Competitive clusters – The situation today

Beyond its global dimension, a multinational firm also has local responsibilities.

The current globalization of the world economy has a double effect on national economies:

It increases competitive pressure due to the internationalization of exchanges and production processes;
It marks the advent of a knowledge-based economy in which innovation and research are the primary drivers of growth and competitiveness.

It is necessary to consider a new industrial policy approach that takes into account these evolutions. In France, the outlook that supports the creation of competitive clusters responds to the new industrial policy being pursued by the French government to encourage growth through innovation, combat relocation and strengthen French foreign trade.

The purpose of a competitive cluster is to bring together a wide array of partners in the same geographic area. These partners may range from businesses to research organizations, training centers, financial institutions, local and regional authorities, and even government. All the partners must implement a shared development strategy to encourage synergy and promote innovative projects.

Creating a network including a diverse group of partners makes it possible to:

foster innovation: having the partners be located close to one another facilitates the sharing of information and diverse skills, and as a result bolsters the development of more innovative projects;
develop attractiveness: having different partners concentrated in the same geographic location will make it possible to reach sufficient critical mass to develop international visibility;
prevent relocations: a company's competitiveness is related to the area where it is located and the availability of skills and valuable partnerships.