Re-thinking cluster policies: the role of shared vision and Place Leadership on the development of resilient clusters

Facing increasing interregional and international competition, the need for innovating economic and socio-institutional structures is virulent. One possibility is establishing clusters to promote the idea that developing a network of companies with a mix of cooperative and competitive practices leads to competitive advantages for the respective area. Organizing clusters means developing a cluster culture, a communication strategy and a selection criterion for creating the desired mix of companies. We base our opinion paper on an extensive literature review of scientific sources about clusters, cluster policy and Place Leadership. We reveal that the prevailing cluster policy often does not lead to sustainably successful clusters. We conclude that we need a shared vision among cluster members to develop resilient clusters. Shared visions create a sense of belonging, social identity, and internalization of values and attitudes. This way, it is possible that a sustainable and trust-oriented network structure can develop, and knowledge spillovers within the cluster, necessary for resilient clusters, can occur. True Place Leadership is crucial to deal with the needed diversity of actors and stakeholders, some of whom are in competition, inspiring, motivating, and guiding shared, cooperative, and collaborative ways of working. Employing Place Leadership can outperform current policy measures in other regional, industrial and structural areas and might even make them redundant.