| Author: | Luo, Mei |
| Title: | The development of industrial cluster from branding perspective : the Keqiao model |
| Advisors: | Xin, John H. (ITC) Choi, Jason (ITC) |
| Degree: | Ph.D. |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Subject: | Textile industry -- China -- Case studies. Clothing trade -- China -- Case studies. Industrial clusters -- China -- Case studies. Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Institute of Textiles and Clothing |
| Pages: | xiv, 302 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | This thesis set out to study the growth of Keqiao as an industrial cluster and a brand, its branding efforts and the relationship between the cluster brand and its constituent brands. Keqiao is a district of Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province in China, which is a typical textile cluster. In Keqiao there is the largest market of textile products in China, namely China Textile City (CTC), which hosts around 24,000 trading firms. There is also a full chain of textile manufacturing, with 9,000 firms engaged in production of chemical fibers, textiles, apparel, and dyeing and finishing. Keqiao also has other sectors serving and supporting these two wings of the cluster. CTC is now a famous brand, and there are numerous individual brands in Keqiao. Keqiao itself has also become a well-known brand in China. This study was an exploratory research. It was primarily a qualitative research, based on interviews and focus group discussions, and a large amount of secondary data. Grounded theory method was used in the analyses. There were also supplementary quantitative analyses, based on a comprehensive questionnaire survey. In the study the growth history and the current situation of the Keqiao cluster were investigated. The various components of the cluster, such as CTC, the manufacturing aggregation, the logistic industry, the conference and exhibition sector, the creative industry, the Online CTC, and the Keqiao Textile Indexes were studied, and their roles in promoting Keqiao were analyzed, and the relationships among the components were examined. Based on the qualitative analyses, a model was constructed to describe the driving forces behind the growth of Keqiao as a cluster and a brand. While each component plays a role, the major players in the model are the government, and the two wings of the cluster, with the government being the most powerful one. The government facilitates the rapid growth of Keqiao in three ways and five aspects. The three ways are investment, planning, and policies. The five aspects are infrastructure, growth poles, talents, services, and branding efforts. With various measures and efforts in these aspects, Keqiao as a cluster and a brand has been growing fast in the past decades Two companies in Keqiao were also investigated, and their growth path and their branding efforts were examined. This was to find the dynamic relationship between the cluster and the constituent brands. It was found that the individual brands got boost from the growth of the cluster brand, and their developments also helped enhancing the brand equity of the cluster. Quantitative analyses of the questionnaire survey indicate that individual firms benefit from the cluster in various aspects, that the government has been playing a critical role in the growth of the cluster and has rendered various kinds of help to the enterprises, and that firms pay attention to branding efforts. Some other valuable information was also obtained from the study. Based on the above study, some recommendations were made for further growth of Keqiao, and the implications to other industrial clusters in China were also suggested. The study was focusing on the growth of the industrial cluster and its brand and the relationship for the cluster brand with its constituent brands. It will have significant academic and practical implications, and would be valuable and meaningful for many other industrial clusters and the fashion industry as a whole in the country, and other developing countries around the world. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | open access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b29291021.pdf | For All Users | 1.97 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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