No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Clusters and the New Economics of Competition
... Furthermore, studies highlight how government policies, infrastructure, and institutions shape the competitive advantage that comes from a certain region [75,37]. Additionally, research emphasizes the value of regional ecosystems and geographic clusters in promoting innovation, information sharing, and inter-firm cooperation-all of which boost export competitiveness [73,49,11]. Furthermore, the notion of "place-based" development emphasizes the necessity of customized approaches that capitalize on the distinctive qualities of certain sites to improve businesses' global competitiveness [61]. ...
This comprehensive assessment of the literature looks at the strategic significance of location for export competitiveness. In order to provide a nuanced understanding of how geographic location affects firms' ability to compete in export competitiveness, the review synthesizes key findings and insights from a thorough analysis of 71 scholarly articles from reliable databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, Science Direct, PubMed, DOAJ, and IEEE Xplore. A number of criteria are identified and categorized in the evaluation, including market accessibility, established trade routes and infrastructure, availability of resources, capital, and inputs, institutional support, trade agreements, economic integration, and regulatory framework. Important factors that affect export competitiveness include the innovation environment, industry clusters, the agglomeration effect, the availability of skilled workers, and proximity in terms of language and culture. The case study on best practices has been delivered. Moreover, it highlights gaps in the literature and offers insightful information for new lines of inquiry. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the strategic significance of geography in influencing enterprises' export plans and performance in the global marketplace by combining empirical data with theoretical frameworks. The review's conclusions broaden our theoretical and practical understanding of how firms' location decisions are influenced by location, which helps managers run their businesses profitably.
... Nowadays, "the economic map of the world is dominated by what I call clusters (…) of unusual competitive success in particular fields". (Porter, 1998) Cluster definition has evolved over time. In 1990, Porter described the cluster as a productive sectorial system where actors are linked by similar or related activities in a geographical concentration. ...
A clusters’ role in stimulating, creating, and expanding a region's competitiveness is axiomatic. The research questions that have steered our study are: which are the Romanian industries with the highest potential for cluster development? How did the European top-ranked agricultural clusters integrate intelligence systems into their operations? How could we adapt those intelligent systems to develop Romania's agro-clusters? The results were obtained by employing a two-fold methodology: (1) to evaluate Romania's cluster potential, we have used the Cluster Index of Sternberg and Litzenberger, and (2) to design sustainable policies meant to spur the sector's competitiveness, we have used the benchmarking for 14 agricultural clusters awarded with Gold Label by the European Cluster Excellence Initiative. We learned that over half of the Romanian counties have the highest potential to develop clusters in the primary industry—the agriculture, forestry and fishing, and mining and quarrying sectors. The counties that registered the most significant Cluster Index on the agriculture sector are Bihor, Covasna, Harghita, Botoșani, Neamț, and Vaslui.
Concerning the stimulation of the cluster's competitiveness, we concluded that Romania needs a robust investment in knowledge and innovation, implementation of intelligent systems among the value chain, and facilitation of national and international collaboration. Our conclusions could represent a starting point for regional policymakers, cluster directors, and governments to create new strategies to support Romania's agricultural industry and clusters.
The pharmaceutical industry is a cornerstone of national economies and plays a critical role in public health. However, China’s pharmaceutical industry faces significant challenges, including regional disparities in development. The existing research on operational efficiency evaluation primarily focuses on financial or innovation metrics, lacking a comprehensive approach. Moreover, studies on the environmental impact on operational efficiency often rely on a limited set of indicators, failing to offer a holistic understanding of how environmental factors influence efficiency. This study aims to address these gaps by comprehensively evaluating operational efficiency and analyzing the impact of broader environmental factors on efficiency. To achieve these objectives, the study employs a Three-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis method combined with Principal Component Analysis to evaluate the operational efficiency of the pharmaceutical industry across 31 provinces in China, considering both financial and innovation dimensions.The findings reveal that overall efficiency has improved annually, with regional disparities gradually narrowing. Specifically, innovation capability and innovation environment have a positive impact on operational efficiency, while living standards and openness exhibit a negative correlation. Additionally, the current environmental conditions in the northwestern region are found to be conducive to the development of the pharmaceutical industry. This study is the first to integrate three-stage data envelopment analysis with principal component analysis, constructing a comprehensive framework for analyzing the relationship between environmental factors and operational efficiency. The results provide empirical evidence for policymakers aiming to enhance the efficiency of the pharmaceutical industry.
