The workshop focuses on emergent issues related to the evolutionary trajectories of clusters, which encompasses the major challenges of the globalization of the production, the extension of the value chains, the opportunities of smart technologies in manufacturing and services, the transition towards sustainability.

We are facing a period of social and economic revolutions, where governments tend to strengthen the importance of the local dimension of the economic activities, whereas the economy is largely globalized. The challenge is to redefine the relationships between the local and the global scale of the economy, under the imperative of the long-term sustainability of the economic processes. Transitions to sustainability entail changes in people's and organizations’ interactions with each other and with the environment at local to global scales. Therefore, we assist to the need of expanding the knowledge bases for understanding the micro and meso dynamics of the changes, bridging the boundaries between disciplines, geographies, cultures and institutions, and between scholars and practitioners.

This workshop is designed to address the following questions. What are the emergent life-cycle stages of a cluster? How do clusters grow, decline, or renew themselves? Which is the interplay of heterogeneous actors, networks, and institutional environment that explains a cluster’s transition towards sustainability? Which is the role of local and global scale in the sustainable development of clusters/regions?

Please consult the new website: https://www.rethinkingclusters.org/