Figure 1
Clusters’ characteristics_
| Cluster | NKC | Most_Common_Type | Region – voivodship |
|---|---|---|---|
| LODZistics - Logistics Business Network of Central Poland | No | Scientific unit/University | Lodzkie |
| Metal Processing Cluster | No | Small enterprise | Podlaskie |
| Subcarpathian Flavors Cluster | No | Small enterprise | Subcarpathian |
| East Automotive Alliance | No | Large enterprise | Subcarpathian |
| Carpathian Tourist Cluster | No | Microenterprise | Subcarpathian |
| Cluster “Polish Automotive Group” | Yes | Large enterprise | Subcarpathian |
| Food Cluster of Southern Wielkopolska Association | No | Microenterprise | Greater Poland |
| Polish Cluster of Composite Technologies | Yes | Microenterprise | Lesser Poland |
| Polish Construction Cluster | No | Microenterprise | Podlaskie |
| Waste Management and Recycling Cluster | Yes | Microenterprise | Masovian |
| Mazovia Cluster ICT | Yes | Microenterprise | Masovian |
| Bydgoszcz Industrial Cluster Tool Valley | Yes | Small enterprise | Kuyavian-Pomeranian |
| Lublin Medicine | No | Microenterprise | Lubelskie |
| MedSilesia - The Silesian Network of Medical Devices | Yes | Small enterprise | Silesian |
| Silesia Automotive and Advanced Manufacturing | Yes | Medium enterprise | Silesian |
| NUTRIBIOMED Cluster | Yes | Microenterprise | Lower Silesia |
| Lower Silesian Educational Cluster | No | Local government unit | Lower Silesia |
| ITCorner | No | Small enterprise | Lower Silesia |
| Radom Metal Cluster | No | Medium enterprise | Masovian |
| Cluster for Photonics and Fiber Optics | No | Microenterprise | Lubelskie |
| The Easter Metalworking Cluster | Yes | Medium enterprise | Lubelskie |
| Lubuski Metal Cluster | No | Medium enterprise | Lubuskie |
| Lower Silesian Automotive Cluster | No | Medium enterprise | Lower Silesia |
| North-South Logistics and Transport Cluster | Yes | Microenterprise | Pomeranian |
| Polish Nature Cluster | No | Microenterprise | Masovian |
| Lodz ICT Cluster | No | Large enterprise | Lodzkie |
| Association West Pomeranian Chemical Cluster “Green Chemistry” | Yes | Medium enterprise | West Pomeranian |
| Silesian Aviation Cluster | Yes | Microenterprise | Silesian |
| Interizon ICT Cluster | Yes | Small enterprise | Pomeranian |
| Cluster of Information Technologies in Building Industry | No | Microenterprise | Lesser Poland |
| Digital Creative Cluster | No | Small enterprise | Masovian |
| Bydgoszcz IT Cluster | Yes | Microenterprise | Kuyavian-Pomeranian |
| Wielkopolska ICT Cluster | No | Microenterprise | Greater Poland |
| Lublin Enterprise Cluster | No | Microenterprise | Lubelskie |
| The Cluster of Tourist Brands of Eastern Poland | No | Small enterprise | Podlaskie |
| Construction Cluster INNOWATOR | No | Microenterprise | Holly Cross |
| West Pomeranian ICT Cluster | No | Small enterprise | West Pomeranian |
| Sustainable Infrastructure Cluster | Yes | Small enterprise | Lesser Poland |
| Cluster of Innovative Manufacturing Technologies (CINNOMATECH) | No | Microenterprise | Lower Silesia |
| Lublin Eco-Energy Cluster | No | Microenterprise | Lubelskie |
| Kuyavian Agro Cluster | No | Small enterprise | Kuyavian-Pomeranian |
Clusters’ firms’ characteristics by region_
| Region – voivodship | # Clusters w/Seat | Most_Common_Type | % of total | # Firms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masovian | 5 | Large enterprise | 51.1 | 90 |
