This monthly selection of articles is been carried out by Philippe Gugler and Basile de Raemy, from the Center for Competitiveness, University of Fribourg. The entire selection, carried out since 2013, can be consulted on the academic articles page of our web.

The role of clusters in addressing  societal challenges in European regions

By: S. Haus-Reve, B. T. Asheim. European Planning Studies, DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2023.2273317, November 2023.

Abstract: “Clusters can play an important role in helping regions to address transformative innovation policies in Europe focusing mainly on (i) sustainability (ii) smart specialization, promoting diversified specialization and (ii) reshoring/regionalization of value chains to secure economic sustainability and resilience. Clusters can be considered key change agents in aligning cluster policies with transformative policies and repositioning their role in the innovation policy landscape.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

The Evolution and Future of a  Medtech Cluster

By: D. McKernan, O. McDermott. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, DOI: 10.1016/j.joitmc.2023.100168, November 2023.

Abstract: “This paper illustrates how an industrial cluster can be created when there is little established industry from which the cluster can evolve. Industrial clusters are known to give firms superior performance by improving the competitiveness of regions. There is significant debate on effective strategies to create new industrial clusters. Incorporating evidence from a systematic literature review supported by quantitative data this study demonstrates that an industrial cluster can be created without a preestablished industrial base. The medical device cluster in Galway, Ireland is used for the study. The results show how government policies supported the cluster's creation. The engagement of key institutions and stakeholders improved the competitive factors in a self-reinforcing cycle. Using a theoretical model, the growth of the cluster is explained. The paper suggests measures to assess the health of a cluster and identifies the importance of geographic location. Policies to improve a cluster need to be focused on closely bounded regions and not dispersed.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Circular economy in territorial planning strategy: Incorporation cluster  activities and economic zones

By: K. S. Gura, E. Nica, T. Kliestik, F. Puime-Guillén. Environmental Technology & Innovation, DOI: 10.1016/j.eti.2023.103357, November 2023.

Abstract: “Planning is a form of interaction between social, economic, environmental, political, organizational, and institutional elements that undergo different processes. Planning is influenced by sets and subsets of factors that come together and are measured on a spatial scale. Despite well-planned strategies, sustainability has always been questioned, especially in developing countries. In this regard, the Circular Economy concept has been considered an inclusive solution to contemporaneous phenomena and a model for ensuring the sustainability of any initiative. Albania undertook territorial reform for decentralization in 2014, and all the national and regional strategies were drafted considering closed-cycle concepts. As such, sustainability was the central point of focus for all plans. Considering the difficulty and significance of the process, this work analyzes circular economy incorporation in the territorial spatial planning reform of 2014 in Albania. It makes a comparison between the level of integration in the planning and implementation phases to assess the level of integration in the cluster activities in economic zones that came as a result of the planning strategy. A participatory approach and data reduction techniques through the Delphi method are used, taking into consideration different stakeholders in the case of the Durana economic zone. This study takes the position that the main components of the national and local planning strategies are elements of the circular economy, but fails to fully adopt critical components of the Circular Economy concept. Ownership separation and the existence of large informal areas are the main underlying factors that obstruct planning and implementation of territorial reform. This study deduces that complete incorporation of stakeholders calls for coordination of actions and practices of all actors in spatial planning; the role of clusters in the shift toward the CE concept is moderate, and the level of incorporation of CE in cluster activities depends on how much it is in line with their specific activity. We recommend a more effective synetization between stakeholders, resource allocation effectiveness, and preliminary capacity development in the preparation phase of the territorial planning for a successful shift toward circular concept models; a shift toward CE relies on the effectiveness of cluster activities and the success of economic zones.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Factors driving the decarbonization of industrial clusters: A rapid  evidence assessment of international experience

By: I. Rattle, P. G. Taylor. Energy Research & Social Science, DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2023.103265, November 2023.

