engleski

Creation of Competitive Advantage through Cluster Development in Croatia

Even doe we can find many different definitions of competitive advantage, there is still no doubt that it’s key attributes are: 1.cost leadership, where the main goal is to achieve the lowest cost level in the production and distribution, and 2. differentiation, the goal of which is “to be different” from the competition not only in prices but also in other determinants of the product or service. These determinants of competitive advantage refer to all types of businesses, including small and medium enterprises. As the most typical problems in business development, economic literature accents: financing, lack of managerial knowledge and expertise, poor marketing skills, small purchase, production and sales series, poor financing skills, lack of production skills, ect. How to master these problems? Does cluster-development in Croatian small enterprises present a possible solution for a growth of efficiency and market competitiveness? Our neighbors, Slovenians, Austrians, Hungarians and also Germans, Belgians and others see clusters as professional and/or regional associations which can encourage small enterprises market competitiveness growth. This paper consists of the definition of clusters, specifies the importance of national, international and regional clusters, provides an overview on dimensions and goals of cluster development in some European countries, analyses and evaluates the results of first Croatian clusters and shows the advantages but does not neglect the problems of cluster development in Croatia.

Competitive advantage; cluster policy; regional and national clusters; SMEs

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