Three spatial turns have occurred in innovation research, including focuses on regional, urban, and intra-urban scales. The primary focus of this study was to determine the spatial distribution of innovation and the innovation networks within urban areas based on a unit-network analytical framework. ArcGIS Pro was applied to identify innovation space units and to build a collaboration matrix among these units. Subsequently, Gephi 0.9.2 was used to analyse the networks. Guangzhou was used as a case study for empirical analysis, and the main conclusions are as follows. Guangzhou contains 53 innovation space units covering 495 grids and an area of 123.75 km² (1.67% of the land area). The 53 innovation space units encompass 231,698 patents, accounting for 72.28% of the total patents in Guangzhou. The 53 innovation space units can be categorised into three levels—innovation agglomeration zones (IAZs), innovation agglomeration sub-zones (IASZs), and innovation agglomeration nodes (IANs)—which can be further classified into nine types. The spatial distribution of innovation and the innovation networks in Guangzhou form a core–periphery structure, with the Wushan–Shipai Science and Education Innovation Zone, Tianhe Centre–Yuexiu East CBD Zone, and Guangzhou Science Town Innovation Zone forming three poles at the core. The weighted degree centrality of the three poles ranked among the top 3 of the 53 innovation space units, and the link frequency between poles was among the top 3 in the 143 pairs of connections between the 53 innovation spatial units.
This narrative literature review seeks to provide an understanding of the factors of emergence and success of business clusters in Morocco. Based on the findings, business clusters play a pivotal role in fostering economic growth and innovation in the country and the vitality of a thriving business cluster rests on its ability to
stay current with the rapid shifts in industries. To ensure sustained success, it is imperative for clusters to navigate these industry dynamics, adapting to changes, seizing opportunities, and avoiding stagnation. Beyond mere adherence to established principles, constant vigilance and adaptability play pivotal roles in the enduring success of business clusters
https://cnpsi.com/PBS/Vol17/EGCI-17.pdf
As critical nodes in rural and urban development, small towns play a significant role in promoting regional economic growth. However, challenges such as unreasonable spatial layouts and unclear industrial positioning have emerged, hindering sustainable development for both the towns and their surrounding areas. To elucidate the relationship between tropical island towns and regional development, this study examines 100 representative towns in Hainan Province, China. Utilizing ArcGIS software and spatial analysis methods—including kernel density estimation, nearest neighbor index, and spatial autocorrelation analysis—the spatial distribution patterns of these towns and their correlations with regional development factors are explored. The findings reveal significant clustering in the spatial distribution of towns, particularly tourist towns, which tend to concentrate in areas rich in tourism resources. Key factors influencing town development are identified, such as resource endowment, market accessibility, transportation infrastructure, and population distribution. These insights provide theoretical guidance for optimizing the spatial layout of small towns by leveraging geographical and resource advantages, thereby enhancing sustainable development and regional competitiveness.
We challenge the widely accepted premise that the valuation of an early-stage firm is simply the capital invested (USD) divided by the equity received (%). Instead, we argue that this calculation determines the break-even point for the investor; for example, investing USD 1.0 in exchange for a 10% equity sets a firm-level free cash flow target of USD 10.0, resulting in a 0% return for the investor. The design of our study is that of a descriptive analysis of the phenomenon, based on three assumptions: that angel investing is a two-issue negotiation, that negotiation positions are communicated sequentially from capital to equity, and that the capital is fixed to a strategic trajectory. We note that when pausing the negotiation once a strategic trajectory (and thus capital) has been defined, utilizing the break-even point as the main reference point provides a structure that can serve as a guiding barometer for negotiators, as they evaluate their options across the full range of equity greater than 0% and less than 100%. We draw attention to the diminishing benefit of the marginal equity percentage point [diminishing at a rate of (−1/x²)] for the investor to break even on their investment. This relationship tracks to the equation [value = 1/equity], which presents the full option set for any offer, once the capital is determined. Our study provides the practitioner with the subtle benefit of situational awareness and the scholar with a logical foundation for future research.
