"Cluster Initiatives In Eu Policy "

Abstract

According to the results of literary research it is possible to univocally state that the geographical proximity between enterprises of a similar profile of activity facilitates the achievement of a higher level of productivity and innovativenesss. The clusters covering the spatial sphere of its location: producers, suppliers, service providers, research units, educational institutions and other units supporting a given sector became an important factor in the economic development of regions. The trend towards interaction and basing on the resources of business partners operating in a given location results from the new trends of management, among others, the school of resources in strategic management at the top with key competences and the open innovation paradigm. Directing the regional policies of the EU along the concept of clusters also results from the wide impact of the progressing globalization on the essence of inter-regional competitiveness. Increasingly lower costs of transport and communication and the simultaneous liberalization of international trade revealed the weaknesses of regional economies and exposed them to global competition. With regard to the increasing number of locations with attractive conditions for investment, European regions faced the necessity of offering foreign investors even more unique benefits. Clusters became in this situation a magnet attracting a bunch of highly specialized resources of knowledge in a given sector which are not present in other locations. Therefore, due to its practical application, the concept of the theoretical clusters regardless of whether the work of M. Porter or as a stage in the evolution of industrial districts of Marshall in the direction of the systems of innovation became one of the most important elements of economic, innovative and regional policies of the EU. The reasons for such a turnaround in the activities of the European Commission have been previously indicated. It is possible to add that the traditional instruments of supporting economic growth and the competitiveness of regions, for instance by supporting whole branches of the industrial sector, have not succeeded and had to be replaced by a mechanism that is more adjusted to the challenges of the global economy. The network approach to innovation and the according theory of clusters became the central point of interest for the EU. A key element in the policies of innovation of the EU became the cluster-based policy. This type of policy is defined as a grouping of activities and instruments used by the authorities at various levels for the improvement of the level of competitiveness of the economy by stimulating the development of the existing cluster systems or their creation at first and foremost the regional level 1 . Among the elements that decide on the effectiveness of policies of supporting clusters the following assumptions can be listed: 2 : ™ The driving strength of the cluster policy is the free market; ™ This combines various units of the regional economy; ™ This is based on cooperation and mutual activity;