Innovation in Clusters

Introduction

Innovation is as much an overused term as it is an economic watchword: “We must innovate, be innovative… or disappear!”¹ It is a sign of economic recovery, dynamism and technological potential for a better world. One of the main levers of innovation policies in industrialized countries is to organize meetings between researchers and industrialists, particularly within innovation clusters that bring together companies, laboratories and training within a particular sector. Thus, the validity and legitimacy of these mechanisms, which take shape in dedicated locations, formerly called technopoles, now known as clusters, no longer need to be proven. Tomorrow’s economy, like a promise that is always being renewed, is germinating in these places through the combined effects of innovation, its territorialization and the power of the intricate and informal relationships that are generated there. This book is particularly concerned with the articulation between the promise of innovation and the interactions observed within a particular cluster.

I.1. Innovation policies and the clustering process

In France, innovation clusters are the result of a legislative and fiscal framework that has encouraged closer ties between science and industry for more than 30 years. In this context, the state, as well as international and European authorities, is particularly encouraging territories to develop clustering policies. However, this logic is not a new idea and has been the subject ...