Regional development through port-maritime cluster formulation in the wider Piraeus area : innovation and extroversion as an antidote to crisis

Further to being the country's most important port, Piraeus has been a traditional centre attracting organisations related directly or indirectly with port or shipping activities. The geographical concentration of enterprises in the wider Piraeus area is attributed not just to port operations, but also to a wide complex of companies and institution engaged in ocean going shipping. Shipping and port related activities constitute a fundamental pillar of the tormented Greek Economy. Regional development literature has already indicated the benefits deriving from companies' adjacency and agglomeration economies which are maximized when companies are organized in the form of business clusters. This paper investigates the existence of the necessary preconditions to formulate a competitive port - maritime business cluster in the wider Piraeus area. Based on a thorough review of cluster theory, the basic characteristics of business clusters were identified, followed by an analysis of the main elements of geographical concentration and economic specialisation of Piraeus. Responses were collected through an extensive set of structured interviews with leading shipping and port related businesses representatives, sectoral and institutional representative bodies. The evidence collected reveal that necessary preconditions for a successful cluster formulation in Piraeus are being met despite the inexistence of a formally recognized cluster. However, since business clusters need to be institutionalized and organized, the research concludes with proposals regarding the Piraeus cluster structure and governance.