From Networks to Clusters and Back Again: A Decade of Unsatisfied Policy Aspiration in New Zealand

Abstract

Since the mid-1990s, trade promotion and regional development policy in New Zealand has aimed to promote business growth by encouraging various forms of interfirm cooperation. This chapter reviews the case for public policy intervention in cluster formation and highlights policy insight, drawing on the author’s evaluations of the ways that New Zealand policymakers have sought to encourage business cooperation through networks, alliances, and clusters. The chapter makes a case for cluster intervention but cautions against too much optimism in the contribution that clusters can make to business development. By explaining the particular influences behind successful projects in New Zealand, it is hoped that researchers and policymakers can obtain a better understanding of the conditions needed for effective cluster-based cooperation.