Preface

This preface introduces the core problems that need to be incorporated into a theory of clusters and clustering and are addressed in the articles in this issue of International Studies of Management and Organization. Even if the phenomenon of clusters has received considerable current attention from both economics and management scholars, theoretical accounts of the processes of clustering are still rare. This issue focuses upon mature, low-tech clusters, arguing that knowledge of such clusters is highly relevant for reaching an understanding of all clustering of economic activity, in functional—and sometimes geographical—space. The articles included in the issue provide detailed empirical accounts for selected clustered economic activities in European countries like Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway; and they use these empirical case studies to discuss and develop theoretical propositions that pertain to clusters and the processes of clustering.