Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Esta publicación cientíca en formato digital es continuidad de la revista impresa
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197402ZU34
ppi 201502ZU4645
Vol.41 N° 77
Abril
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2023
Recibido el 25/12/23 Aceptado el 22/03/23
ISSN 0798-1406 ~ Depósito legal pp 198502ZU132
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Vol. 41, Nº 77 (2023), 270-284
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Clusters as a Mechanism for
Solving Socio-Economic Problems
of Post-Conict Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4177.18
Oleh Predmestnikov *
Viktor Vasylenko **
Nataliia Fastovets ***
Olena Kurepina ****
Olha Hanych *****
Abstract
The purpose of the article was to analyze the cluster strategy
in various countries of the world and to highlight the legal
instruments that can be used in the process of creation and
operation of clusters in Ukraine, taking into account the existing
post-conict socio-economic problems. The research methods
used were: analysis, synthesis, consistency, comparison, generalization
and prognosis, etc. The main models of cluster development in the world
practice are analyzed. The characteristics of the state strategy in the eld
of regional clustering in the USA, Canada, Italy, Germany, Austria, France,
Finland, Japan and China are studied. The authors focused on the legal
instruments used in the process of creation and operation of clusters
in dierent countries of the world, which it is advisable to borrow and
implement in the Ukrainian legislation. Finally, the following problems of
cluster creation in Ukraine have been identied: the lack of a legislative
framework; a state strategy to support clusters, as well as incentives for
investors. It is concluded that clusters in a dicult socio-economic situation
in Ukraine should help to attract investments and develop the economy of
regions aected by hostilities.
* Doctor in Law, professor, Professor of the Department of Public and Private Law, Honored Lawyer of
Ukraine of V.I. Vernadsky Taurida National University, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: http://
orcid.org/0000-0001-8196-647X.
** Doctor in Law, associate Professor, Vice-Dean of the Faculty 5 of Kharkiv National University o f Inter-
nal Affairs, Kharkiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9313-861X.
*** Ph.D. in State Administration, associate Professor, Kyiv National University of Technologies and De-
sign, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8619-8975.
**** Ph.D., in Law, applicant of the State organization «V. Mamutov Institute of Economic and Legal
Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine» of the National Academy of Sciences of
Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4077-5006
***** Ph.D. in Law, Associate Professor, associate professor of the Department of History and Law, State
Institution of Higher Education “Donetsk National Technical University”, Lutsk, Ukraine. ORCID ID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5279-0708
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CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
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Keywords: cluster; state strategy; socio-economic problems; world
economic experience; investments.
Los clústeres como mecanismo para resolver los
problemas socioeconómicos de la Ucrania posterior al
conicto
Resumen
El propósito del artículo fue analizar la estrategia de clústeres en varios
países del mundo y resaltar los instrumentos legales que se pueden utilizar
en el proceso de creación y operación de clústeres en Ucrania, teniendo
en cuenta los problemas socioeconómicos existentes del posconicto. Los
métodos de investigación empleados fueron: análisis, síntesis, consistencia,
comparación, generalización y pronóstico, etc. Se analizan los principales
modelos de desarrollo de clúster en la práctica mundial. Se estudian las
características de la estrategia estatal en el campo de la agrupación regional
en EE. UU., Canadá, Italia, Alemania, Austria, Francia, Finlandia, Japón
y China. Los autores se centraron en los instrumentos legales utilizados
en el proceso de creación y funcionamiento de clústeres en diferentes
países del mundo, que es recomendable tomar prestados e implementar
en la legislación ucraniana. Finalmente, se han identicado los siguientes
problemas de creación de clústeres en Ucrania: la falta de un marco
legislativo; una estrategia estatal para apoyar los clústeres, así como
incentivos para los inversores. Se concluye que los clústeres en una situación
socioeconómica difícil en Ucrania deberían ayudar a atraer inversiones y
desarrollar la economía de las regiones afectadas por las hostilidades.
Palabras clave: clúster; estrategia estatal; problemas socioeconómicos;
experiencia económica mundial; inversiones.
Introduction
The study of the strategy of clustering in foreign countries demonstrates
that clusters are a signicant impetus for the development of the region,
and therefore it is advisable to apply this mechanism to solve the problems
of the post-conict regions of Ukraine. Clusters in Ukraine can become an
eective mechanism for attracting investments from national and foreign
investors, as well as for the integration of Ukrainian manufacturers into the
world market of high-tech products and technologies.
