The role of clusters in the innovative capacity of regions based on the example of the Małopolska voivodeship

Abstract

This publication presents the role of clusters in the innovative capacity of regions based on the example of the Małopolska voivodeship. The background is the analysis of the relevant legislation and reference works. Any statistical data was derived from the resources of the Marshal’s Office of the Małopolska Voivodeship, the Polish Patent Office and the Local Data Bank of Statistics Poland. Based on the reference works, the aspects of cluster structures in the innovative processes of the region were discussed in the article. The first part defines the notion of innovative capacity as an economic category which does not refer solely to the enterprise level but comprises individual regions as well. The above was connected with the cluster structure concept, identifying the benefit and opportunities resulting from entities’ cooperation within clusters which translate into the innovation environment development as well. In the second part of the article, the individual aspects relating to cluster function in the Małopolska voivodeship were discussed, and their selected impact on the innovative capacity of the region was presented. To depict the innovation potential of the Małopolska voivodeship, four statistical indicators concerning the introduced innovations (when compared to the other regions) were linked to data on the cluster cooperation in the region. Referring to the traditional perception of the innovative capacity, the article’s conclusions include relevant findings concerning the cluster structure’s role in the innovative processes of the region.