Social aspects of clustering as an innovative form of entrepreneurship in agribusiness

Abstract

Background: Trust is the primary outcome of social cooperation rules rooted in national and group culture, which make up social capital, and is particularly important in fostering integration. Actors in an integrated system invest their trust in one another, but especially in the cluster head. Trust provides an opportunity to reduce transaction costs, which are critical where particularisms and excessive regulation may disrupt both the cluster’s operation and the dominance of corporate and bureaucratic culture.
 Research objectives: The main aim of the study is to emphasise the importance of trust in initiating and developing innovative integration ties as part of cluster structures.
 Research design and methods: The data was obtained from a survey conducted among entrepreneurs ‒ participants in cluster initiatives in the agrifood industry in Podkarpackie Voivodship. The study covered all 99 members of the above-mentioned clusters. Descriptive statistics, Cramer’s V coefficient, and Pearson’s chi-squared test were used to analyse the data.
 Results: The findings of demonstrate that trust, as a critical component of social capital, serves as the foundation for any cooperative network structure.
 Conclusions: One of the most important prerequisites for an economy’s dynamic expansion is the development and operation of effective integration structures