Abstract
Universities and clusters have both become central in economic development fashion in recent years. Both are also closely linked with a concern for the development of new industries and new technology-based firms, although the wider implications of both in economic development terms can be simultaneously overlooked. The cluster concept in particular has become an almost obligatory element in regional economic development policies, and its application is now spreading across all scales of economic policy in both advanced and developing nations. Definitions of clusters vary greatly, but one approach that has resonance for a number of possible policy applications is that of a ‘reduced scale innovation system’, as used in a recent OECD study group (den Hertog, Bergman and Charles, 2001). Using this definition I focus on clusters as groups of interacting firms and agencies that collectively enhance innovation performance through acting as a system. This has some resonance with national innovation systems (Edquist, 1997), but is sectorally or technologically more focused and usually operates at a territorial scale that is less than national.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Bright Satanic Mills |
Subtitle of host publication | Universities, Regional Development and the Knowledge Economy |
Editors | Alan Harding, Alan Scott, Stephen Laske |
Place of Publication | London |
Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
Chapter | 4 |
Pages | 53-68 |
Number of pages | 16 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781315569970 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780754645856, 9780367603809 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 19 Feb 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |