AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
IDENTIFICATION OF THE CONDITIONS (POTENTIAL) FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
POTENTIAL CLUSTERS IN THE CONDITIONS OF REGIONS OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
a
JANA MASÁROVÁ,
b
EVA KOIŠOVÁ
Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín, Študentská 2, 911 50
Trenčín, Slovakia
email:
a
jana.masarova@tnuni.sk,
b
eva.koisova@tnuni.sk
The paper was written under the VEGA project No. 1/0953/16 “Clusters' impact
assessment of regional development”
Abstract: The core of forming clusters resides in the creation of supplier and vendor
network, information flow, technologies and innovations, which form comparative
advantages in a given sector for the region with the aim to achieve the highest profit
with the lowest costs. In this connection, it is necessary to pay attention to conditions,
which form suitable environment for the clusters forming. The objective of this paper
is to examine placement of the sector employment in the regions of the Slovak
Republic with regard to identification of the possibilities of the cluster forming
cooperation by means of the coefficient of localization and coefficient of variation.
We realized analysis based upon data, which were available in the database of the
Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic for observed period 1995-2014 and database
DATA cube.
Keywords: cluster, region, regional development, Slovak Republic, sector structure
1 Introduction
In the present, forming and development of clusters represents
huge potential not only for the region, but also for the whole
country performance increase. Clusters represent tool for
restructuring of the regional economy, the increase of the
economic performance of the region and improvement of its
competitiveness. Potomová and Letková (2011) state that it is
due to created network of suppliers and vendors, information
flow, technologies and innovations, which form comparative
advantages for the region in a given sector, respectively the
group of sectors in comparison with other regions. In many
countries including EU countries, clusters become primary tools
of the regional economic development policies. (Kirankabeş and
Arik, 2013) By means of clusters and other involved parties in
the region, the socioeconomic differences can be narrowed in the
regions. (Ivanová and Kordoš, 2017) In this connection, well-
known work of Porter (1990) generated a great deal of interest.
In his work, he states that the concentration of industry
corporations and their support industry sectors brings
competitive advantages. In the present, the most of the cluster
studies use Porter’s work as a starting point for cluster analysis
(Bergman and Feser, 1999). In fact, according to a study
examining cluster initiatives across Europe, the majority of
cluster programmes were not preceded by an in-depth regional
analysis comparable with Porter’s cluster mapping process. In
most regions, the cluster approach is declared as one of the basic
conditions for effective public policies, and clusters play the role
of tools for increasing the competitiveness of regional
economies, ensuring the formation of centres of attraction of
investment and innovative activity. (Kovaleva and Baleevskih,
2014) Due to the lack of red tape in a cluster this form of
organization is more flexible and agile than other forms of
business (Evseenko, 2010). We can consider flexibility and
mobility as the key advantages in terms of the modern economy.
Despite the fact that current science and professional literature
about clusters is unusually extensive and also simultaneously
unusually heterogeneous, there is no so much discussion about
the term itself and practical consequences of its inclusion into
industry and regions development strategies in the Slovak
Republic according to Székely (2008).The objective of this paper
is to examine the placement of the sector employment in the
Slovak Republic regions with regard to identification of the
cluster forming cooperation possibilities by means of the
coefficient of localization and the coefficient of variation.
2 Methodology
The paper begins with a brief review of the scientific literature
on the subject with references to domestic as well as foreign
sources.
We used the method of time series analysis, comparison and
synthesis in this article. The method of comparison was used for
comparing the employment localization in the particular sectors
in the regions of the Slovak Republic. The method of synthesis
was used to draw conclusions resulting from the analysis.
Applied method of comparison and analysis is realized through
localization coefficient and coefficient of variation.
The coefficient of localization (LQ) represents the ratio of the
share of employment in the sector in the region to the share of
employment in the sector in the total employment in the country.
We use it to evaluate differences in the localization of sectors in
the Slovak Republic regions.
=
where:
LQ = localization coefficient,
EbR = employment in the selected sector in the region,
ER = employment in the region,
Eb = employment in the selected sector in the SR,
E = employment in the SR.
A localization quotient more than one, indicates the regional
specialization. It means that the region is specialized in given
industry. A localization quotient less than one means that the
given region is not specialized in the given industry.
A localization quotient more than one, indicates the regional
specialization. It means that the region is specialized in given
industry. A localization quotient less than one means that the
given region is not specialized in the given industry.
Coefficient of variation (CV) we used to measure the degree of
regional inequality. It is the proportion of standard deviation to
mean of value of the set that we express as a percentage based
upon following formula:
=
σ
̅
To calculate the coefficients, we took data in the time series
between 1995 and 2014. The statistical data from the Statistical
Office of the Slovak Republic, database DATAcube was used.
3 Clusters and their importance for regional development
In the 19th Century, proposals for cooperation of industry
sectors, which were concentrated in one place with the effort to
achieve savings and increase revenues, although, they were not
named clusters yet, they were emerging in the works of
important economists (for example Marshall). At the end the
20th Century, an important American economist Michael Porter
elaborated the issue of cluster cooperation in detail, and many
other authors gradually started to deal with the area of clusters
research. There are many definitions of clusters, which are
connected with the purpose, area or a context of origination of
this term.
Porter (1998) defined cluster as a geographical proximate group
of interconnected corporations and associated institutions in a
particular field, linked by commonalities and externalities. As
stated Havierniková (2013), in general clusters can be defined as
a group of firms, related economic actors, and institutions that
are located near each other. Clusters are defined by relationships
and geography with the aspect of concentration of one or more
sectors, within a given region as well as the emphasis on
networking and cooperation between corporations and
institutions. Skokan (2007) understands cluster as a group of
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