PhD ThesisThis thesis examines the development of cluster policy and considers the extent to
which difficulties in implementing cluster policy can be attributed to a lack of
understanding of the concepts that underlie clusters. In order to move beyond the
work of Michael Porter's (1990,1998) and to provide a conceptualisation of clusters
that considers the notion that traded transactions may be more efficiently conducted
when spatially concentrated, but also allows for an understanding that economic
processes are path dependent, influenced by their institutional and cultural context and
shaped by the motivations and behaviour of individual actors, this thesis uses
Storper's (1997) `holy trinity' of `technologies-organisations-territories' as a
framework to examine a wide range of concepts that underlie our understanding of
clusters. The conclusion is that clusters are highly context dependent, and that multilayered
explanations for their existence and evolution are required.
The way in which cluster policy has developed is also highly context dependent and
each element of Storper's triumvirate has implications for cluster policy. Given a lack
of agreement as to the definition and nature of cluster policy, this thesis proposes that
cluster policy development be understood as a process and a five-stage cluster policy
model is developed. This model is used both to consider the literature regarding
cluster policy and also as a framework to examine the development of two cluster
policy initiatives in the North East of England and their impact on actors within one
particular cluster in the region. These case studies indicate that the level of
understanding of cluster concepts amongst policy makers, and issues throughout the
cluster policy making process, impacted on the development and the outcomes of the
policy initiatives, but that the development and outcomes were also influenced by the
nature of the particular cluster. The thesis concludes that a better understanding of the
scale and boundaries of clusters and the distinct theoretical elements making up
cluster concepts may lead to a better conceptualisation of clusters and cluster theory.
A series of policy recommendations is then drawn.Economic and Social Research
Counci