ABSTRACT
It is often hypothesized that geographical proximity in clusters (or industry districts) has positive effects on firms’ access to information and knowledge and on firm competitiveness. We present one of the first empirical tests of this hypothesis in the context of the European agribusiness sector. A large-scale explorative empirical study was conducted in the north-western part of Germany, which is one of Europe’s leading pig production regions. The results of the farmer survey show that the cluster in north-western Germany provides good structural preconditions for the comprehensive network participation of pig farmers. These structural preconditions comprise a relatively high number of specialized institutions and the geographical proximity of the actors involved in pig production. Additional analyses show that farmers’ participation in partly overlapping business and personal networks has positive effects on access to information, their perceived level of informedness, and the competitiveness of their farms. The results have interesting implications for farm management since they indicate the high relevance of the intensity and quality of farmers’ relationships with other actors for farm competitiveness. The results are also helpful for political decision-making and public administration in regions with high livestock densities since they show that the regional deconcentration of livestock production which is sometimes considered more advantageous from an environmental perspective may, at the same time, reduce the competitiveness of livestock production.
