The role of regional clusters and firm size for firm efficiency

Clusters have increasingly gained attention in policy discourses at all levels ¿ regional, national, international. Clusters and cluster-based economic development have slowly become a sort of a ¿mantra¿ in policy areas related to anything that touches upon regional development, competitiveness, innovation, entrepreneurship, small and medium-size enteprises¿ (SMEs) development for policymakers and economic development professionals. To understand better the different agendas in which clusters play a role, one should keep in mind the different levels of discussion ¿ firm-level business strategy, regional and local development policies and national competitiveness discourses. Each of these levels has its characteristics and specific features of which clusters are an important part. The most common view on the benefit from clusters is the micro-level approach which underlines factors related to increased firm-level efficiency and productivity due to the availability of more specialized assets and suppliers with shorter reaction times (e.g. Becattini, 1990), higher propensity for innovation due to the possibility for collaboration with local educational institutions and absorption of local knowledge spillovers, and creating more intense relationships with customers (e.g. Cooke, 2001; Asheim, 1994). On the regional level, clusters are expected to play a crucial role for higher productivity and competitiveness of the region/locality and for effectively participating in synergies and productive competition with the surrounding environment (e.g. European Commission, 2008; OECD, 2005; 2007; Cumbers and MacKinnon, 2004). On the national level, clusters are deemed as an important driver of a country¿s competitiveness and as an essential driver of innovation (e.g. Porter, 1990; 1998).

KOZOVSKA Kornelia; 

2010-10-04

Inderscience

JRC58856

1479-3059,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC58856,   

10.1504/IJGSB.2010.035329,