Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 12.5
Cluster analysis and policy exhaustion stage
Cluster
dimensions
Indicators and measures
Patterns
Policy guidelines
Spatial
concentration
Geographic spread (boundary); density
of core industry firms
Cluster is bounded but becoming
increasingly dispersed; density
decreasing because of decrease of
companies and large spread of cluster
geography
Local regional level
1. This situation is similar to the pre-cluster stage in
some ways; however, it is different at least in the
early stages of exhaustion because the infrastructure
and companies that define the clusters are still
located in the cluster region; they are just loosing
competitiveness
2. Leadership for rejuvenation is needed such as
information and data, analytical support, and public
relations.
3. Strategic planning grants are needed for
rejuvenation and marketing
4. Redesign of regulatory environment to support
rejuvenation is needed
5. Important to maintain and renew hard and soft
infrastructure
6. Encourage industry groups to support
technological innovation and the conversion of that
into new products and services (the D part of R&D
critical here)
7. Facilitate the transfer of new technology from
elsewhere and use to support incremental innovation
(if not radical) in the core industry; support
incubation and accelerators by encouraging
outsourcing of spinoff companies
6. Workforce development for staffing new products
and services of the envisioned rejuvenated cluster
Macro level (EU or National)
1.Provide planning assistance and relevant
Industry/Cluster
strength
Number of firms in core industry;
employment; income; I-O analysis;
location quotient (LQ) analysis
All strength measures are declining or at
best static; employment, income, cross
industry flows (I-O analysis); LQs
Knowledge and
information
Patents; number of universities and
STEM research funding; industry
survey; expert interviews; focus groups
Patents decreasing; STEM university
research funding stable but may be
decreasing.
Entrepreneurship Number of start-ups churn rate
Little or no start-ups; recently formed
firms disappearing due to lack of
competitiveness or out migration to more
favorable locations
Convergence
Agreed on strategic plan; membership in
business assns.; survey; expert
interviews; focus groups
Convergence around agreed upon best
practices and processes is stable or static;
homogenizing trends impact
competitiveness negatively; membership
in associations waning as decline sets in
Networking
Density and complexity of business/
industry networks; number of foreign
firms and FDI (inbound and outbound);
social network analysis
Network density and complexity are
declining; foreign firms as well as local
firms out migrating at increasing rates or
going out of business; inward bound FDI
decreasing or dried up
Cooperation
I-O Analysis; cluster/industry survey;
expert interviews; focus groups
Cooperation may be declining as firms
are trying to stay competitive especially
when previous attempts to stave off
