Title
Communication Externalities on the Knowledge-based Firms in Metropolitan Areas: Case Study of China and Korea
Abstract
This paper provides some evidence on communication style that serves as
the contact tool and its related external economies to knowledge-intensive
production and innovation within the emerging high-technology based industrial
clusters in metropolitan areas of China and Korea. Our unique data-set
from questionnaire survey enables us to examine the firms' behavior of
communication regarding the choice of communication mode, how often, with
whom, and for what purpose. Such analysis provides insights about actual
relationships among business partners of industry-university-government
in each cluster of Zhongguancun Area (Beijing), Seoul Digital Complex and
Daedeok Valley (Daejeon). Our studies demonstrate that 1) with suppliers
firms contact with high frequency but with less face-to-face meeting opportunities,
2) with customers and banks/investors but more with face-to-face contact,
as common characteristic, 3) and that firms' long-term experience in the
market is helpful to construct such meaningful communication network in
Seoul Digital Complex. However, we could not show fully that communication
externalities generated by the face-to-face contact influence the innovative
output of firms.
Keywords: Communication externalities, Geographical proximity, Zhongguancun, Seoul
Digital Complex, Daedeok Valley
JEL classification: O32, R11, O40
Nobuaki HAMAGUCHI
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration
Kobe University
Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe
657-8501
Japan
Phone: (81) 78 803 7036
Fax: (81) 78 803 7059
Yoshihiro KAMEYAMA
The International Centre for the Study of East Asian Development (ICSEAD)