Towards Stronger Clusters in Europe

This thesis studies the effect of cluster strength on the cluster performance related to innovation and export. The role of cluster strength is discussed in the theoretical framework. Based on this theoretical framework, four hypotheses are derived. The first one assumes cluster-strength to have a positive effect on innovation. The second one assumes cluster strength to have a positive effect on export. The theoretical framework is applied to the pharmaceutical and automotive sector. The pharmaceutical sector is expected to have stronger innovative cluster performance than other industrial sectors. Automotive sector is expected to have stronger export performance than other industrial sectors. A dataset has been constructed containing cluster data from 2007. Using a binary logistic regression model and an ordinal logistic regression model, the effects of cluster strength on innovation and export are researched. Three cluster indicators are used to measure the effect of cluster strength, namely: cluster size, cluster focus and cluster specialization. Next to this, cluster dummies, industry dummies and country dummies are added to the model. Results show that there is a significant relationship between cluster strength and the dependent variables in de model. All hypotheses are accepted. The research pointed out that there is a positive relationship between cluster strength and innovation. Further, the results of the research show a positive influence of cluster strength on export. Clusters related to the automotive industry have higher export and innovation performances than other industrial clusters in the model. As well as the automotive industry, the pharmaceutical industry has higher cluster innovation performance than other industrial clusters in the model.