Abstract: “Reducing industrial emissions to achieve net-zero targets by the middle of the century will require profound and sustained changes to how energy intensive industries operate. Preliminary activity is now underway, with governments of several developed economies starting to implement policy and providing funding to support the deployment of low carbon infrastructure into high emitting industrial clusters. While clusters appear to offer the economies of scale and institutional capacity needed to kick-start the industrial transition, to date there has been little systematic assessment of the factors that may influence the success of these initiatives. Drawing from academic and grey literature, this paper presents a rapid evidence assessment of the approaches being used to drive the development of low carbon industrial clusters internationally. Many projects are still at the scoping stage, but it is apparent that current initiatives focus on the deployment of carbon capture technologies, alongside hydrogen as a future secondary revenue stream. This model of decarbonisation funnels investment into large coastal clusters with access to low carbon electricity and tends to obscure questions about the integration of these technologies with other decarbonisation interventions, such as material efficiency and electrification. The technology focus also omits the importance that a favourable location and shared history and culture appears to have played in helping progress the most advanced initiatives; factors that cannot be easily replicated elsewhere. If clusters are to kick-start the low-carbon industrial transition, then greater attention is needed to the social and political dimensions of this process and to a broader range of decarbonisation interventions and cluster types than represented by current projects.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Connecting craft, design and the wood industry in South Tyrol: From  clusters to creative ecosystem

By: F. Viganò, L. England, R. Comunian. Journal of Rural Studies, DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103149, November 2023.

Abstract: “Craft work provides unique opportunities to understand connections between artisanal production, innovative design and industrial manufacturing. It also enables us to reflect on the limits of existing research on creative clusters and industry spillovers and variety which misses important connections between the local industrial base, traditional cultural production, and design and innovation-led creative and cultural industries (CCIs). This is particularly relevant to rural economies where CCIs clusters have often been disconnected from local assets and manufacturing. The paper takes an ecological perspective to explore how craft activity diffuses across permeable boundaries of industrial, traditional, and creative production, and contributes to rural regional development by facilitating related and unrelated variety. Using the wood ecosystem of Val Gardena and the region of South Tyrol in Italy as a case study, the paper identifies shared ecosystem-sustaining assets – materiality, locality, and skills/knowledge – and explores how these relationships lead to different evolutionary trajectories and economic opportunities. The paper demonstrates how an ecosystem perspective expands our understanding of creative clusters beyond CCIs and shows how craft is connected to other local industries, contributing to local development dynamics.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Who are those new entrants? Dissecting types of foreign  capital entrance in traditional industrial districts

By: J. L. Hervas-Oliver, C. Boronat-Moll, M. Peris-Ortiz, R. Rojas Alvarado. European Planning Studies, DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2023.2276734, November 2023.

Abstract: “This paper explains the effects originated by the massive entrance of foreign capital in the ceramic tile district of Castellon (Spain). Cross-fertilizing multinational acquisitions and industrial districts’ literature, and using mix-methods on a focal case study, our article explores the effects that those multinationals have on districts, and whether the type of multinationals (financially oriented vs industrial) presents different impacts on a focal industrial district. Our results point out that the massive entrance of foreign capital alters the local system. Overall, positive perceived attitudes are evidenced, along with negative attitudes associated with potential risks of lack of local-embedded ownership and the reduction of local cooperative ties.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Regional economic resilience: insights from five crises

By: S. Šťastná, Jan Ženka, L. Krtička. European Planning Studies, DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2023.2267250, October 2023.

Abstract: “We examine the association between industrial structure and regional economic resilience during five different crises in Czechia, focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic and the RussoUkrainian war. The effects of economic diversity, sectoral structure, factor intensity of production, and firm size structure on regional resistance were tested. We found that regional patterns of resistance varied significantly from one crisis to another. There were only two major cases where a positive association with regional resistance turned into a negative from one shock to another: public services that absorbed unemployment during the Great Recession and shed labour in the austerity crisis, and capital-intensive industries that exhibited a positive statistical effect on regional resistance during the transitionary shock and the Great Recession, while their contribution to regional labour markets during the Covid-19 pandemic and the War was negative.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Spatial patterns of manufacturing sectors and digitalisation  in Hungary in the age of Industry 4.0

By: E. Kiss, B. Páger. European Planning Studies, DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2023.2268119, October 2023.

Abstract: “The study explores how the territorial structure of manufacturing sectors with differing technological intensities is influencing the spatial pattern of digitalisation in the early stages of the fourth industrial revolution. Using data from 2014 to 2019 for sectors classified according to technology intensity and indicators measuring digitalisation trends, we have conducted a correlation and cluster analysis of Hungarian districts (formerly LAU1 level). We found that the geography of manufacturing sectors determines the spatial patterns of digitalisation, and the digitalisation is more advanced in districts that concentrate sectors with high and medium-high technological intensity.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]