This paper examines the role of digital economy tools, including big data, mobile applications, e-commerce, and sharing economy platforms, in the sustainable development of the tourism sector. The focus is on studying how the digital economy tools can contribute to more efficient and sustainable tourism services, to service quality improvement, to reducing the negative environmental impact, and thus increase the availability of tourism resources in local destinations. Using the example of the successful use of digital technologies in Russian regions, this paper discusses the introduction of online platforms for booking services, the use of mobile applications for navigation and obtaining information about tourist sites, as well as the use of digital tools for predicting consumer preferences. A systematic approach to the analysis of tourism services digitalization, based on a set of technical and functional–digital indicators, allowed us to evaluate the impact of the digitalization level on the local destination’s sustainable development in transition economy conditions. The proposed methodology for assessing and applying tourism services digitalization tools in Russian regions takes into account the transition economy specifics and aims to promote more sustainable practices. This study will add to the existing literature by defining both technical and functional criteria for the implementation of digital technologies as tools for the creation of new business models in tourism, and the development of a tourism services digitalization model, based on the assessment of the regional digitalization level, to ensure the movement towards achieving sustainable development goals in local destinations.
As an emerging economic form, the cultural and creative industries (CCI) have gradually become a key force in driving urban economic transformation and enhancing urban competitiveness. In the knowledge economy, the CCI are producers of cultural content and vital sources of innovative resources. This study explores CCI’s role within urban innovation ecosystems and their impact on cities. The research employs a combination of theoretical model construction and empirical analysis. It begins with a literature review and theoretical analysis to construct a relationship model between the CCI and urban innovation ecosystems, as well as a hypothetical model of the impact of the CCI on cities. An online survey was conducted to collect data, and the results validate the models’ effectiveness. The findings indicate that the CCI significantly promotes urban development. They directly drive the economic transformation and upgrading of cities and indirectly foster sustainable urban development by optimizing the innovation environment and enhancing the vitality of innovation entities. The CCI plays a crucial role in urban innovation ecosystems, enhancing urban innovation capacity and competitiveness through interactions. The system reveals the pathways through which the CCI functions within urban innovation ecosystems and offers corresponding development recommendations. It provides theoretical support and practical references for promoting the synergy between the CCI and urban development.
Exogenous shocks play a crucial role in cluster evolution and change. Yet the mechanisms and processes driving these changes have been relatively underexplored. Furthermore, cluster change studies have focused more on cooperative dynamics. The conflict dynamics in a cluster have received somewhat less attention. Therefore, the present study examines the impact of the exogenous shock on conflicts in a cluster. The Howrah foundry cluster in India constitutes the empirical context of this study. Our findings point to group-level conflict and fragmentation as crucial mechanisms of cluster change. The study further explores the role of rival associations in cluster governance. It shows that rival associations can lead to equitable distribution of opportunities in the cluster. The study also contributes to Indian business history literature. It sheds light on the growth dynamics of small-scale industries and indigenous entrepreneurship in the Howrah district of India. It further brings attention to relatively underexplored data sources in Indian business history.
This study analyzes the correlation between oil and gas firms and their contribution to regional development in the Brazilian southeast coastal region and in the State of Texas from 2013 to 2017. The study uses Pearson's correlation to examine the effects of oil revenues distributed in local economies and their tax contributions on seven local development indicators. Results show a strong correlation between oil and gas incomes and GDP growth in both regions, with Brazil being more dependent on these resources. However, the correlations do not necessarily translate into broader societal advancements, indicating a need for development policies that support sustained oil and gas clusters to improve socioeconomic conditions. The findings underscore the importance of strategic planning in resource-rich regions to mitigate risks associated with resource dependency.
Bioeconomy clusters (bioclusters) have been a key strategy for bioeconomic transformation. By leveraging knowledge, they can enhance innovative outputs, thereby improving agricultural productivity and steering the sector towards sustainable development. Bioclusters are complex and dynamic systems, reflecting environments conducive to actors' interaction for research and development activities. This study aims to analyze the spatial distribution of bioclusters in the agricultural sector and identify suitable conditions for their establishment. We employ maximum entropy approach (MaxEnt) to model the spatial suitability for agricultural bioclusters across Vietnam. We utilize patent data from the agricultural domain, including Agronomy techniques, Plant breeding, Livestock and aquaculture, and Agrochemicals, as indicators of bioeconomic innovations. MaxEnt models then characterize the socioeconomic conditions of existing innovation sites and predict the likelihood of their presence elsewhere in Vietnam. We find that bioeconomic innovations are clustered in and around Vietnam's major cities, which feature a diverse range of actors involved and serve as hubs for knowledge-intensive clusters of Plant breeding and Agrochemicals. Key factors driving biocluster establishment include access to infrastructure and electricity, governmental expenditure on education, and revenues from primary production sectors. By illustrating the micro-level dynamics of bioclusters from the perspective of an emerging economy in the Global South, these findings contribute empirical spatial evidence for cluster and innovation theories and extend the discourse on space-neutral versus place-based development interventions. They also offer valuable insights for policymakers and the private sector involved in the development of bioeconomy and agricultural sector in Vietnam.
