CLUSTER POLICIES AND INITIATIVES WITHIN THE SERVICE SECTOR – GOOD PRACTICES FROM EU COUNTRIES AND
4 CLUSTER POLICY IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
4.1 What we could learn from practices abroad? Recommendation for the Czech Republic
As presented in the chapter three, Denmark and Sweden made specific programmes to support small and medium sized enterprises in the service sector. These actions led to the succesfull development of specific service industries. In the context of cluster policy within the service sector there is no such thing in the Czech Republic. However, the majority of EU member states created cluster programmes and initiatives focused on supporting clusters in the service sector with the strong emphasis on service innovation. In this context, Rubalcaba (2015) suggests that each country adopts a particular strategy which is connected to past experiences in innovation policies, to the national innovation systems and also to the sectoral service capabilities. Rubalcaba (2015) continues with verdict that policy makers are in many regions not aware of the nature and specifics of service innovation. The main problem is a lack of understanding of what services stand for and their impact for national/regional economic growth. Service-innovation often does not have cover by policy documents and service-innovation culture in policy making is missing. It is no suprise then that many countries tend to traditional manufacturing programs instead of service oriented one which is also the case of the Czech Republic.
Although, it should be noted that service sector in the Czech Republic is undeveloped comparing to other European countries (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, 2014). The main driving sector of the Czech economy is manufacturing industry, meanwhile for example knowledge-intensive services (KIS) have lower significance compared to European countries (employment in KIS generates average 40% within EU, in the Czech Republic only 32%).
One of the positive examples are IT and software services which are starting to have increasing importance and position in the Czech economy. According to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (2014), the Czech Republic has competitive advantage within the service sector in transportation and logistics and tourism which corresponds to the geographical position of the Czech Republic. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (2014) in the "National Research and Innovation strategy for smart specialization in the Czech Republic" also identified sectors (among the services) which have growth potencial, namely IT services and software and healthcare. However, this does not mean that the Czech Republic should only look to support these services, because other areas of services will soon or later rise as in other European countries. Considering these facts, Czech national government/ministries and region policy-makers should start think about giving support to the service sectors in general. Having in mind that European economies are becoming service-oriented and methods and programmes which were applied in EU countries, the Czech Republic shouldaim in future to:
- Create Innovation platform to support cooperation between service enterprises, research institutuons, academic sphere and regional/national government
- Create dedicated centers and clusters which would support service innovation - Develop cluster and network type of policies that intentionally include services
- Find a ways to motivate potential cluster members within the service sector to cooperate - Implement goal as service innovation into the cluster policy at national level
In the context of regional cluster policy, it is crucial to first identify and map clusters within the service sector among regions in the Czech Republic. Identification and mapping of these clusters could be managed by cluster agencies which would be created as a new infrastructure of regional knowledge centers for cluster development (Pavelková et al., 2013b). This agenda could be also secured by already established regional councils for innovation and
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competitivness. These institutions work in all 14 regions within the Czech Republic and their main goal is to implement RIS3 - Regional Innovation Strategy (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, 2014).
5 CONCLUSION
Based on the literature review and collected information, the first step regarding the Czech cluster policy within the service sector should be connected with giving more attention to that sector. Although, as noted, the dominant sector in the Czech economy is still manufacturing industry, the service sector is on the rise among all European countries. The service sectors which have the biggest growth potential within the Czech economy consists of IT and software services and healthcare.
Successful mentioned examples in this paper of cluster policies and initiatives cannot be just copied. Every country has different and unique history, cultural characteristics, specialisiation in industries and other national and regional specifics. However, presented cases should work as an inspiration how to support and develop service sector more effectively. At a national level, it is recommended to implement support for services and service innovation into cluster policy documents and other strategic documents. In the regional context within the service sector, the connection with the regional councils of innovation seems as the right way to go.
These institutions, which are aimed for improving innovation and competitiveness, could work on a agenda of identification and mapping clusters in the service sector within the regions of the Czech Republic. After identifyng clusters with a competitive advantage in services among regions, the next step should be connected with mobilisation and involving regional businesses into the process which stands for bottom-up approach. This approach is about mobilisation of regional actors including the private sector with the academic communities and it builds on the inner strengths of each region and its entrepreneurial and competitive advantages. The national and regional policy makers also need to have in mind that if the preconditions for clustering in a country or in a region are absent, they should not create a cluster from scratch and rather focus their attention into different areas.
Acknowledgment The authors are thankful to the Internal Grant Agency of FaME TBU project called " The concept of cluster policy impact on the emergence and viability of cluster organizations", which provided financial support for this research.
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Economic Development Quarterly, 29(2), 135-149. doi:10.1177/0891242413517136 Contact information
Ing. Martin Horák
Tomas Bata University in Zlín
Faculty of Management and Economics Mostní 5139
760 01 Zlín
Telephone number: 728 483 184 mhorak@fame.utb.cz
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