The Performance of Seaport Clusters - RePub - Erasmus Universiteit ...

Chapter 4 – Variables of Cluster Performance 33
Behavioral factors also influence the performance of a cluster. Economic actors are rational,
but only boundedly so (see Simon, 1965 and Hodgson, 1998). Therefore, apart from
(rational choice based) structural factors behavioral factors influence the performance of
clusters. The ‘boundaries’ of rationality originate from uncertainty, imperfect information and
routine behavior (Nelson and Winter, 1982). Analyzing behavior leads to attention for
processes of change. Such processes differ substantially between firms, countries and
clusters.
The central behavioral issue in a cluster is the interaction of firms in the cluster 13 . This
interaction affects the performance of the cluster. The term cluster governance can be used
to describe how actors in the cluster interact.
The distinction between structure and governance allows for classifying variables as either
structure variables or governance variables. Both variables influence the performance of the
cluster. Furthermore, the structure and the governance of a cluster are interdependent. The
structure influences the governance and vice versa. The basic framework is given in Figure
7.
13 The behavior of particular firms in the cluster is not taken into account, for two reasons. First, it
is impossible to analyze the behavior of all firms in the cluster. Second, most firms in clusters
are subsidiaries of parent companies outside the cluster. Thus, their behavior is only partially
cluster specific.