An actor-centric approach for defining policy action during cluster development

Abstract

Research on change agency provides sophisticated analytical frameworks for exploring the dynamic processes leading to cluster development. Yet context-specific policy recommendations are lacking. This paper takes an actor-centric approach to explore the Odense robotics cluster in Denmark with the aim to link the levels, roles, and types of change agency along the cluster life cycle with specific cluster policy actions. Our findings provide insights into the roles and activities of different forms of change agency during cluster development and implications for supporting cluster growth in organizationally thick regions. Thus, we suggest that cluster development requires an increasingly broad and outward-looking policy mix.