In this explorative study, we adopt a knowledge-centred perspective on clusters and investigate whether clusters' internal structure explains clusters' external (knowledge) collaborative strategies. All in all, the main analytical issue underlying this paper is the following: do internal...

The present contribution develops on the analysis of clusters in terms of proximities by exploring the issue of distant inter-cluster collaborations. We mobilize different forms of proximity (geographic, cognitive, social) discussed in the literature in order to identify their respective...

The influence of general economic and fiscal policy is in recent years more significant than ever. Tight budgets sets limits on public spending in general and on regional development in particular, both with regard to programs specifically targeted on regional issue, but often also indirect due...

The spatial patterns of changes in economic diversion and convergence have become more blurred in the last decades. International disparities between nations have diminished. At the same time intra-national disparities have increased in most European countries. In the search to identify the...

The purpose of the current paper is to analyze the impact of regional potentials on the process of growth. How are different types of regions (e.g. medium sized [city] regions, rural regions, urban regions or metropolitan and high-tech cluster regions) affected by improved performance, and to...

Innovation and entrepreneurship are key factors in current regional development initiatives, derived from the concepts of new economic growth theory. The aim of this paper is to combine an assessment of innovative and entrepreneurial performance with the spatial distribution and functional...

A device central to the French cluster (Competitiveness pole) policy is the financing of collaborative projects aimed at enhancing the innovation capacities of firms. In turn, increasing in innovation capacities give rise to new business opportunities that firms only can seize by evolving their...