Industrial clusters an incentive for a competitive regional development. A case study of selected bulgarian industrial clusters

Abstract

A dominating idea in current discussions about the regional development continues to be the inter-firm networking. Industry clusters, being one of the types of inter-firm networking, are recognized to play a significant role for the competitive economic development of the regions and the improvement of the quality of life of the citizens. The objective of the current paper is twofold. Firstly, to present and analyse the cluster establishment process in Bulgaria since the application of first financial instrument (Phare program) that initiated the emergence of clusters. Secondly, to conduct an analysis of the current state of selected industrial clusters and to discuss what is or could be expected to be the positive influence of the clusters on the regional development. The basis will be an analysis of selected Bulgarian clusters according to the frame outlined by quality indicators of European Cluster Excellence Initiative and following questions: What are the reasons these clusters to be established? Which are the members of the clusters? What kind of relationships could be identified among them? What are their objectives? All of these issues will help the future development, the role and importance of the clusters for the regional development to be identified.

The Role of Clusters for Sustainable Development: Socially Responsible Practices, Limitations and Challenges. Case Study of a Bulgarian Industrial Cluster

“…Even in the case of social issues in Bulgaria we find a negative relationship with cluster development. This is not a surprising result as different publications and research projects (Slavova, I., et al, 2016;Bankova, 2011Bankova, , 2015) recommend after the clusters start to be functioning to pay more attention to the corporate social responsibility and different aspect it comprises.…”

Prevalence of Copycat in Africa Textile Clusters: The Blame Game Among Stakeholders

“…Currently, industrial clusters are perceived not only as channels for economic development but as vehicles for social systems and inter-disciplinary environmental change in many countries (Gereffi & Lee, 2016;Kirankabeş & Arik, 2014;Kurniawan, Abdullah, Som, & Parasuraman, 2013;Mahmood, Ahmed, & Bilgrami-Jafferi, 2016;Zheliazkov, Zaimova, Genchev, Toneva, & Cvijanovic, 2015). The industrial cluster with its inter-firm networks enhances competitive economic development of regions whilst at the same time the standard of living of regions citizens is improved (Bankova, 2015;He & Rayman-Bacchus, 2010).…”

“…Evidently, it can be seen that firms within an industry cluster turn to be more innovative and competitive than those outside the cluster (Branco & Lopes, 2018;Lindberg & Säll, 2013;Porter, 2000) because an empirical evidence by Prim et al (2016) proves that a significant source by which firms can generate innovation, competition and sustenance is through agglomeration economies of a cluster. The operational patterns of clusters have the flexibility in adjusting to uncertain business transformations (Purwanto, Kamaruddin, & Mohamad, 2015;He, Rayman-Bacchus, & Wu, 2011) and may explain why cluster entities that are not properly connected fail (Bankova, 2015;McCormick, 1998).…”

“…Then the cluster's survival would depend on its capability to adapt to the changing trends and renovation (Ingstrup, Jensen, & Christensen, 2017;Valdaliso, Elola, & Franco, 2016;Østergaard & Park, 2015). According to Spencer et al (2010), firms located in clusters do have a greater advantage with an efficient network distribution and are able to achieve higher returns than non-clustered ventures but in the absence of a collaborative network among stakeholders (Freeman & McVea, 2001;Mok et al, 2017), clusters become ineffective, experience a high cost of production and are not able to withstand business revolutions (Bankova, 2015;Kirankabeş & Arik, 2014;Weng, 2016). Currently, most literature on industry cluster focuses on the advantages and challenges but rarely discusses the copycat problem in industry clusters.…”

Identification of the Cluster on the Basis of the Ict Industry

“…The quantified image of individual clusters was presented in the discussion of results. 2 Although it was formally new, in fact, the "Triada" Asssociation holds 100% of the shares in WAR in the amonut of PLN 113,000. WAR is a member of MKICT.…”