Purpose

This study aims to determine how much company participation in a type of cluster affects its economic performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study includes companies operating in seven industries (automotive, engineering, textiles, information technology (IT) services, furniture, packaging and nanotechnology) in the Czech Republic. The companies are divided into three groups: members of institutionalized cluster, operating in the same region (natural clusters) and operating in other regions. Data envelopment window analysis is used to measure their performance for 2009–2019.

Findings

Results show that the effect of clustering differs among industries. Companies in three industries (automotive, engineering, nanotechnology) reveal a positive impact of the cluster initiative on performance growth. Two industries (textile, packaging) with companies operating in a natural cluster show better performance than those in an institutionalized cluster. Moreover, the IT services and the furniture industries show no positive effect of clustering on corporate performance.

Research limitations/implications

This research includes 686 companies from seven industries and monitored for 11 years. On the one hand, the sample includes a relatively high number of companies overall; but on the other hand, the sample is relatively small, especially for nonclustered companies. The reason is the lack of available financial statements for small companies.

Practical implications

From the perspective of practical cluster policy, the authors can recommend that monitoring the performance of member companies in clusters must be one of the criteria for evaluating the success of a cluster, such as cluster initiatives.

Originality/value

This study distinguishes between long-standing natural clusters in a given industry and institutionalized ones that have emerged because of a top-down initiative. An original database is created for clustered and nonclustered companies in seven industries, covering the entire Czech Republic.

中文翻译：

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集群举措和自然集群对业务绩效的影响

目的

本研究旨在确定公司参与某种集群对其经济绩效的影响程度。

设计/方法/方法

这项研究包括捷克共和国七个行业（汽车、工程、纺织、信息技术 (IT) 服务、家具、包装和纳米技术）的公司。公司分为三组：制度化集群成员、在同一区域经营（自然集群）和在其他区域经营。数据包络窗口分析用于衡量它们在 2009-2019 年的表现。

发现

结果表明，集群效应在不同行业之间存在差异。三个行业（汽车、工程、纳米技术）的公司揭示了集群计划对业绩增长的积极影响。公司在自然集群中运营的两个行业（纺织、包装）表现出比制度化集群中更好的表现。此外，IT服务和家具行业的集群对企业绩效没有积极影响。

研究限制/影响

这项研究包括来自七个行业的 686 家公司，并监测了 11 年。一方面，样本包含的公司总体数量较多；但另一方面，样本相对较小，尤其是对于非集群公司。原因是小公司缺乏可用的财务报表。

实际影响

从实用集群政策的角度来看，作者可以建议，监控集群中成员公司的绩效必须是评估集群成功与否的标准之一，例如集群倡议。

原创性/价值

这项研究区分了特定行业中长期存在的自然集群和由于自上而下的举措而出现的制度化自然集群。为覆盖整个捷克共和国的七个行业的集群和非集群公司创建了一个原始数据库。