272
Oleh Predmestnikov, Viktor Vasylenko , Nataliia Fastovets , Olena Kurepina y Olha Hanych
Clusters as a Mechanism for Solving Socio-Economic Problems of Post-Conflict Ukraine
Clusters will make it possible to increase the eciency of the potential
of post-conict regions of Ukraine, to activate entrepreneurial activity
especially in the innovative sphere. However, to accomplish this, it is
necessary to provide an incentive mechanism for entrepreneurs:
The advantages of the processes of clustering for participating countries
are also as follows: a more ecient use of the potential of individual regions,
diversication of the regional economy, growth in the number of taxpayers and
expansion of the tax base, activation of the partnership dialogue “business -
authorities”, reduction of the budget dependency on some monopolistic business
units (Kochanska et al., 2016: 26).
Clusters are an eective mechanism for increasing the level of
competitiveness of certain regions of Ukraine. As a result, the formation
and development of clusters in Ukraine, particularly in the post-conict
period, is a necessary condition for increasing the socio-economic level of
the state. In this regard, the process of clustering is multifaceted, the cluster
policy of the state must be elaborated taking into account specic features
of the socio-economic and political development of the state.
The purpose of the article is to analyze the cluster strategy in the
world countries and to distinguish legal instruments that can be used in
the process of creating and functioning of clusters in Ukraine taking into
account the existing socio-economic problems of post-conict Ukraine.
Based on the specied purpose, the following tasks have been solved in
the article: the main aspects of implementing the state strategy in regard to
the creation and functioning of clusters in such countries as: USA, Canada,
Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Finland, Japan, China are analyzed; legal
instruments that can be used by the Ukrainian legislator while creating
clusters in Ukraine and that will contribute to the solution of socio-economic
problems existing in Ukraine are studied.
1. Methodology of the study
The authors of this study used the dialectical method of cognition and
a number of general scientic special methods of scientic research. Thus,
the method of monographic analysis has assisted to clarify those issues that
are relevant and are being researched by scholars and covered in scientic
publications. The method of analysis and synthesis has made it possible to
generalize the existing denitions of clusters, which has made it possible to
single out the peculiarities of clustering in the region.
The application of the system method has made it possible to systematize
the state strategies that are used in global practice regarding the clustering
of regions. The method of economic and legal analysis has been applied to
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Vol. 41 Nº 77 (2023): 270-284
single out the legal instruments that are used in the process of creating and
functioning of clusters in world practice and that make sense to implant
in the legislation of Ukraine to solve the socio-economic problems of post-
conict Ukraine. The method of generalization has made it possible to draw
conclusions based on the conducted research.
2. Results and Discussion
2.1. Analysis of the concept and features of clustering in the
world practice
There is no single approach in the scientic literature to dene a cluster,
which is due to the lack of a single, generally accepted model of clustering
of the territory, but there are common features that unite dierent types of
clusters.
There is no one cluster model as each is exceptional in its own way and
managed dierently, with other relations between associated entities, as well as
each of them requires an individual scope of supporting actions. Notwithstanding
various perspectives that dene this issue, following the presentation of various
approaches, we can indicate three basic areas as the structural core of the idea
of clusters, which relate to: spatial concentration of entities, their mutual
competitiveness, as well as mutual interactions of relations between participants
(Piątkowski, 2015: 316).
M. Porter, who is believed to be an ideologist of cluster development,
introduced the concept of a cluster dening it as a group of interrelated
companies and related organizations concentrated in a certain area in a
relevant industry (Porter, 1990).
T. V. Tsihan oers three denitions of clusters, each of them
demonstrates the main feature of cluster functioning: 1) regionally limited
forms of economic activity in adjacent sectors, which are mainly associated
with one or another scientic institution (research institute, University);
2) vertical production chains. These are rather narrowly dened sectors,
where adjacent stages of the production process make up the core of the
cluster; 3) industries dened at a high level of aggregation (e.g. “chemical
cluster”) or a set of sectors at an even higher level of aggregation (e.g. “agro-
industrial cluster”) (Tsihan, 2003).
Clusters are local concentrations of horizontally or vertically connected
companies that are specialized in related areas of business together with
supporting organizations (Business clusters: promoting enterprise in
central and Eastern Europe, 2005).
