Abstract
The article aims at investigating the commonalities and differences between cluster policies in selected East Asian and Southeast Asian countries: Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, and China, to outline the Asian model of a cluster policy. Clusters play a significant role in the economic development of these countries, and some practical experiences from Asia may be used to shape the cluster policy in the recovery process after the COVID-19 pandemic. The conducted research contributes to a better understanding of the cluster formation process, cluster development, and policy aims in the analyzed countries. In Singapore and South Korea, which are among the most innovative countries in the global economy, cluster policy is to a great extent part of innovation policy, focusing on facilitating the networking and cooperation between science and business, the flow of knowledge, transfer of technology, and developing innovative technologies of key economic importance. In China and Thailand, which are developing countries, there is a much stronger role of foreign direct investments, which take the central place in the cluster structure. However, one common characteristic of cluster development patterns in all the analyzed countries is a top-down approach, where clusters are emerging and developing mostly as a result of governmental decisions and public programs.
Highlights
In the last three decades, a dynamic increase in the importance and popularity of clusters has been noticeable, both as a business model used to organize economic activity and as an instrument within a state’s economic policy
Clusters are recognized as an important factor influencing sustainable development because they are able to influence the strategic goals of business and scientific units associated in clusters by local governments, build social and relational capital based on trust, and stimulate innovation, including eco-innovation and technology transfer [4,5]
Identification of the above types of clusters formed a basis for preparing the strategy of provincial cluster development policy, with the plan to set up 19 clusters in four regions of Thailand as follows [15]:
Summary
In the last three decades, a dynamic increase in the importance and popularity of clusters has been noticeable, both as a business model used to organize economic activity and as an instrument within a state’s economic policy. The positive examples of creating competitive clusters in many regions of the world encourage public authorities to formulate strategies and economic policy instruments aimed at developing cluster structures, seen as a way to overcome structural difficulties and increase innovation and competitiveness of the economy. While most research examines various clusters and related government actions in developed market economies, generally in the USA and the European Union, far fewer studies have zeroed-in on countries in East and Southeast Asia. Such examinations, along with the expanding prevalence of clusters as an economic policy tool, have observed critical deviations from Porter’s original approach and different trajectories of clusters and cluster policy advancement worldwide
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