Suchergebnisse

Currently, cluster concept is one of the most important tools for governments to enhance competitiveness and innovations through sectoral specialization and cooperation. The paper focuses on applications of the cluster policy in the distinct territorial context of Europe and Asia so that to perform a comparison between different approaches to the cluster concept application in real practice. The paper introduces a comparative study of the cluster policy concepts based on the characteristics defined by the authors, such as scope, approach, targeting, autonomy, institutional coordination, policy instruments and evaluation system studied for the selected European and Asian countries such as Denmark, France, Germany, China, Japan, and South Korea. The research draws upon processing the secondary data obtained through content analysis of the related literature, government documents and strategies, and also cluster funding programmes. The findings demonstrate the diversity of cluster policies implemented in the context of European and Asian conditions at the current stage of their development. © Foundation of International Studies, 2017 & CSR, 2017.

The article presents the results of management quality survey in Russian clusters that reveals specifics of cluster support policy in Russia. We compare 22 Russian clusters, supported by the Government, using series of indicators measuring cooperation intensity of cluster participants and activity of cluster management teams. We introduce a description of the typical Russian innovative territorial cluster, based on the average values of the indicators. Our analysis revealed that international communications, information about funding and training courses are highly useful tools to improve collaborations among cluster participants. This paper proposes a methodology for measuring cluster performance by the cluster scale index, cluster development index and cluster management efficiency index. In conclusion, we formulate recommendations for cluster policy improvement in Russia, based on our analysis of indicators' correlations and comparison between the results of our research and the similar researches in other countries. This analysis will be useful for researchers and policymakers from countries, where cluster policy recently became a popular topic.

The EU has been leaning towards evidence-based policymaking with the aim of ensuring coherence between industrial, environmental, climate, and energy policy. It focuses on supporting the development of a business environment which would enable sustainable growth, job creation, and innovation. It is generally agreed upon that, at the current level of development, the EU should focus on boosting innovations and theory and practice deliver an array of suggestions on how to achieve this goal. Among them clusters and cluster-led development play a prominent role. Poland inherently follows this belief and has introduced cluster policy to its policy mix by supporting cluster initiatives and cluster organizations. The objective of the paper is to investigate the evolution of cluster policy in Poland, identify its success factors, and propose recommendations for cluster policy. This case study of cluster policy in Poland is based on a series of in-depth interviews as well as secondary data. The conclusions resulting from this case study indicate that adoption by the government of a cluster policy at the national level and implementation of a comprehensive strategy for cluster development at regional and national levels is a basic condition for cluster policy success. Positive results can be achieved if public intervention is continuous and tailored to the needs of cluster organizations at different development stages with particular emphasis on the internationalization of cluster activities, which was a key measure highly evaluated by the respondents. The paper touches upon the timely issue of the future direction of cluster policy. The debate on it is accompanied by another debate on how to build an economic ecosystem capable of reaching sustainability goals.

Das Clusterkonzept wird derzeit von der Politik mit dem Ziel eingesetzt, die regionale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Innovationskraft zu steigern. Das zentrale Ordnungsprinzip eines Clusters ist das Netzwerk. Unternehmen gleicher bzw. verwandter Branchen werden mit einschlägigen wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen sowie staatlichen und kommunalen Behörden vernetzt. Raumrelevant werden Cluster dann, wenn sie eine regionale Dimension einnehmen. Raumplanerisch sind Cluster dabei ambivalent: Einerseits müssen ihr Flächenverbrauch überwacht und evaluiert werden, andererseits sind Cluster raumsparend. Als Verdichtungen ökonomischer Aktivitäten beanspruchen sie allerdings eine Infrastruktur, welche die Mobilität von Menschen und Gütern gewährleistet. Die wirtschaftspolitischen Maßnahmen zur Steigerung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit hängen wesentlich von der Ausgangslage der jeweiligen Region ab. Außerdem sind die Ziele zumeist branchenspezifisch angepasst, sodass der Erfolg von einzelnen Clustern derselben Region mit unterschiedlichen Kriterien beurteilt werden muss. Über die allgemeinen Daten über Import und Export, Arbeitsmarkt sowie Forschung und Entwicklung hinaus müssen branchen- und clusterspezifische Daten erhoben werden, damit die Angemessenheit der Maßnahmen des Clustermanagements zur Erreichung der definierten Ziele bewertet und gegebenenfalls angepasst werden kann.

Cluster policy is increasingly becoming part of many governments' economic policy strategies. At the same time, evidence-based policy-making is gaining importance, bringing about a call for policy evaluation. Since the quality of the evaluation results depends highly on the method used, data, assumptions and techniques must be adequate for the specific evaluation question. This holds for cluster policy evaluation in particular, given the complexity and indirect nature of cluster policy interventions. This article provides an overview of evaluation methods suited to the ex-post analysis of cluster policy, covering both micro- and macroeconomic approaches.

The paper studies a profound change in the Russian cluster policy at the federal level based on the analysis of regulatory framework. The work demonstrates virtual abandoning of cluster policies in all areas, i.e. winding-up direct support for industrial cluster projects and failure to start funding complex investment projects for the development of innovative territorial clusters which has even lost their normative basis for financing as well as to backup regional cluster development centers. The main reason for such a reverse is the lack of cooperation among the domestic clusters. At the same time, the main aim of the government efforts in the field of cluster formation and other related processes – stimulation of cooperation projects – has remained unchanged. In order to avoid setbacks in other initiatives for development of such cooperation, it seems advisable to introduce an extended classification of joint cluster projects, which in many ways determines the specifics of partnership relations. The proposed classification is based on the type of connectivity among the participants, the symmetry of the alliances and the organizational form of project implementation. It is shown that the domestic cluster policy deals with the most challenging type of cooperative projects.

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to indicate the role of a cluster and a cluster-based policy in the process of regional development management as the tools serving the achievement of positive development effects in the region. Research method – The analysis was based on the review of domestic and foreign literature sources devoted to clusters, as well as the documents and the assumptions of the cluster policy at the EC level and the national and regional level, the participant observation as a member of research and implementation and advisory project teams in the field of cluster management and cluster policy in Poland and in the region. Results – A cluster can be used at any stage of the strategic management of regional development as an element of strategic analysis, as one of the key consultants in the process of regional development strategy projection, and ultimately as a tool for implementing the assumptions of regional development strategy. Originality / value – The proposed dual model of cluster policy in the Podlaskie Voivodeship using detailed assumptions, including developed clusters as a tool for managing regional development as a part of the cluster-based policy.