Specifics of Institutionalised Cluster Organisations

Abstract

Cluster organisations are a relatively new form of innovation partnership in the Czech Republic. The development of cluster organisations in this area is related to government support programmes which were implemented in 2004. Therefore, Chap. 8 focuses on explaining institutional support for the establishment and development of cluster organisations in the Czech Republic. The chapter introduces seven randomly selected cluster organisations. Cluster organisations are characterised both in terms of industries and members, as well as territorial operations. The authors examine whether cluster organisations have been established in regions where industries are significantly represented. Significant industries in the regions were determined using the location quotient. The results show that in order to define clusters, it is necessary to examine natural, functional regions, not administrative regions. When examining natural regions, it was found that the significance of the industry in the region had an influence on the emergence of most cluster organisations. The final part of the chapter deals with the evaluation of the quality of cluster organisation management using the EFQM model. The evaluation process is documented on the example of Nanoprogress cluster organisation.