| Lubelskie | 5 | Local government unit | 41.0 | 83 |
| Silesian | 3 | Small enterprise | 27.4 | 73 |
| Lower Silesian | 5 | Small enterprise | 25.7 | 70 |
| Subcarpathian | 4 | Small enterprise | 29.5 | 44 |
| Lesser Poland | 3 | Small enterprise | 34.9 | 43 |
| Podlaskie | 3 | Small enterprise | 42.9 | 42 |
| Lodzkie | 2 | Microenterprise | 21.9 | 32 |
| Kuyavian-Pomeranian | 3 | Microenterprise | 34.4 | 32 |
| Greater Poland | 2 | Microenterprise | 36.7 | 30 |
| Pomeranian | 2 | Microenterprise | 33.3 | 27 |
| Lubuskie | 1 | Microenterprise | 27.3 | 22 |
| West Pomeranian | 2 | Microenterprise | 33.3 | 21 |
| Warmińsko-Mazurskie | 0 | Microenterprise | 40.0 | 15 |
| Holy Cross | 1 | Medium enterprise | 44.4 | 9 |
| Opolskie | 0 | Medium enterprise | 33.3 | 6 |
Survey variables used in this study
| DV: INNOVATION | Question |
|---|---|
| Q_INNOV | Has your organization’s performance improved in the following areas – [Number of innovations introduced] due to participation in the cluster |
| TECH_SOPH | Has your organization’s performance improved in the following areas – [Increased technological sophistication] due to participation in the cluster |
| PROD_INN | Has your organization introduced product innovation or business process innovation in the last 2 years - (multiple answers possible) [Product innovation (service or product that is new or significantly improved)] due to its participation in the cluster |
| BUS_INN | Has your organization introduced product innovations or business process innovations in the last 2 years due to its participation in the cluster - (multiple answers possible) [Business process innovations] |
| Group: PERF_IMPROV question | |
| SCI_COOP | Through participation in the cluster, has your organization established and/or intensified cooperation with scientific entities (in the last 2 years) |
| RES_INF_RES | How do you assess the availability of resources in the cluster from the point of view of your organization – [Research Infrastructure] |
| RES_INF_NEEDS | How would you rate the degree to which the research and production infrastructure in the cluster is aligned with the needs of your organization [Research Infrastructure] |
| COORD_INNOV | How would you rate the activities of the cluster coordinator in the following areas (in the last 2 years) – [Innovation activity (e.g., pro-innovation services, innovation development)] |
| COORD_DIG | How do you evaluate the activities of the cluster coordinator in the following areas (in the last 2 years) - [Activities for digitization of the cluster/implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies] |
| Group: SERV_USE question | |
| Has your organization used the following pro-innovation services provided in the cluster by or through the cluster in the last 2 years | |
| TECH_MON | Technology Trends Monitoring |
| TECH_AUD | Technology audit |
| COMM_PLANS | Commercialization plans |
| IND_CONS | Industrial protection consulting |
| TRAINING | Specialized training |
| DIG_TRANS | Digital transformation and application of Industry 4.0 technologies |
| Other explanatory variables and dummies | |
| CLUSTER_INNOV | Has your organization participated in the implementation of an innovation and/or R&D project in a cluster (with the participation of a coordinator and min. two members or with min. three cluster members without a coordinator) in the last 2 years |
