From business cluster to business-attracting hub : territorial governance in search of a foundation the exemplary nature of Corsica

Business clusters consist of economic structures assuring the often tenuous link between research regarding efficient national industrial policies, and regional planning and territorial anchoring issues. From this perspective, the logic of a synergy pertinent to global and local issues remains to be created around a new imperative: territorial attractiveness. In the era of globalization, and the current configuration of globalization, the concept of attractiveness, sometimes overused in the economic literature, is a crucial issue for regions competing over geographically mobile investments. In this context, the issue of promoting and attracting investments reflects a multidimensional dynamic in which the existence of business clusters is of great importance. Corsica, a small island economy, represents a typical target of analysis with respect to its long-standing project PADDUC (Corsica decentralization law of January 2002) and the business cluster CAPENERGIES - an important part of its technological research, the clearly pronounced goal which consists of entrusting to it the role of leader of the islands involved in the movement toward autonomy in decentralized energy. The present work seeks to identify the specificities of a territorial governance to be set up around the business cluster CAPENERGIES from the perspective of the construction of a plan for ongoing island attractiveness, currently in search of a foundation.