This study enhances the environmental New Keynesian framework by integrating spatial spillover effects through a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. The simulation results reveal that while environmental regulations can lead to welfare losses, a carbon tax levy mitigates these losses more effectively than alternative approaches in New Zealand. What is surprising is the pro-cyclical nature of environmental policies. For spillovers, shocks to capital and labor tax rates substantially curtail emissions in adjacent regions. Further simulation substantiates that higher price dispersion necessitates a reduced growth rate of emissions. These conclusions compel New Zealand to explore diverse policy options for effectively decarbonizing the economy.
This study seeks to address the relational impact of educational institution on the spatiotemporal growth of
Ekpoma town. It examines the “urban growth ” effects that the tertiary institution has on its site location. Land-
sat Imageries of Ekpoma town were downloaded and imported into ArcGIS software ArcMap 10.8, where the
Supervised Maximum Likelihood Analysis was carried out on the datasets. Multiple linear regression was used
to determine the rate of contribution of the various university campuses to the spatial expansion of each zone
and linear regression analysis was used to determine the rate of contribution of the spatial densification of AAU
campuses to the spatial expansion of Ekpoma town. The Land-use type of interest was the built-up areas. The
town was delineated into three zones, each with a University campus. Zone A has the Main Ambrose Alli Univer-
sity (AAU) Campus, College of Medicine in Zone B, and Emuado campus in Zone C. The land use classification
analysis was performed for the university campuses and Ekpoma town, for the years 1987, 2002, and 2023. The
result shows that there is a strong positive linear relationship between the spatial densification of AAU campuses
and the spatial expansion of Ekpoma town, with an R2 value of 0.986. This implies that for every 1km2 densifi-
cation of the campuses, there is an increase of 32.030km2 in the spatial expansion of Ekpoma town. Thus, it was
projected using the regression model that by the year 2043, the spatial extent of Ekpoma town would be 67.9462
km2 . These findings are valuable for informing existing land use and urban planning practices. Understanding
the complex dynamics of urban expansion would help create a sustainable and resilient growth of the town in
the future, avoiding possible pitfalls in urban development initiatives in the town.
Udruživanje naučno-istraživačkih institucija u doba globalizacije i svetske ekonomske krize, sve više dobija na značaju početkom XXI veka. Time bi se pojednostavila razmena informacija, novih tehnologija i usavršavanje istraživačkog kadra. Radom je obuhvaćen pristup zasnovan na klasterskom povezivanju naučnih organizacija u COST.
This paper investigates the drivers and dynamics of clustering and inter-project collaboration within the framework of the Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 projects. Leveraging a survey-based approach, we examine key themes surrounding the perception of clustering, the willingness to share information under legal confidentiality, and motivations for engaging with partners from different projects. The survey instrument, implemented via Microsoft Forms, was distributed among the consortia of eight EU projects participating in the SOLID4B cluster. Notably, the questionnaire was meticulously crafted based on an in-depth analysis of the SOLID4B case and comprehensive discussions with project coordinators and communication and dissemination managers from all participating projects. These discussions aimed to establish a clear roadmap for the cluster, ensuring the questionnaire’s relevance and usefulness for all participants. Data analysis was conducted within the same platform, facilitating efficient data processing and visualization. Our findings reveal that a significant majority of respondents (48 out of 55) perceive clustering as a valuable asset, indicative of a positive shift in perspectives. Challenges related to confidentiality were addressed through nuanced insights, with respondents demonstrating a willingness to share routine best practices, significant breakthroughs, and deliverables within a legally protected framework. Furthermore, a robust majority (40 out of 55) expressed a keen interest in collaborative endeavors, underscoring a collective drive to extend activities beyond individual project boundaries. The study highlights the importance of clustering with other projects in maximizing the impact of the Horizon program, extending stakeholder networks, and sharing knowledge and achievements in research and innovation. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the motivations and challenges surrounding clustering and collaboration within the Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 projects. Ultimately, the findings pave the way for informed strategies aimed at fostering a dynamic and interconnected research community.
