Cluster Economic Performance Concept – Present Experiences and Future Developments

Abstract

Cluster-based economic development has become an increasingly popular topic for researchers and economic development professionals. Clusters are groups of companies and institutions co-located in a specific geographic region and linked by interdependencies in providing a related group of products and/or services. Given changes in the global environment, businesses and countries are changing the way they compete. These changes are characterised by the ability of multinational corporations to locate their investment – production plants, R&D facilities, service centres, etc., – in any location in the world where they find an adequate business environment. The increasing interest in clusters is only one aspect of a broader re-orientation of research and economic policy towards the microeconomic foundations of prosperity and growth.