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How Clusters Create Shared Value in Rural Areas: An Examination of Six Case Studies

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  • George Martinidis

    (Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia, 50100 Kozani, Greece)

  • Muluken Elias Adamseged

    (Department of Technology Assessment and Substance Cycles, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
    Berlin Workshop in Institutional Analysis of Social-Ecological Systems, Department of Agricultural Econom-ics, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany)

  • Arkadiusz Dyjakon

    (Department of Applied Bioeconomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences (UPWr), 50-375 Wroclaw, Poland)

  • Yannis Fallas

    (Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia, 50100 Kozani, Greece)

  • Angeliki Foutri

    (Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia, 50100 Kozani, Greece)

  • Philipp Grundmann

    (Department of Technology Assessment and Substance Cycles, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
    Berlin Workshop in Institutional Analysis of Social-Ecological Systems, Department of Agricultural Econom-ics, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany)

  • Karen Hamann

    (IFAU Institute for Food Studies & Agro Industrial Development, 2970 Horsholm, Denmark)

  • Stanislaw Minta

    (Institute of Economics Sciences, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Science (UPWr), 50-375 Wroclaw, Poland)

  • Nikolaos Ntavos

    (Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia, 50100 Kozani, Greece)

  • Tora Råberg

    (Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), Department of Bioeconomy and Health, Unit Agriculture and Food, 223 70 Lund, Sweden)

  • Silvia Russo

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy)

  • Davide Viaggi

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy)

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to demonstrate that clusters can support the sustainable development of rural areas through the creation of shared value. This is done via the close exam-ination of six different cases of rural clusters in Greece, Italy, Germany, Poland, Denmark, and Sweden. Qualitative as well as quantitative data were taken from the clusters, which demonstrated that their main business approaches naturally coincided with the creation of economic, social, and environmental benefits for the local communities in which they operated. The case clusters were created in a top-down manner, aimed at boosting regional R&D activities and making the local economy more competitive and more sustainable. However, private initiative took over and al-lowed these clusters to flourish because meeting the regions’ economic, social, and environmental needs successfully coincided with the target of the clusters’ own development and profitability. The results show that clusters, with their potential for shared value creation, can constitute a powerful engine for the revitalisation and development of rural areas, addressing the significant challenges which they are currently facing.

Suggested Citation

  • George Martinidis & Muluken Elias Adamseged & Arkadiusz Dyjakon & Yannis Fallas & Angeliki Foutri & Philipp Grundmann & Karen Hamann & Stanislaw Minta & Nikolaos Ntavos & Tora Råberg & Silvia Russo & , 2021. "How Clusters Create Shared Value in Rural Areas: An Examination of Six Case Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-16, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4578-:d:539730
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    3. Pere Castell & Ramon Ramon-Muñoz, 2022. "Deterministic and Contingent Factors in the Genesis of Agribusiness Clusters: The Pigmeat Industry in Nineteenth-Century Catalonia," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-24, March.
    4. George Martinidis & Arkadiusz Dyjakon & Stanisław Minta & Rafał Ramut, 2022. "Intellectual Capital and Sustainable S3 in the Regions of Central Macedonia and Western Macedonia, Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.

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