The Challenges of Pursuing Cluster Policy in the Congested State

Abstract

In recent years cluster policy has become a central component of regional economic development strategy across many European economies. However, concerns are now emerging over the content and quality of some of these initiatives. Given the prevalence of the approach, these apprehensions are non-trivial and have significant implications with regard to the value and contribution of regional economic development. Here we examine the extent to which weaknesses in the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of the cluster approach may have acted in combination with pressures generated by the 'congested state' to produce a number of difficulties. The essay explores the nature, challenges and weaknesses of cluster policy in the context of the demands created by multi-level and multi-actor governance frameworks. We conclude that, irrespective of whether cluster policy is the appropriate choice as an economic development tool in any particular regional or economic circumstance, its selection always necessitates prior consideration of the institutional capacity needed to meet the governance challenges that it creates. Copyright (c) 2008 The Authors. Journal Compilation (c) 2008 Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Assessing Overall Network Structure in Regional Innovation Policies: A Case Study of Cluster Policy in the West Midlands in the UK

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Estratégia Inovativa Na Carcinicultura Potiguar: Assimetrias De Poder E Implicações Para a Geração De Políticas De Inovação

“…Entretanto, ações políticas para promoção de clusters têm resultado em uma diversidade de resultados, apontando divergência em termos de: objetivos (crescimento nacional ou regional), escala geográfica, nível de intervenção governamental (local, regional, nacional), modelo de elaboração de políticas (top down versus bottom up) e escala de intervenção financeira (Burfitt & Macneill, 2008 Ademais, a implementação de políticas deve ser enveredada pelo caráter local inerente a um contexto sociopolítico específico, entendidas como processo de transformação social e que requerem uma "descoberta social local", com o envolvimento ativo dos diversos atores locais. Neste âmbito, no que se refere a políticas de desenvolvimento tecnológico direcionadas a arranjos produtivos locais, os autores destacam como ponto crítico a redefinição de "velhas políticas tecnológicas", baseadas em uma perspectiva linear de inovação.…”