ABSTRACT
In developing information technology parks across India, Singapore GLCs and in particular Ascendas are leveraging on the talented human capital of India. The high-tech parks are essentially clusters of specialized firms that have links to the government and tertiary institutions in India. For example, Texas Instruments (TI) maintains links with local universities around its Bangalore set up and provides these universities with free software that has been designed by the TI team. Although, Texas Instruments runs the risk of copyright violations and software piracy, the chance to enter the Indian market offset these factors. Moreover, the undergraduates using the TI systems in universities will then be familiar with TI products and will provide TI with knowledgable workers in future. Clusters tend to promote both competition and cooperation and it could be argued that without rigorous competition a cluster will cease to be innovative.1 Despite the prevailing competition, clusters also promote cooperation among the various rival companies and R&D institutions. How could cooperation be carried out? Cooperation within clusters is essentially through the flow of information that contributes toward solving problems and overcoming challenges to innovation.2 The breeding of innovation in a cluster could also be promoted through strong linkages between technology users and producers.3 Eventually, cluster activities could increase the likelihood of spillover effects in the diffusion of new technologies and new ideas because of the concentration of large numbers of high-tech firms within a geographic region.4
