Cooperation of Agri-Food Clusters With Universities: The Case Study for Poland

Abstract

Poland is a major supplier of food for Western Europe. It ranks 4th in the EU in arable land. Agri-food industry clusters are developing dynamically in Poland, which is mainly related to the agri-food specialisation of most regions of the country. Clusters play a significant role in creating supply chains, joint investments, and developing innovative solutions; for these reasons, their development depends on cooperative relations with scientific institutions, which become initiators of joint activities. This paper aims to investigate collaborative relationships that arise between agri-food clusters and universities. The article analyses an example of an agri-food cluster from the Greater Poland region, which mainly develops modern distribution channels of food products produced by its participants. To obtain data, we interviewed cluster management. We elaborate on the concept of university-cluster collaboration (UCC) which identifies that the cooperation between cluster participants and the universities bases on creating interpersonal relations by direct and personal interactions between cluster entrepreneurs and university research staff.

papel de los clústeres en la cadena de suministro agroalimentaria: cuestiones jurídicas seleccionadas

“…The role of clusters in the agri-food supply chain -selected legal issues Revista de Estudios Jurídicos, UJAEN, España |AÑO 2022 |NUM. 22, e7460 | ISSN 1576-124X skilled human resources and collaboration with scientists which allows them to exchange information or transfer technologies between theoreticians and practitioners (Frankowska, 2018, p. 16;Wiśniewska-Paluszak, et al, 2020). For instance, in a cluster relationship with an applied research center, both the agricultural producers and the processors become capable of streamlining their production processes; this contributes to scaling up their production and, thus, to enhancing their innovative potential.…”