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Cluster policies and cluster institutions: an opportunity to bind economic and social dimensions?

Author

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  • Anastasiia Konstantynova

    (Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness, Deusto Foundation and Deusto Business School)

  • James R. Wilson

    (Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness, Deusto Foundation and Deusto Business School)

Abstract

Policies to support clusters of firms and other territorially-rooted agents are as popular today as they have ever been. While contemporary cluster policy most commonly adopts a microeconomic perspective to support business competitiveness, cluster policy practice remains strongly influenced also by the social foundations that can be found in the industrial district concept. This paper critically analyses contemporary cluster policy by incorporating an institutional perspective that seeks to enable greater understanding of the relevance of local community, systems of values, and informal institutions for cluster policy practices. Supported by a brief analysis of the diversity of cluster policies that are found in seven European regions, the paper makes a first step in highlighting the potential space for cluster policies to work more explicitly on the social embeddedness of clusters in their territories. This agenda requires more research, which could build on Giacomo Becattini’s key ideas in responding to the increasing sensitivity of both academics and policy makers to the intractability of the economic and social aspects of territorial development processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Anastasiia Konstantynova & James R. Wilson, 2017. "Cluster policies and cluster institutions: an opportunity to bind economic and social dimensions?," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 44(4), pages 457-472, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:epolin:v:44:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s40812-017-0081-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s40812-017-0081-x
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    Cited by:

    1. James Wilson & Emily Wise & Madeline Smith, 2022. "Evidencing the benefits of cluster policies: towards a generalised framework of effects," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 55(2), pages 369-391, June.
    2. Sahar Moazzeni & Sobhan Mostafayi Darmian & Lars Magnus Hvattum, 2023. "Multiple criteria decision making and robust optimization to design a development plan for small and medium-sized enterprises in the east of Iran," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-32, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cluster policy; Industrial districts; Institutions; Competitiveness; Social embeddedness; Becattini;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L50 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - General
    • L38 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Policy
    • B25 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Austrian; Stockholm School

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