Globalization and ICT clusters in Bangalore (India) and Nanjing

textabstractIn this chapter the effects of globalization on two information and communication technology (ICT) clusters, one in China and the other in India, will be discussed and an effort will be made to analyse how these clusters changed these cities. Globalization had different effects in China and India. However, the underlying issue in this chapter is what explains the differences in the competitiveness of enterprises in ICT clusters in a Chinese and an Indian city in the global economy where they compete. Labour cost and conditions turned out to be only one of the factors influencing the competitiveness of the two countries. In fact, it is not so much the price of labour that explains the difference in performance, but rather different development policies and the productiveness of labour. China and India have become part of the global supply chain for manufacturing products and services. This has created an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the world’s two biggest countries. The questions raised in this chapter pertain to role played by ICT in this process; the location of this sector located; and its impact on these cities