version 2003

"Systèmes Transformant Education, Technologies et Informations en Connaissances" Clusters économiques fondés sur l'amélioration du relationnel interpersonnel comme source de revenus, d'innovations et d'organisation pour les entreprises. Lien vers le site version 2004

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A progressive quick tour within concepts and realities of clusters

- Introduction to inter-firms interactions according to Porter's type Clusters

"It's best to read a few tips prior to say we know everything about it"

Porter Diamond schema  - Quick intro
" ... Michael E. Porter argued that a nation can create new advanced factor endowments such as skilled labor, a strong technology and knowledge base, government support, and culture ..."

Creating Smart Systems - A cluster is a system
"... Clusters are not defined by organisational membership ...  ... Clusters are defined by relationships ... "

A ... guide to cluster-based economic development - Comprehensive and clear
"... a primer on clusters for those unfamiliar with the basic concepts ..."

Porter Diamond - Clear & comprehensive
"Why are some industries more successful in one nation than in another? ..."

What is a cluster ? - Clear and visual
"A cluster is a geographically proximate group of companies and associated institutions in a particular field, linked by commonalities and complementarities." Michael F. Porter."

Clusters or why competitors like to be neighbors ? - Nice reading
"Success attracts success ..."

Thought Leader Showcase: Michael Porter - Bibliography review
Biography and published work review

Clusters, Smallworld topology, social capital and knowledge management

"It's our observations that in the cluster, the reciprocity and the relationships are the fundamental engine of the commercial and the economical efficiency: that's actually similar to a "social capital of relationships" that sustains the economy and the innovation activity. A regional deficit of social capital may lead to a deficit of competitiveness, innovation activity and entrepreneurship".

Social Networks in Silicon Valley - Key paper
" First, we tried to describe and explain the crucial importance of social networks for the functioning of the Silicon Valley regional economy"

Where do small world come from ? - How to -
"Interfirm networks often take on characteristics consistent with the notion of a small world – they are locally clustered into dense sub-networks or cliques that are sparsely connected by a small number of ties that cut across the cliques, linking network members through a relatively small number of intermediaries. Are these characteristics an emergent property of interfirm networks that result from chance connections among firms, or more strategic partnering by firms to improve or protect their network positions?"

Social Embeddedness and Economic Governance: A Small World Approach
" ... We now realize that many regions of the world are deeply fragmented into groups ... with little or no cooperation outside their boundaries ...  This collapse of cooperation once a threshold of complexity is crossed suggests a gainful role for external institutions ..."

- Inter-firms interactions via social capital, knowledge management and learning organization concepts

"How to rise a social capital either create a learning organization".

Social capital at work - Convincing short demonstration
"With the right knowledge and the right network connections, individuals and businesses can achieve exceptional results. Investment in social capital is investment in success".

"The World Café" - Collective HowTo
The closest analogy to the observed cluster practice.

Le comportement individuel comme base - Individual HowTo
"Les 7 habitudes" de Stephen Covey sont, à notre avis, un exemple d'attitudes individuelles favorables à la croissance du capital social

What is social capital ? - Academic definition
" ... social capital is the trust, reciprocity and mutuality that inheres to social relationships. It accumulates to the extent that members of different social groups can maintain respect for differences and learn to cooperate ..."

Informal relationships build industrial advantages ... - Evidence of efficiency
"We find that the engineers do share even valuable knowledge with informal contacts. This shows that informal contacts are important channels of knowledge diffusion".

What is a learning organization ? - Academic definition
" ... in which people at all levels, individually and collectively, are continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about".

- General readings

Network issues - Simple, nice and comprehensive
"The rise of the network society".

Réseau Innovation - Data, theory and practice
Top class: you must go there.

- Specialized work and case history

"to find a variety of data and opinions trough a bunch of high quality works"

Howto: Euro-clusters conclusions - in French - Best practices
" ... définir les conditions dans lesquelles une dynamique de développement endogène peut être enclenchée par la mise en oeuvre de systèmes de coopération inter-firmes".

Evaluation of regional and cluster policies - Best synthesis
" ... the evaluation process becomes a powerful tool for the promotion of collaboration and the commitment of the regional community towards the economic and social future of the region".

Social capital and cluster development in learning regions - upon review
"Spatial proximity facilitates frequent, close and face-to-face interaction. Such interaction, both planned/formal and unplanned/informal, fosters and enables learning-through-interaction".

Regions as laboratories - upon review
"The rise of regional experimentalism in Europe".

Checklist for cluster projects - Howto
"This checklist is designed as an instrument to assess the maturity of a cluster process"

Social capital by design .... - Howto
"The concepts of two types of social capital (structural holes versus social cohesiveness) and two types of entrepreneurial strategies (disunion and union) can be generalized and applied to understand the structure and use of social capital in many different institutional settings".

Les villes et les régions dans la nouvelle économie apprenante - (in French) - Social capital  
A comprehensive analysis demonstrating the importance of informal networks and social capital. Among other key factors, they mention the importance of network made of individuals.

Rhônes-Alpes Cluster Building - History case
Local and international interaction between clusters.

Building social capital in a region - History case
"The major difference between this new paradigm and previous economic development strategies is that it is not based on implementation of new structures, such as business incubators or revolving loan funds. Rather, the new paradigm focuses on implementing new processes - or system dynamics - in the economic development community, enabling it to respond and improve on a continual basis".

Clusters do not work everywhere - Analysis
"Barbara O'Toole's analysis finds the theory inapplicable to the 'emerald isle' which has implemented industrial policies more like millstones than gems".

- Wallonia and Hainaut (Belgium)

Conférence du professeur Capron sur le phasing out - in French - Interview
" ... Les exemples cités ci-dessus montrent que ce sont les caractéristiques sociales, les mentalités des acteurs socio-économiques, le hasard, le passé, et les anticipations qui font qu'un cluster émerge ..."

Cadre conceptuel et opérationel pour une politique de cluster en Wallonie - in French - Summary
"Le cluster est une réponse d'entreprises à des signaux de marché, ce n'est pas une décision des pouvoirs publics ni une construction intellectuelle ".

- Institutions, Publishers and Resources 

MarketClusters
The very best example on how to proceed for initiating your own cluster strategy

Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness 
" ... studies competition and its implication for company strategy, the competition of nations, regions and cities and solutions to social problems ..."

The Competitiveness Institute
"The cluster practitioner network".

The french industrial district club
"Local productive systems and inter-company cooperation".

The Cluster Competitiveness Group
"Competitiveness helps building competitive business clusters".

Society for organizational learning
"Developing capacity for inspired results".

Pegasus communications
"Pegasus Communications is dedicated to providing resources that help individuals, teams, and organizations understand and address the challenges they face in managing the complexities of a changing world".

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