@article{oai:kansai-u.repo.nii.ac.jp:00018624,
 author = {Choi, Sang Chul and Jiang, Xinwei},
 journal = {Kansai University review of business and commerce},
 month = {Mar},
 note = {This study describes the present situation of the Chemical Shoes industrial cluster in Kobe city to empirically clarify issues related to Japanese industrial clusters. It reviews the extant literature on linkage firms and focuses on the crucial role that they play in the sustainability of industrial clusters. Additionally, a new rationale for the sustainability of industrial clusters is provided, and "merchant coordinators" are described as the new leading actors in the sustainability of industrial clusters by applying commercial theory, value network theory, and the latest network theory of community capital. Furthermore, the rationale for transcending beyond geographical constraints and the hidden cause for the difficulties faced by industrial clusters in being sustainable are explained. Finally, a hypothetical process model for the sustainability of industrial clusters is proposed by focusing on linkage firms and merchant coordinators., This paper is supported in part by a Grant-in-aid (KAKENHI) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Project Number : 18H009090 & 18K018771).},
 pages = {21--44},
 title = {Decline of Local Industrial Clusters in Japan and the Role of Merchant Coordinators for Sustainable Development of These Clusters},
 volume = {20},
 year = {2021}
}