| COMP_IMPROV | Have the employees of your organization participated in cluster-initiated joint forms of professional competence improvement (such as trainings, workshops, courses) in the last 2 years |
| RD_EXPEND | Has your organization’s performance improved in the following areas - [Amount of R&D expenditure] as a result of participating in the cluster |
| NKC | = 1 if Member of a National Key Cluster |
| SIZEGROUP | 1 = Microenterprise (0–9 employees); 2 = Small enterprise (10–49 employees); 3 = Medium enterprise (50–249 employees); 4 = Large enterprise (250 or more employees). |
| IOB | = 1 if categorized as a Business environment institution |
| NAUKOWA | = 1 if categorized as a Scientific unit/university |
| SAMORZAD | = 1 if categorized as a Local government unit |
| OTHER | = 1 if categorized as “Other” or not listed |
Types of cluster members distribution (N = 641)_
| Type | N | % |
|---|---|---|
| Local government unit | 19 | 3.0 |
| Scientific unit/university | 47 | 7.3 |
| Microenterprise (0–9 employees) | 209 | 32.6 |
| Small enterprise (10–49 employees) | 156 | 24.3 |
| Medium enterprise (50–249 employees) | 119 | 18.6 |
| Large enterprise (250 or more employees) | 63 | 9.8 |
| Other | 17 | 2.7 |
| Business environment institution | 6 | 0.9 |
| None | 6 | 0.9 |
PCA_
| A. Eigenvalues (PCA) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| INNOVATION | 2.620 | 0.685 | 0.415 | 0.280 | ||
| PERF_IMPRPV | 3.297 | 0.650 | 0.616 | 0.270 | 0.167 | |
| SERV_USE | 3.829 | 0.675 | 0.542 | 0.373 | 0.335 | 0.246 |
Counts of innovation index component variables_
| Value | 0 | 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Q_INNOV | 290 | 214 |
| TECH_SOPH | 279 | 225 |
| PROD_INNOV | 299 | 205 |
| BUS_INNOV | 332 | 172 |
Regression results_
| Method | OLS | OLS | Probit | Probit | Probit | Probit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dependent variable | INNOVATION | INNOVATION | Q_INNOV | Q_INNOV | TECH_SOPH | TECH_SOPH |
| (Intercept) | −4.039 (0.000) | −4.150 (0.000) | −0.856 (0.000) | −0.908 (0.000) | −0.856 (0.001) | −0.842 (0.000) |
| PERF_IMPROV | 0.403 (0.000) | 0.404 (0.000) | 0.088 (0.000) | 0.088 (0.000) | 0.125 (0.000) | 0.124 (0.000) |
| SERV_USE | 0.073 (0.091) | 0.069 (0.018) | 0.03 (0.106) | 0.027 (0.033) | 0.014 (0.467) | 0.019 (0.154) |
| COMP_IMPROV | 6.034 (0.000) | 6.040 (0.000) | 1.425 (0.000) | 1.425 (0.000) | 1.367 (0.000) | 1.360 (0.000) |
| RD_EXPEND | −0.281 (0.513) | −0.114 (0.541) | −0.130 (0.514) | |||
| CLUSTER_INNOV | 0.190 (0.689) | 0.047 (0.814) | 0.238 (0.255) | |||
| NKC | −0.528 (0.134) | −0.532 (0.129) | −0.051 (0.732) | −0.054 (0.716) | −0.230 (0.141) | −0.241 (0.122) |
| OTHER | 2.920 (0.003) | 2.926 (0.003) | 0.913 (0.04) | 0.895 (0.044) | 0.969 (0.043) | 0.968 (0.044) |
| IOB | 3.327 (0.080) | 3.283 (0.084) | 1.422 (0.045) | 1.393 (0.048) | 0.497 (0.578) | 0.450 (0.607) |
| NAUKOWA | 1.220 (0.094) | 1.156 (0.107) | 0.412 (0.174) | 0.381 (0.204) | 0.420 (0.192) | 0.378 (0.233) |
| SAMORZAD | 0.547 (0.619) | 0.517 (0.638) | 0.44 (0.353) | 0.416 (0.381) | −0.756 (0.309) | −0.837 (0.264) |
| SIZEGROUP | 0.296 (0.096) | 0.295 (0.097) | 0.035 (0.645) | 0.035 (0.649) | 0.130 (0.103) | 0.126 (0.112) |
| Adj. R 2 or Pseudo R 2 | 0.653 | 0.653 | 0.398 | 0.398 | 0.475 | 0.472 |
| N | 493 | 493 | 493 | 493 | 493 | 493 |