We find that co‐location generally enhances firm innovation, but we discover it fails to increase firm financial performance, on average. And, in some cases, co‐location is detrimental to financial performance. Ultimately, we offer a variety of contingencies that help explain when co‐locating might be advantageous or disadvantageous to firms, thereby providing firm leaders and entrepreneurs with clear guidance on when (and when not) to co‐locate.

On the glass-transition temperature Tg in chalcogenide glass-forming systems: Critical assessment on compositional changes within covalent bond approach

Compositional variations in the glass-transition temperature Tg for chalcogenide systems predicted using overall mean bond energies E as suggested by L. Tichý & H. Tichá (J. Non-Cryst. Solids, 189, 1995) are shown to be essentially biased by atom-averaged energy of cross-linking Ec due to heteronuclear bonding and bond-averaged energy of the ‘remaining matrix’ Erm due to homonuclear bonding. Realistic changes in Tg yielding Tg≅326⋅(E−0.94) relation are derived from atom-averaged binding energies E defined directly from chemically-ordered covalent bond distribution. Because of this discrepancy, the correlation between Tg/Tg0 and respective cross-linking energies over elemental chalcogenides (E–E0) cannot be defined adequately. Linear Tg/Tg0(E–E0) plots are found from atom-averaged E binding energies with different slopes for sulfide (2.16 eV-1) and selenide (1.10 eV-1) glasses. The renewed relation for Tg/Tg0 in binary A1-xBx glasses derived from stochastic agglomeration theory and covalent bond approach is parameterized by EA-B and EA-A energies and modifier coordination rB: Tg/Tg0=(E−E0)/[rB⋅ln(rB/2)⋅(EA−B−(2+rB)/rB⋅EA−A)]+1.

Agglomeration Among Competitors: Evidence of Heterogeneous Peer Entry Effect in Sharing Economy

Business agglomeration is a striking feature in the sharing economy due to location advantages, especially in home-sharing platforms. Listing agglomeration brings both agglomeration and localized competition effects, but it is still unclear which effect is stronger and how such effect varies with time and list heterogeneity. To answer these questions, we apply a natural experiment design to investigate the impact of peer listing entry as well as its heterogeneity using a panel dataset from a leading home-sharing platform in China. Results suggest that both agglomeration and localized competition effects exist. The impact of peer listing entry increases focal listing demand at the beginning, and the localized competitive effect dominates over time. Furthermore, listings with detailed descriptions and high reputation could keep their predominance in localized competition. Our research contributes to both agglomeration theory and sharing economy literature, and has substantial implications for listing operation and platform management.

Geographical aggregation and incubator graduation performance: the role of incubator assistance

PurposeThis paper attempts to use agglomeration theory and ecological theory to explore how geographic agglomeration affects the graduation performance of incubator community. The authors argue that increasing the incubator community density can improve the opportunities for mutualism and learning among incubators. However, as the competition intensifies, the above positive relationship will weaken when the incubator density exceeds a certain level.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a unique panel dataset of 438 National Technology Business Incubators (NTBIs) in China spanning from 2008 to 2012. Since each NTBIs contains multiple observations for different years, these observations that belong to a cross-section are not completely independent of each other; therefore, the regression using ordinary least squares method underestimates the standard deviations of the variables. To solve this problem, the authors regress this cluster panel data using the Newey–West robust variance estimator.FindingsThe empirical results show that incubator community density is conducive to promoting incubation performance, while the positive relationship between the incubator community density and incubation performance gradually weakens as the population density of incubators surpasses a certain level. Further, the authors examine how incubator assistance (technical assistance and business assistance) moderates the relationship between incubator density and incubation performance. The results indicate that this positive relationship is stronger when more business assistance is provided by incubator managers, while the moderating role of technical assistance is not supported.Originality/valueThis paper enriches the research on the relationship between incubator community density and graduation performance from the perspective of incubator assistance which helps start-ups to understand, absorb and transform external knowledge and resources, thereby promoting their growth.

Integrating the MCR and DOI models to construct an ecological security network for the urban agglomeration around Poyang Lake, China

The development of urban agglomeration in aquatic areas is premised on ecological security. The construction of ecological security network is an effective measure to reduce ecological resistance and guarantee economic development. In this study, a comprehensive ecological security network (ESN) evaluation approach is developed by integrating the Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) model and Duranton and Overman Index (DOI). Taking the urban agglomeration around Poyang Lake in 2015 as a case, the MCR model showed the ecological landscape pattern of discrete connection and large overall ecological resistance. The DOI model indicated that the industries of moderately polluted were global localization, while heavily polluted were small-scale localization and large-scale dispersion. Accordingly, the ESN consisting of 35 ecological sources, 34 ecological corridors, 57 artificial corridors, and 39 eco-economic strategic nodes can avoid the threat of industrial layout to the ecological landscape. The results of this study complemented the guidance of industrial agglomeration theory on the basis of “source-sink” theory. The dual evaluation approach of landscape ecology and economic agglomeration proposed in this study explores interdisciplinary data fusion of different scales, and also provides a reference for inter-municipal coordinated ecological management and restraining urban excessive expansion.

