The Life Cycle of Clusters – A Policy Perspective

The book presents different policy perspectives within the debate on the cluster life cycle. Cluster life cycle has been defined as a multi-phase approach (emergence, growth, adaptation, decline or renewal) following the common steps of the product or industry life cycle (Lorenzen, 2005; Martin, Sunley, 2011; Menzel, Fornahl, 2009). Research on cluster evolution has generally adopted a static approach, focusing on the determinants of cluster formation rather than on the evolution of the cluster itself. As a consequence, policies have been usually implemented taking the cluster as a whole concept, thus neglecting the peculiarities of each different phase.