The Age of Clusters and Its Influence on Their Activity Preferences

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to determine whether there exist age dependent differences in the orientation of clusters’ activities. The literature depicts different approaches to the cluster evolution process, highlighting that clusters are subject to a life cycle that emphasizes different sets of activities in various stages of their development. These activities appear to follow a certain trajectory, whereby the successful completion of initial less-intensive activities stimulates a shift in focus to more demanding, long-term projects. The presented research verifies that clusters can pass through different stages of development, and examines in detail their preferences for jointly-undertaken activities. Research, conducted on a sample of clusters of different countries and ages, was carried out through the use of questionnaires and structured interviews with cluster managers. It is a sample of so-called organized clusters, which have their own internal structure and which are characterized by conscious development. The study identified common cluster activities in the following areas: networking, human resources, research and innovations, business cooperation and promotion, support activities, lobbying, etc. The preference of their implementation was also ascertained. In addition, the analyzed sample was divided into two categories according to cluster age, allowing for a comparison and differentiation of the level of implementation of joint activities between embryonic and established clusters. The evaluation of this research demonstrated that in the selected groups of activities, there was a statistically significant difference in terms of their level of implementation in clusters of various ages.

Evaluation of Business Cluster Performance During Its Lifecycle

“…Cluster activities cover many joint actions in areas of networking, human resources and training, research and development, marketing, internationalization, standardization, fi nancing and others (Pavelková et al, 2009;Pawliczek, Piszczur, 2013;Stejskal, 2011). Jirčíková et al (2013) in their survey of world clusters showed the most preferred activities of clusters are networking, research and innovation.…”

Intelligent assignment in clusters to enhance collaboration and innovation

“…iCAT In the past, monitoring was the main task of cluster managers (Tilson, 2001). Today, cluster managers are project managers (Ingstrup and Damgaard, 2013), driving shared production actively ( Jirčíková et al, 2013). Clusters have a cost, resource, or innovation typology, where the reality is a mixture (Seeley, 2011).…”

Impacts of Manufacturing Specialized and Diversified Agglomeration on the Eco-Innovation Efficiency—A Nonlinear Test from Dynamic Perspective

“…Eco-innovation is a complex process, involving interdisciplinary integration. Therefore, it is very easy for EIE to be impacted by the synthetic influence of many factors [42]. This paper chooses economic level, environmental regulation, innovation capacity, industrial upgrading, and open level as control variables.…”

“…According to the life cycle theory of agglomeration, agglomeration is a gradual process. In different evolution stages, it has different features, which usually lie in the aspects of the allocation of resources, the establishment of shared facilities, the efficiency of research and development, and the degree of cooperation and competition between enterprises [42]. Therefore, it is very likely that the impacts of manufacturing agglomeration on EIE vary greatly in different evolution stages, that is, the relationship between manufacturing agglomeration and EIE is nonlinear.…”