How Can a Cluster Policy Enhance Entrepreneurship? Evidence from the German ‘Bioregio’ Case

Abstract

I investigate the mechanisms through which a cluster policy can enhance entrepreneurship defined as new venture creation. The paper is based on the study of a cluster policy (‘BioRegio’) that strongly simulated new firm creation in biotechnology in Germany after 1996. The process induced by BioRegio at the territory level is analyzed over a ten-year period (1995–2004). I identify a three-step social mechanism through which a cluster policy can enhance entrepreneurship. The presented results strengthen the literature on cluster policies and clusters on the specif c issue of entrepreneurship: four main contributions are suggested.