Objective: Industrial clusters have been an enduring object of study from Alfred Marshall’s ‘localized industries’ to the point that scholars are still analyzing the framework and dynamics of agglomeration economies and their underlying factors. Industrial clusters are considered as a pillar of competitiveness, innovation and sustainability for today's economies, for they may hold viable competitive advantages for industries and nations. Maritime clusters in particular provide a very attractive analytical base within a strategic management perspective, for many strategic aspects such as innovation, knowledge creation and diffusion, network economies etc. have been found to bloom within said divide of industrial clusters. We venture to extract the strategic factors that instigate the mechanisms triggering these effects. The objective of this work is to provide a topology of factors concerning maritime clusters, their critical linkages with factors concerning other industrial clusters and their differentiation from said generic clusters, referencing the factors that render them unique and add to their exclusivity.

1. THE STRATEGIC FACTORS SHAPING
COMPETITIVENESS FOR MARITIME
CLUSTERS: AN OVERVIEW
Peter J. Stavroulakis
PhD Student, Department of Maritime Studies, University of Piraeus
Prof. Stratos Papadimitriou
Professor, Department of Maritime Studies, University of Piraeus
WCTRS SIG2 2015 Conference ‘The Port and Maritime Sector: Key Developments and Challenges’
11-12 May, University of Antwerp

2. Introduction
 Competitiveness is an intrinsic characteristic
of firms within industrial clusters
 Agglomeration economies are attractive for
they enjoy numerous competencies
 Studying industrial clusters gives birth to
strategic management topics

3. Objective
 The provision of a topology of strategic factors
concerning maritime clusters, their critical
linkages with factors concerning other
industrial clusters and their differentiation (if
any)
Data/Methodology
 Literature/critical review
 Instrument extraction for inventory
compilation

4. Clusters, a Fascinating Phenomenon
 Nature projects them as
manifestations of abundance
 Whether referencing clusters of insects
such as ants or bees or clusters of
industries, the astonishment we may
hold is the same, for we can observe a
marvelous instance of systems on ‘the
edge of chaos’ (Macintosh e.a., 2007),
self-sustained and always versatile, not
only adapting, but always thriving
within a complex and ever-changing
environment

5. Why Bother?
 The paradigm is along the lines that
within this particular edge of chaos
there is order, that within a given
geographic location and following the
ever-dictating scarcity principle, all
members of the cluster may be able
to benefit
 Clusters require severe scrutiny,
pristine analysis and recruitment of
mighty mathematical instruments
and even thence they do not
surrender their mysteries completely
 Clusters as it seems are a prominent
part not only of strategy and
business, but society, nature and life

6. Clusters as a Cornerstone for Analysis
 Natural attribute within human beings to
observe patterns and assign them to clusters
has posed as the cornerstone of novel
scientific domains (e.g. John Snow, 1854)

7. Intrinsic Cluster Parameter: Paradox
 Paradox is inherent in cluster manifestation:
a. For Smith it’s an ‘invisible hand’ that will
guide the benefit of a society within a
geographical location “to promote an end
which was no part of his intention”
b. For Marshall whence illustrating the near-
permanence of localization it is the mysteries
that are no mysteries “but as it were in the
air, the children learn many of them
subconsciously”

8. Industrial Cluster Theory Foundations
 Cost reductions from Marshallian factors
(1890/1920)
1. labor market pooling in proximity-locality
2. shared inputs-local supplier linkages
3. knowledge spillovers (local)
4. The initiation of the localized industry requires
the pertinent conditions, albeit physical potential
(concentration of resources) and/or a centralized
trigger effect

9. Marshallian Factors Today
 Utilized from a variety of perspectives, e.g. to
extract location strategies (Alcacer & Chung,
2010)
 Research suggests that these factors are still
prevalent (Potter and Watts, 2014)
 Though Jacobs (1969) argues that the
knowledge spillover source (and its underlying
causes) lies in industry diversification and that
its benefits are extra-industrial

10. Jacobs vs. Marshall
 Van Der Panne (2004) shows that innovation is
favored by Marshallian factors
 Beaudry and Schiffauerova (2009) conclude that both
models are viable
 Helsley and Strange (2014) demonstrate relevance of
a synergistic theory
 Galliano et alli (2014) highlight the benefits from
utilizing a model of the fusion of externalities, for “an
area can be both diversified and specialized in the
activity in which the firm in question is engaged”
 This synergy of typologies may hint to a novel
response as to the analysis of agglomeration
economies, for the two concepts may not be
regarded as mutually exclusive with respect to
innovation

