Conclusion

Abstract

In a macroeconomic regime marked by increasing openness and instability, cluster development is one of the dimensions of the process through which economies can convert their knowledge-generating potential into new markets and productivity gains. As economies become increasingly disconnected from the price competition model that characterized Fordist growth, cluster development can contribute to addressing new societal challenges such as population ageing, limited access to healthcare and education, increasing mobility, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. These challenges need a cross-industrial approach and therefore also require collaboration between actors with heterogeneous knowledge bases. Behind these challenges lies the potential development of many markets that go beyond traditional industrial classifications. Because of this, clusters represent an answer to the multifaceted need for new knowledge combinations, a better integration of the output of publicly funded research into industrial dynamics, and the transition towards more transversal innovation systems.