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Oleh Predmestnikov, Viktor Vasylenko , Nataliia Fastovets , Olena Kurepina y Olha Hanych
Clusters as a Mechanism for Solving Socio-Economic Problems of Post-Conflict Ukraine
O. Sölvell denes cluster initiatives as organized eorts aimed at
increasing the growth and competitiveness of clusters in a region, which
includes cluster companies, government and/or research institutions
(Sölvell et al., 2003). Clusters, on the one hand, create cooperation, and
on the other, stimulate competition at the market, which benets all
participants. Therefore, innovation clusters provide an impetus for further
development of regional centers of excellence and primarily serve as a tool
for the development of existing strong points (Mauroner, 2015).
Summarizing the existing denitions of clusters, it is possible to single
out the peculiarities of region’s clustering:
territorial localization of the cluster;
clusters unite manufacturers, suppliers, research organizations,
consulting companies, credit organizations, infrastructure
companies and other participants;
the presence of a leading enterprise that determines the economic
strategy and directions of economic activity of the entire cluster
system;
the stability of economic relations of cluster participants;
availability of relationships and coordination of the interaction
between cluster participants.
The conducted research shows that three main models of cluster
development have been formed in the world practice: North American (for
example, the USA, Canada); European (for example, Germany, Austria,
Italy, France, Finland) and Asian (for example, Japan, China).
When implementing a cluster strategy in the North American region, the state
and business separate themselves from each other, in Europe the state interacts
with entrepreneurs, and in the Asian region the state tries to penetrate directly into
the structures of large private companies” (Karpenko, 2011: 45).
Examples of successful clusters in the USA are: Silicon valley, where
computer technologies and other high-tech products have been developed;
Detroit, which is known for manufacturing cars; New Mexico, which is
a center of nanotechnology, biotechnology, renewable energy sources;
Medical Alley, where medical technologies have been developed; Nuclear
Energy Modeling & Simulation Energy Innovation Hub, which is known
for the development of nuclear technologies; Magnolia Business Alliance,
where the energy industry is being developed.
Most of the relationships in the USA are mediated by the market,
developed competition between companies is the main factor in the
development of clusters of the North American model. Scientic and
technological partnership has been widely developed in the US clusters,
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there is provision of loans and preferential taxation of companies that carry
out scientic research and development programs.
Canada has experience in implementing the following cluster initiatives:
biotechnology cluster (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Halifax);
information and telecommunications cluster (Vancouver, Calgary, Quebec,
etc.); high-tech clusters (Montreal, Ontario, etc.); multimedia cluster
(Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver); winemaking cluster (Niagara) and others.
Support for business cluster initiatives is provided in Canada at all
government levels federal, regional and municipal. However, specic
forms of support vary at each level. There is no single concept of cluster
policy implementation at the federal level in Canada.
The main role of the government should be to establish general rules,
and the implementation of specic cluster initiatives can be entrusted to
the administrations of provinces and municipalities. At the same time,
the cluster strategy is part of the country’s national innovation strategy.
This strategy is coordinated by the National Research Council (NRC), the
leading federal agency for research development.
A distinctive feature of regional cluster initiatives formed with the
participation of the NRC is that all clusters are included into networks
that go beyond their regions. In addition to the NRC Technology Cluster
Initiatives at the federal level, the Canadian government provides support
to clusters in the implementation of investment attraction policies,
promoting the sale of company products at foreign markets, regulating the
labor market, investing into promising scientic research and development
projects, creating educational programs, protecting intellectual activity, etc.
Canada’s cluster policy varies on the basis of priorities of federal,
provincial and local authorities and often ranges from tax incentives for the
private sector to such projects as the “Innovation Supercluster Initiative”.
Canada is now globally recognized for its extraordinary investment of 950
million US dollars into ve superclusters, which consist of a series of related
clusters and industries (So et al., 2019).
Consequently, clusters in Canada have been widely developed and have
support at all government levels: federal, regional and municipal. There
are tax incentives for the private sector and large investments by federal
agencies in the development of innovation superclusters.
Studying the European model, it can be argued that there is an
active development of cluster policy, which has a positive eect on the
competitiveness of regions and contributes to the creation of technological
chains. An example of a successful European cluster is The Software Cluster
in Germany, which involves Universities and research organizations in
software development.
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Oleh Predmestnikov, Viktor Vasylenko , Nataliia Fastovets , Olena Kurepina y Olha Hanych
Clusters as a Mechanism for Solving Socio-Economic Problems of Post-Conflict Ukraine
The German government has been paying more and more attention to
cluster initiatives since 2003. First of all, it is applied to projects on the
creation and development of clusters in the eld of high technologies, where
the state supports the consolidation of eorts of industry and scientic
centers (Sölvell et al., 2003).