The government of China, to hone manufacturing’s competitive edge, has adopted a series of regional industrial policies to stimulate advanced manufacturing clusters as facilitators of agglomeration effects, utilisers of factor endowments, and implementers of innovation solutions, by playing the role of facilitating state. Focusing on advanced manufacturing cluster policies in East China’s Jiangsu Province, the research employs a mixed data analysis methodology on a sample of 52 documents collected from the Jiangsu government and affiliated units. The policy orientations and priorities are examined under the triple analytical framework in terms of themes, instruments, and controls, applying textual mining and the PMC index model. The results reveal the alignment of policy themes with high-quality development strategy, the government preferences for the supply dimension in policy instruments, the emphasis on planning directive in policy controls, together with the relatively high internal consistency of the AMC policy toolkit by Jiangsu. Therefore, the research spotlights the importance of leveraging comparative strengths based upon the facilitating state institution, and of deploying internally coherent, scientific, and efficient initiatives that exploit more potential of advanced manufacturing clusters to foster sustainable prosperity from the perspective of new structural economics.
This paper investigates whether, and what kind of, regional knowledge has a stimulating effect on circular economy (CE) innovation by companies. We thus add to the literature on regional knowledge spillovers, which has rarely focussed explicitly on the CE. For the empirical study, we create econometric regressions based on a representative dataset with extensive information on the CE activities of about 1400 Swiss firms. The results confirm that regional knowledge is important for the implementation of CE innovations. However, geographical distance and the quality of the knowledge must be taken into account, that is, companies primarily learn from the best.
Creative and innovation districts are focused on boosting local economies. However, they also pay attention to the global scale since this local identity of the Orange Economies gives them added value and competitiveness globally, as well as international projection and visibility of products, services, and new technologies associated with creativity and innovation. Thus, this study reviews three case studies of the cities of Barranquilla, Bogota, and Medellin in Colombia, seeking to characterize the creative and innovation districts. The methodology used is strictly qualitative, resorting to the characterization of the polygons and the analysis of public policies. This study describes the general aspects of creative and innovation districts in Colombia. Then, it identifies the forces for CD and ID development in three Colombian cities and the drivers for urban sustainable transformation. The main purpose of this study is to understand if innovation and creative districts are new scenarios for sustainable urban planning.
Research on change agency provides sophisticated analytical frameworks for exploring the dynamic processes leading to cluster development. Yet context-specific policy recommendations are lacking. This paper takes an actor-centric approach to explore the Odense robotics cluster in Denmark with the aim to link the levels, roles, and types of change agency along the cluster life cycle with specific cluster policy actions. Our findings provide insights into the roles and activities of different forms of change agency during cluster development and implications for supporting cluster growth in organizationally thick regions. Thus, we suggest that cluster development requires an increasingly broad and outward-looking policy mix.
Regression-based research on industrial clusters has shown that the development and economic impact of
clusters largely depends on cluster member firms´engagement in building stakeholder relationships, which affects
cluster members´ growth in sales, employment, and market share, the rate of product innovation and quality,
overall competitiveness, and financial performance. Minimal necessary levels of engagement in specific stakeholder
relationships to impact performance indicators and maximum levels of engagement above which further
efforts become inefficient have not been researched so far. The research provides first insights on those issues by
comparing the results of Multiple Regression Analysis and multiple Necessary Condition Analysis applied to
empirical data from the Iceland Ocean Cluster. The study contributes to the knowledge on stakeholder relationship
management and cluster firm performance. Engagement in all stakeholder relationship building activities
has highly significant positive net effects on most indicators of firm performance used in the study.
However, the effect sizes of necessary engagements, necessary minimum levels, and levels of inefficiency substantially
differ depending on stakeholder and relationship building activity. Cluster firm and cluster organization
managers gain insights into the effective allocation of resources to high impact relationship building
activities.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.