The future of the city centre: Urbanisation, transformation and resilience – a tale of two Newcastle cities

Recent debates over the content and theoretical orientation of urban studies act as a strong reminder that the nature and existence of the city as a form of spatial urban agglomeration is changing. They have acted positively as a heuristic to inspire critical analysis of urbanisation and helped to illuminate the considerable empirical variation over time and space in urban agglomeration forms. However, in shifting the focus onto the planetary reach of urbanisation, such debates risk deflecting attention away from the city core at a time when it too is being subjected to transformation. The city centre has been taken for granted as critical attention has been given to the impact of development and enterprise in extending the city outwards. The recent proliferation of public and policy interest in the future of the city centre as the archetypal expression of urban agglomeration has not been matched by similar growth in academic and theoretical accounts of its transformation. Drawing on the examples of two city centres, and placing them in the context of the recent debates of urban agglomeration theory, this article seeks to initiate deeper analysis and dialogue about the future of the urban core, including how it is being articulated and by whom. It argues for a greater analytic understanding of the ways in which the city centre as a physical and emotional entity has been so resilient, and advocates for stronger engagement with initiatives seeking to reactivate the city centre as a crucial epicentre of urban agglomeration.

Especialización del ecoturismo y turismo cultural en Méjico. Evaluación del desarrollo sostenible y económico.

La respuesta al crecimiento de la demanda turística mundial por explorar destinos alternativos, requiere que los países se consoliden aprovechando de sus recursos naturales y culturales con un enfoque sostenible en el supuesto que la diversificación de destinos tendrá indicadores positivos en el combate a la pobreza y la desigualdad social. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo evaluar las políticas públicas turísticas y la teoría de aglomeración en los servicios de ecoturismo y turismo cultural en Méjico utilizando indicadores de desarrollo sostenible, salarios, empleo y coeficiente de especialización para los años censales 2004, 2009 y 2014. Se analizará 32 entidades de la República mexicana, enfatizando en dos programas regionales y la norma NMX-AA-133-SCFI-2013.

Premelting-Induced Agglomeration of Hydrates: Theoretical Analysis and Modeling.

Resolving the long-standing problem of hydrate plugging in oil and gas pipelines has driven an intense quest for mechanisms behind the plug formation. However, existing theories of hydrate agglomeration have critical shortcomings, for example, they cannot describe nanometer-range capillary forces at hydrate surfaces that were recently observed by experiments. Here, we present a new model for hydrate agglomeration which includes premelting of hydrate surfaces. We treat the premelting layer on hydrate surfaces such as a thin liquid film on a substrate and propose a soft-sphere model of hydrate interactions. The new model describes the premelting-induced capillary force between a hydrate surface and a pipe wall or another hydrate. The calculated adhesive force between a hydrate sphere (R = 300 μm) and a solid surface varies from 0.3 mN on a hydrophilic surface (contact angle, θ = 0°) to 0.008 mN on a superhydrophobic surface (θ = 160°). The initial contact area is 4 orders of magnitude smaller than the cross-sectional area of the hydrate sphere and can expand with increasing contact time because of the consolidation of hydrate particles on the solid surface. Our model agrees with the available experimental results and can serve as a conceptual guidance for developing a chemical-free environmentally friendly method for prevention of hydrate plugs via surface coating of pipe surfaces.

Equilibrium Further Studied for Combined System of Cournot and Bertrand: A Differential Approach

In general, quantity competition and price competition exist simultaneously in a dynamic economy system. Whether it is quantity competition or price competition, when there are more than three companies in one market, the equilibrium points will become chaotic and are very difficult to be derived. This paper considers generally dynamic equilibrium points of combination of the Bertrand model and Cournot model. We analyze general equilibrium points of the Bertrand model and Cournot model, respectively. A general equilibrium point of the combination of the Cournot model and Bertrand model is further investigated in two cases. The theory of spatial agglomeration and intermediate value theorem are introduced. In addition, the stability of equilibrium points is further illustrated on celestial bodies motion. The results show that at least a general equilibrium point exists in combination of Cournot and Bertrand. Numerical simulations are given to support the research results.

On ‘Economies of Sequence’ in the Architectural Theory of Agglomeration: A Case of the Kyoto Tourism Industry

This paper focuses on an architecture-based theory of agglomeration. An agglomeration is composed of a number of segments such as physical infrastructure facilitation including airports and stations. ‘Economies of sequence’ can be defined as the sequencing of the segments toward the efficient building of an agglomeration. The main three findings are as follows: first, foreign nationals from Kansai International Airport Granger-cause the number of tourists to Kyoto Prefecture, foreign nationals from Kansai International Airport Granger-cause the number of foreign tourists to Kyoto City, and passengers at JR Kyoto Station Granger-cause the number of tourists to Kyoto City; second, the number of foreign tourists Granger-causes revenues in the tourism industry in the cases of Malaysia, the United States of America, and China; and third, the promotion of the tourism industry to redevelop Kyoto station mall in 1997, the “Kyoto Winter Special” campaign in 2003, and the global “Travel & Leisure” destination SNS (social networking service) promotion in 2015 were effective in building the segments of a tourist agglomeration. In conclusion, the economies of sequence of the segments of a tourism industry agglomeration are as follows: the first priority is to reduce transportation costs for tourists through the renovation of airports and stations, and the next segments for enhancing the level of cultural elements are a branding strategy through the promotion of the tourist industry by campaigns and projects using social network systems.