Clusters influence the way in which firms cooperate, organise, and compete but clusters and their related benefits rarely come spontaneously in a straight line of expansion. It is argued that clusters typically develop in accordance with a life cycle, which includes an evolutionary sequence of steps where actors from the private and public sector are engaged and where one or more cluster facilitators are coordinating and promoting the process. In literature, the role of cluster facilitators has almost exclusively been described as static, leaving a research gap about how this particular role changes during the life cycle of clusters. Inspired from that, this paper contributes to the understanding of the relationship between cluster development and cluster facilitation. It brings forward a framework for describing and discussing the exact changes taking place with the role of cluster facilitators, including the facilitation focus, competencies, and tasks they make use of along the cluster life cycle. This investigation is based on a multiple case study consisting of nine different clusters located in Denmark.

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Public-private innovation (PPI) is often claimed to contribute to societal welfare, to bring positive effects to the public sector and to open new markets to private firms. Engaging in public-private relationships for innovation is, however, also recognised as challenging and problematic. This paper discusses the managerial and strategic challenges faced by private firms when engaging in public-private relationships for innovation. Design/methodology/analysis: This qualitative study presents 10 firms' engagement in public-private relationships. Half of them are experienced in innovation in public-private relationship; the other half are engaging in public-private relationships for the first time. Cross case analysis brings insight into how these different types of firms strategize for handling relationships with public partners. Findings: Contrary to non-experienced firms, experienced firms deliberately build a long-term strategy for engaging in PPI in expectation of outcome from more than a single project. They not only engage in building an understanding of the public using setting, but also seek to bridge with the public developing and producing setting to a greater extent than less experienced firms. The experienced firms utilise relationships with actors in the wider public network as a device and an asset for overcoming challenges and for reaping benefits from their engagement. Originality/value: The study outlines the characteristics of strategizing among the most experienced firms and their special ability to embrace the complexity of the public sector network while working simultaneously on developing innovation for specific public counterparts.

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Suppliers' opportunity enactment through the development of valuable capabilities AbstractPurpose -The contribution of this paper is the development and application of a theoretical framework to examine the connections between different types of suppliers, their capabilities and opportunities in customer relationships, and the illustration of these connections through the findings from empirical case studies of small and medium-sized suppliers in the metal industry in Denmark.Methodology/approach -Multiple case studies involving seventeen small and medium-sized suppliers within the Danish metal industry were undertaken.Findings -By focusing on the development of capabilities that are 'valuable' to customers in specific types of supply, small and medium-sized suppliers may improve their responses to opportunities in their customer relationships. Research limitations/implications -Further investigation is needed on the longer-termimpacts of valuable capabilities on opportunity enactment by suppliers, and the examination of key issues arising from these findings across different industries and countries.Practical implications -Small and medium-sized suppliers, their customers and government agencies involved with suppliers should advocate and actively support the development of valuable capabilities to enhance the effectiveness of suppliers' relationship and network strategies and their potential to seize opportunities.Originality/value -This study highlights that different types of suppliers require different types of current and future valuable capabilities to seize opportunities and sustain current customers or develop new customer relationships.