Clusters are individuals - VDI/VDE-IT

There is an emerging consensus that cluster excellence can
support the development of so-called world-class clusters. 8
The hypothesis is that enterprises benefit from favorable “ecosystems”
that foster competition as well as collaboration – thus
providing gateways to knowledge, finance and markets. This
concept can be built around three dimensions of a cluster. It
has become common sense that these three dimensions are
of high importance for cluster development and have to be
addressed by (cluster) policy intervention (see Figure 1):
CLUSTER ACTORS
FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS
• The dimension of framework conditions: In a competitive
environment clusters need to develop within
favorable framework conditions to support the activities
of cluster companies. There are general framework conditions
that are important for all clusters. Examples of
such include specific infrastructures, labor force skills or
institutions, but also regulatory issues such as work
migration or taxation. Stability-oriented macroeconomic
reforms and structural reforms are also important elements
of favorable framework conditions.
•
• The dimension of cluster actors: Within a cluster there
have to be strong companies and strong interaction
between the actors that constitute the cluster. This
strength is a combination of critical mass of companies
in a given geographical space, individual company
characteristics and behavior and the dynamics of inter
actions and cooperation between companies and other
relevant stakeholders such as research institutions and
universities.
•
• The dimension of the cluster management
organization: The quality of cluster management is
critical to support strong dynamics among companies
and other relevant stakeholders of the cluster.
These three dimensions of “world-class clusters” reflect a
wider concept that aims at capturing the conditions that are
conducive for the development of global competitive advantages.
As a consequence, the European Commission, among
others, has called for the creation of more world-class clusters.
Although this demand sounds very logical, it is no easily turned
into practice. For public authorities involved in cluster
policy issues as well as for cluster practitioners, this would
mean a considerable change of paradigm which may have a
significant impact on future support of clusters. The need to
promote cluster excellence has gained a lot of attention, political
acceptance and widespread support from stakeholders
in the context of the implementation of the EU’s “broad-based
8 See e.g. the Europa InterCluster White paper on “The emerging of European world-class
clusters” at www. intercluster.eu/images/stories/white_paper/white_paper_the_emerging_
of_european_world_class_clusters.pdf
innovation strategy”. 9 Most importantly, the recent Europe
2020 Strategy explicitly mentions clusters under the flagship
initiative “An industrial policy for the globalization era” as important
elements to improve the business environment, especially
for SMEs. 10 This suggests that cluster policies should
not only be seen as a powerful policy instrument to promote
innovation, but also as an integral part of industrial policy that
aims at preparing Europe for global competition. This aspect is
also reflected in the final report and policy recommendations
of the high-level European Cluster Policy Group. 11
1.2 FOCUS OF THE REPORT: EXCELLENCE OF
CLUSTER MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS
AND ITS PROMOTION OF CLUSTER PROGRAMS
This report deals mainly with the third dimension of a cluster,
the cluster management organization, and its interaction
with the second dimension, the cluster actors. This dimension
has been underestimated over years as Porter’s cluster
approach did not regard this success factor for different reasons.
Many of the cluster programs in Europe focus on the
establishment and development of cluster management organizations.
Clear evidence has evolved in the past couple of
years that cluster management excellence plays a decisive
role for the successful development of clusters.
9 The Co uncil of the European Union: Conclusions on the Commission Communication
“Towards world-class clusters in the European Union: implementing the broad-based in-
novation strategy”, December 2008,
CLUSTER MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION
Figure Figure 1: The nutshell 1: The model nutshell of cluster model intervention of cluster (VDI/VDE-IT intervention 2010) (VDI/VDE-IT 2010)
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/intm/104407.pdf or
Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council (13/14 March 2008),
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/99410.pdf
10 Communication from the Commission: Europe 2020. A strategy for smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth, COM (2010) 2020 final, http://ec.europa.eu/eu2020/index_en.htm
11 European Cluster Policy Group, 2010: Final Recommendations – A Call for Policy Actions and
European Policy Group, 2010: Consolidated Set of Policy Recommendations on Four Themes,
reports are available at www.proinno-europe.eu/ecpg/newsroom/ecpg-final-recommendations
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