Financial incentives are provided for clusters in Germany and there is
a merger of private and public cluster participants, which allows achieving
high results.
In Germany, for example, a very interesting experiment was launched in
the early 1990s with the BioRegio-Competition. The federal government oered
nancial support for the three regional biotech clusters that could most convincingly
demonstrate that they had the critical assets, the plan, and the willingness to
upgrade their cluster. Much beyond the nancial incentive the mere process of
getting the relevant private and public cluster participants together proved to be
an important step in getting Germany to become the leading European location –
alongside the UK – for biotechnology (Ketels, 2004: 3).
Analysis of cluster activity in Germany allows us to state that there is
state support for the consolidation of industry and scientic centers, the
unication of private and public cluster participants, as well as nancial
stimulation of cluster activity.
The cluster policy gave a signicant impetus to the economy of Austria,
where cross-border clusters with Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Hungary
began to operate, and relations with France and Great Britain were
intensied. The key factor was the policy of stimulating the development
of relationships between research institutes and the industrial sector,
reducing regulatory barriers within innovation programs, specialization of
clusters and the formation of competitiveness centers (Kyzym et al., 2011).
Consequently, cross-border clusters have developed in Austria, the
development of relationships between research institutes and the industrial
sector is stimulated, and regulatory barriers in the process of implementing
innovation programs are reduced.
The widely known Cosmetic Valley cluster was founded back in 1994
in the Aire-et-Loire region in northern France. The cluster includes such
market giants in the eld of cosmetics and perfumery as Maybelline, Yves
Saint-Laurent, Shiseido, Christian Dior and Guerlain (Sylvie, 2017). Cluster
policy in France is implemented by bringing together business, the scientic
community and educational centers.
At the same time, all organizations develop their own strategy, which
does not contradict the regional development strategy. Close interaction
with the regional authorities plays an important role in this process. Thus,
France has the interaction between large, medium and small enterprises
and the consolidation of eorts of industrial enterprises and scientic
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centers, as well as the system of incentives for the development of high
technologies is also applied.
The Italian model envisages a cluster that creates small and medium-
sized enterprises of a similar volume of production and a high level of
specialization. This model has no leader and all enterprises are both
contractors and competitors (Gorynia and Jankowska, 2008).
The strategies of Italy’s clusters – the biomedical cluster in Mirandola
and the ceramics cluster in Sassuolo – are based on innovation and
internationalization. The biomedical cluster in Mirandola is characterized
by internationalization through alliances with external leaders. Innovation
and investments in tangible and intangible assets play their role in both
processes: production processes and distribution strategies in Sassuolo, as
well as research capacity and collaboration with Universities and research
centers in Mirandola made it possible for both clusters to integrate global
markets. It demonstrates the variety of strategies available to industrial
regions and clusters to address competitive challenges (Labory and Prodi,
2014).
Thus, the promotion of clusters in Italy is essentially the support of small
and medium-sized businesses in the industrial regions of the country; a
distinctive feature of clusters in Italy is the system of incentive mechanisms
for attracting investments, which is enshrined in legislation.
The cluster approach is popular in Finland. The most developed cluster
and the basis of exports of the Finnish economy is the woodworking
cluster. The supporting industries for it are mechanical engineering and
the chemical industry, which are also clustered. All key industries, where
the main volume of added value is created, are clustered.
The peculiarity of the Finnish economy is the fact that it does not have
a large stable demand at the domestic market. Therefore, clusters in the
country are export-oriented.
The forest, information and telecommunication clusters are currently the most
important for the Finnish economy, providing the main volume of exports and
forming a signicant part of the country’s gross domestic product. The pulp and
paper, wood processing companies of the forest cluster have long implemented a
global development strategy, actively buying companies abroad, and have one of
the highest levels of labor productivity in the industry both domestically and in the
world (Pyatinkin and Bykova, 2008: 27).
Finland clusters are most represented by business internationalization –
there are dense relationships with neighboring companies, such as Sweden,
the Baltic Sea countries. On this basis, clusters in Finland’s economy are not
exclusively national. The basis of economic growth of the country’s economy
that does not have signicant reserves of natural resources is a high level
of innovation, which appear due to the widely developed educational and
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Oleh Predmestnikov, Viktor Vasylenko , Nataliia Fastovets , Olena Kurepina y Olha Hanych
Clusters as a Mechanism for Solving Socio-Economic Problems of Post-Conflict Ukraine
scientic sectors that is also the result of eective state support (Kyzym et
al., 2011).
