Contribution of Clusters to the Competitiveness of Companies: Revelation and Evaluation

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the analysis of clusters and methodological aspects for evaluation of their contribution to the competitiveness of economy sectors. The conception of clusters is associated with the last (7-8 th) decades of the 20 th century, when competitive sectoral networks started to form and develop in the USA and Europe. These networks embraced traditional sectors (for example, chair cluster in Italy) and high-tech sectors (for example, Silicon Valley in the USA). It is quite obvious that economic value of these networks and interorganizational relations are enormous for clusters tend to improve productivity, innovative potential, entrepreneurial abilities and competitiveness of companies. In general, the widespread conception of competitiveness is associated with comparative (relative) social, economic, political, technological and other positions of companies, sectors and countries with regard to other companies, sectors and countries. Competitiveness is also a complex phenomenon of economy which has at least three dimensions: 1) macro, 2) mezzo, 3) micro. Macro level is associated with national economy, mezzo level-with regional or sectoral economy, micro level-with companies or business units. Each level has its own specifics and unique indicators that are used in the process of competitiveness evaluation. Competitiveness evaluation is economically important for various reasons: first of all, it enables to identify the strong and weak points of economy in order to ensure sustainable and harmonious growth; secondly, it determines the preconditions to create efficient stimulation instruments for market participants, as it reveals the competitive advantages of products, services, resources, business processes, management strategies, etc. and enables to forecast the ability of companies to survive under competitive pressure. Evaluation of competitiveness is also a complex multi-stage process which must take into account different quantitative and qualitative factors which determine the ability of certain companies, sectors, regions and countries to compete and gain competitive advantage with regard to analogical units. As various partnerships or networks (including clusters) gradually become a requisite, concurrent and integrative part of competitive knowledgebased economy, their contribution to competitiveness must not be ignored. Thus, this scientific research study aims at developing a principal model of competitiveness evaluation that shall integrate the contribution of clusters.

Institutional vs. Sectoral Dimension of Innovation Strategies of Firms

“…The approach of national systems of innovation (Lundvall 1992) confirms the idea of CIA, though it is more specialized in respect of industrial sectors (Amable 2000). The notions of regional innovation systems (Doloureux 2002) and other geographies of production, such as industrial districts, innovative milieus, new industrial spaces and clusters (Malakauskaitė, Navickas 2011), are allied to those of varieties of capitalism and national systems of innovation because they not only emphasize that the core of production is still heavily concentrated in particular regions and that globalization does not necessarily lead to de-territorialisation, but support the assumption that local capabilities are, to some extent, always dependent on national opportunities (Fromhold-Eisebith 2007). Other scholars support the paradigm of CIA by stressing its importance to factors which are closely related to innovation strategies: entrepreneurship (Hall, Sobel 2008), competitiveness and innovativeness (Koen 2005).…”

Regional Cooperation Ecosystem: Case of the Žilina Self-Government Region (Slovak Republic)

“…The effective cooperation of economic units may improve their competitiveness [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

“…Such a principle consists particularly of cooperation of different economic entities with no disturbance of their potential competitive relationships. Building of the relations based on cooperation showing the following signs are concerned [11][12][13][14]17,[26][27][28]: cooperation and partnership; seriousness; non-disturbance of mutual competitive relationships; focusing particularly on long-term time horizons/long-term cooperation.…”

Principles of Sustainable Infrastructure Formation in Research and Technology Development Centers Construction

“…The analysis of the worldwide practices of leading research and technology development centers construction [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] allows to conclude that the process of their establishment was triggered by economic crises, especially during the first years of their operation. This can be explained by the fact that it is in the times of crisis when there is a need for radically new solutions in the area of resource-saving technologies development and new competitive products.…”