11. Modern Cluster Theory,
M. Porter
 “Increasing the current (static) productivity of
constituent firms or industries, the increasing
of capacity of cluster participants for
innovation and productivity growth and
stimulating new business formation that
supports innovation and expands the cluster”
 “Competitive advantage within the global
economy seems to be local”
 Diamond model

12. Cluster Theory Framework
 Simmie (2004) shows that innovation (as a global
dynamic system) drives competitiveness and
discusses the linked processes that are
productivity, innovation and competitiveness
 Carbonara, N. (2004) directly links clusters’
competitiveness to innovation potential and their
‘cognitive system’ and provides a cluster typology
with respect to distinct learning processes
 Martin and Sunley (2003) provide a
deconstruction of the cluster concept and its
caveats and point out the fact that caution is
required whence utilizing the concept

13. Industrial Clusters - Specifics
Linked Concepts:
 Knowledge creation
(Bathelt et alli, 2004; Feldman and
Audretsch, 1999)
 Centralization
(Hendry et alli, 2000)
 Innovation
(Hassink, 1997; Delgado et alli, 2010;
Simmie, 2004)
 Culture
(Gibson and Kong, 2005)
 Policy-governance
(Helmsing, 2001)

14. Cluster Theory Corollaries
Scope:
 City competitiveness can be examined within a
cluster approach framework (Lyamzin, 2005)
 Eco-innovation (Daddi e.a., 2012) can be examined
with its relation to competitiveness
Instruments:
 Zhang et alli (2010) utilize the analytic hierarchy
process and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation
 Spencer et alli (2010) extract the basic parameters of
clusters from literature and find a correlation of
clustering and financial output

15. Maritime Clusters
 Laaksonen and Mäkinen (2013) utilize
Porter’s diamond to analyze the
competitiveness of the Baltic Sea
maritime cluster
 Benito et alli (2003) utilize the
diamond model to analyze Norway’s
maritime sector
 Isaksen (2009) analyzes various
Norwegian industrial clusters in terms
of innovation dynamics
 Jenssen (2003) explores the linkages
of innovation and competitiveness

16. Shinohara (2010)
 Analyzes the Japanese maritime cluster to
promote the concept of ‘sustainable
competitiveness’ with respect to the cluster
 Stresses the importance of a shared culture
and policy:
1. education and research system
2. corporate management style
3. mechanism of communications, knowledge
creation and its transmission
4. value system of work

17. Results
 Main factors affecting industrial cluster
competitiveness seem to bear similarities and
there is little controversy as to the scope of
the factors, as opposed to their breadth
 Except for evident differentiation in industries
and corporate culture, there exists no basic
differentiation of the strategic factors with
respect to maritime clusters
 Main categories of strategic factors affecting:
1. Cluster formulation
2. Cluster competitiveness

18. Inventory Compilation
Related factors’ grouping:
 Cluster Formulation
1. Agglomeration Economies
2. Domestic Industry
3. Core Activity
4. Conditions
 Cluster Competitiveness
1. Oversight
2. Driving Industries
3. Infrastructure
4. Dynamics
5. Linkages

19. Conceptual Model
 Strategic factors’ inventory through Ishikawa cause and
effect diagrams

20. Cluster Formulation

21. Cluster Competitiveness

22. Conclusions
 A taxonomy based on cause and effect diagrams
has been formulated as to the strategic factors
and causes of competitiveness
 The inventory of strategic factors can facilitate
the review and analysis of strategic management
of maritime clusters
 It includes the pertinent indicators that have to
be taken under consideration, as extracted from
literature

23. Limitations and Future Directions
 This overview in no way can be considered as
a panacea, but rather as a dynamic inventory
that has to be challenged, enriched and
trialed
 It would maybe yield interesting results to
institute a quantitative methodological
instrument to provide an analysis of the
factors included herein
 Empirical investigation for the prioritization of
strategic factors

24. Thank you for your attention!
Acknowledgement
The publication of this paper has been partly supported by the University of Piraeus Research Center