Abstract
An emerging literature in economic geography deals with so-called cluster life cycles as empirical processes distinguishable from the life cycles of products and industries. This paper tells the story of the rise and decline of the Virserum furniture cluster in southern Sweden, guided by one such framework. It investigates the size and diversity of the cluster, along with the ability of furniture firms to make use of its size and diversity. Four cluster stages are identified and explored. The paper finds that clustered firms had limited capacity for cooperation and collective action, and low utilization of its diversity. In line with the predictions of the model, a lack of diversity among Virserum furniture firms and homogeneity in its knowledge base may, hence, be deemed a main explanation of the fall of this particular cluster.