Clusters

Abstract

It is a fundamental structural characteristic of industrial economies that economic activities tend to co-locate, i.e. cluster in space. The study of clusters and clustering is today an integral part of many undergraduate and postgraduate studies in business administration, economics, economic geography, and urban and regional planning as well as a topic of research in these disciplines. At the same time, we can observe many governments at different levels in industrialized countries that have initiated cluster studies and introduced policies aiming at supporting existing clusters and stimulating the emergence of new clusters. The success of these policies has varied substantially but cluster policies seem to have become an integral part of the industrial and regional policies in industrialized countries.

Diversity, innovation and entrepreneurship: where are we and where should we go in future studies?

“…Urban regions further benefit from low internal geographical transaction costs, which are critical for reducing the interaction costs for the entrepreneurs. Thus, innovative activities show a strong tendency to cluster particularly in large urban regions (Karlsson 2016) and knowledge-intensive and high-tech industries tend to locate in spatial patterns with a preference for larger urban regions with a rich and diverse set of higher education, research, and cultural and other amenities.…”

Introduction to Unlocking Regional Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Potential for Increasing Capacities

“…In addition, geographic transaction costs are relatively low in these regions, which is important for reducing the interaction costs for entrepreneurs who develop innovations. The innovative activities thus have a strong tendency to concentrate in large urban regions (Karlsson, 2016) and the knowledge-intensive and high-tech industries also tend to be located in larger urban areas where there is access to a large variety of higher education and R&D facilities.…”