A view of clustering as emergent and innovative processes

ABSTRACT

The aim of government cluster programmes is to create clusters that strengthen businesses competitive edge and generate local development. Recent research, however, identifies missing elements regarding agency in existing path dependency explanations of the way in which clusters develop. In an alternative explanation, path creation emphases the distinction between agency and structure as ‘flattened’, and action-net emphases organising as an ongoing activity with only temporary stable implementations. This is explored in an analysis of a funded cluster project in the making, through varying and complex innovative processes, from 2006 until 2016. The findings show clustering as a path development process with knowledgeable actors mindfully framing opportunities and artefacts creating opportunities, and to be not as unambiguous and well-defined as expressed in traditional analyses, that have an outside perspective and focusing on structure and actors. Cluster projects and programmes potential lie in framework, tools and methods, more than in the financing.

KEYWORDS:

• Cluster project
• innovation process
• path creation
• action net

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the two anonymous referees for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Council of Norway during the period 2006–2016 (project numbers 184369, 212195, 238970).