December 14, 2001

Four views on Dutch clusters

There is a mass of theoretical and empirical analysis –and thus literature– on clusters because clustering is often seen as an opportunity to improve productivity growth and higher economic welfare.

However, in literature there is no general agreement on the definition of a cluster, and most investigators investigate (a) cluster(s) from different angles. Still, in most studies clusters entail some group of companies (mostly from different industries) and/or institutes that try to benefit from external advantages such as knowledge spillovers or regional proximity. This study will not confine to some (strict) definition of a cluster, but keeps the basic concept open in order to investigate and combine the various aspects which other researchers attribute to “clusters” and cluster formation.