ABSTRACT
This study traces the transformation of Qiaotou city from a button distribution centre to a composite and advanced button manufacturing cluster accounting for 65% of world button production in 2006. It argues that button sales originated in entrepreneurial initiative that expanded through market-based armslength transactions as hundreds of stalls mushroomed in Qiaotou. The transformation of Qiaotou from the late 1990s into a composite cluster including designing, new material and product development took place when the local government took advantage of the rapid manufacturing growth to stimulate collaborative links between government, the firms and universities to support the appropriation of research synergies.
