ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to couple the theme of competition between contexts with the analytic category of the sectoral cluster of firms. The exceptionalism of Britain is taken as a case in point. There are four sections:
a cameo of the sectoral cluster created by Marks & Spencer in Britain;
examination of the key elements in the sectoral cluster;
examination of why Henry Ford would probably have failed had he started out from the competitive context of the Birmingham-Coventry corridor in England;
the entraining features of sectoral clusters and the consequences for facing incoming multinational businesses and for becoming a multinational business.
