| Summary: | Palestine is known as “The Holy Land”. It‟s numerous features are unique and have made it
a significant destination for tourists from all over the world. Palestine also has lots of natural
resources especially natural stone. Working in a cluster is an efficient and effective way to
enhance the competitiveness of natural stone firms. Firms in the cluster area have greater
ability to access larger local markets, and they are encouraged to be more innovative
because there is rivalry amongst firms in the cluster. Although firms working in the stone and
marble sector in Palestine are exporting to many countries worldwide, they still tend to
underperform.
A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods- mixed methodology- was used in this
research. The researcher randomly selected and distributed 100 questionnaires (to the
companies working in the stone and marble sector. The questionnaire was addressed to the
owner/manager of the firms that were selected. The results of the research show that the
Palestinian stone cluster sector is weak and the performance of stone firms working within the
cluster is very low. Additionally, the results show a positive and strong relationship between
working in a cluster and enhanced competitiveness achieved through this technique. Working
in a cluster has been shown to promote productivity, innovation and competition in a number
of ways, e.g., the reduced cost of sharing resources, the critical mass created by having a
pool of specialized skills, expertise and value-added products. The cluster also enhances
economic foundations such as a skilled workforce, research and development capacity and
infrastructure; and thus creates assets such as trust, synergy, collaboration and cooperation,
which are all essential for competitiveness and business sustainability.
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