Clusters as collective actors and agents of change for (new) sustainable path development

Abstract

The meta-organisational perspective suggests looking at clusters as collective actors and agents of change for regional development, rather than networks of actors or ‘geographical agglomerations’ of firms. Adopting the meta-organisational view, this conceptual chapter explores whether and how ‘organised’ clusters can act collectively to catalyse new development paths oriented towards sustainability within their regional economic ecosystems. It conceptualises clusters as agents in sustainability transitions. It identifies some of the critical determinants of their agency, such as legitimacy, organisationality and decisionality, and collective visions and discourses. This chapter also suggests that ‘organised’ clusters may play a dual role in sustainability transitions. On the one hand, clusters can be seen as ‘protective spaces’ or ‘niches’ where sustainable innovations may develop. On the other hand, they can be perceived as collective actors driving regional development paths, orienting them towards sustainability. In evolutionary terms, clusters interact with their ecosystems, where the fittest actors survive, promoting the emergence and success of new development paths towards sustainability, both at the system and firm levels. By conceptualising the role of clusters as collective agents of change in an evolutionary framework for sustainability transitions, the chapter provides an overarching theoretical framework for the volume.