Competitive advantage is not created within a single firm alone. Efficiency in internal operations is essential but not necessarily sufficient to compete globally. Factors external to the business are increasingly important. Each firm is inherently part of a "cluster" of activities made up of firms along the value chain as well as related and supporting organizations e.g. research and development, finance, worker skills, infrastructure. In general, clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions in partic