Finland’s experience testies about the positive role of cluster economy,
not isolated companies. The cluster system is the driving force for the
development of Finland’s economy, where both national and international
clusters are present, there is a state policy of cluster support and there is an
export cluster orientation.
European countries use dierent legal instruments, including
stimulating cluster enterprises, at the state and at the local levels. This
allows you to attract investors to develop the regions that need help.
Governments in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe have
realized that in order to achieve sustainable economic growth and to
promote balanced regional economic development, it is important to
encourage entrepreneurship at the local level. Clusters that require
interaction between entrepreneurs and local institutions, cooperation
at both local and federal government levels, and coordination between
dierent political spheres can dynamize their local economy. As a result,
cluster policies and initiatives have recently increased (Business Clusters:
Promoting Enterprise in Central and Eastern Europe, 2005).
The Asian region has developed its own special type of clusters, which
is characterized by the features of the European approach, but at the same
time there is also a purely Asian specicity. The development of regional
clusters in the Asian model occurs both at the expense of investments and
through active state support. One of the rst and largest clusters in Japan
– Sapporo Valley was created on the basis of the University community
engaged in software development.
The Japanese model is formed around a leading company with large-
scale production that integrates many suppliers at dierent stages of the
chain; it is used for the production of technologically complex products.
Product development requires high stable expenses, which can pay o only
with a large volume of sales (Prokhorova et al., 2018).
One of the examples of the process for creating clusters in the Japanese
economy is the Toyota cluster, which was founded by creating the system
of subcontracting relationships between a number of large, medium and
small enterprises.
The “Knowledge cluster initiative” Program is active in Japan, which
stimulates the development of clusters in 18 regions of the country. Support
is provided to joint projects, where regional Universities act as the core
of clusters formed by a network of small innovative companies and large
industrial companies (Lenchuk and Vlaskin, 2010).
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Therefore, Japan has a concentration of medium and small enterprises
around a large company, a mechanism for stimulating the development
of highly specialized regions is provided, and the import of modern
technologies is also encouraged.
Dierent industry clusters have been developed in China. For example,
investment in China’s automobile industry has resulted in the formation of
motor transport clusters with a wide network of suppliers in the country,
research base, engineering companies and innovation centers. The process
of creating and developing clusters in China involves three government
levels: central, regional and municipal.
A municipality can create a zone for the development of high-tech
industries on its territory with the approval of the central government. The
central government also has the function of selecting companies worth
of special preferential measures. Besides, cooperation between business
and Universities is encouraged in every possible way, which is of great
importance for the emergence of own technological innovations and raising
the technological level of products.
Specic features of the state strategy in the eld of regional clustering in
dierent countries of the world are shown in Table 1.
Table No.1. Peculiarities of the state strategy in the eld of regional
clustering in dierent countries of the world
Country State strategy regarding clusters
USA 1. Provision of loans;
2. Prederential taxation of companies that carry out research and
development programs within the framework of the cluster;
Canada
1. Support at all government levels: federal, regional and
municipal;
2. Tax incentives for the private sector;
3. Large investments by federal agencies in the development of
innovation superclusters
Germany
1. State support for the consolidation of industry and scientic
centers;
2. Unication of private and public participants of the cluster;
3. Financial stimulation of clusters
Austria
1. Development of cross-border clusters;
sector;
2. Stimulation of relationships between research institutes and the
industrial sector;
3. Reduction of regulatory barriers in the process of implementing
innovative programs
France
1. Interaction of large, medium and small enterprises;
2. Consolidation of eorts of industrial enterprises and scientic
centers;
3. Application of the system of incentives for the development of
high technologies
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Oleh Predmestnikov, Viktor Vasylenko , Nataliia Fastovets , Olena Kurepina y Olha Hanych
Clusters as a Mechanism for Solving Socio-Economic Problems of Post-Conflict Ukraine
Italy
1. Support of small and medium-sized business in the industrial
areas of the country;
2. The system of stimulating mechanisms to attract investments
through the system of clusters
Finland 1. Presence of both national and international clusters;
2. State policy of supporting clusters;
3. Orientation of clusters on export
Japan 1. The mechanism for stimulating the development of highly
specialized regions;
2. The import of modern technologies is encouraged
China
1. Three levels of government are involved in the creation of
clusters: central, regional and municipal;
2. There are special privileged measures;
3. Cooperation between business and Universities is encouraged
Source: compiled by authors.
Thus, the experience of the USA, Canada, Italy, Germany, Austria,
France, Finland, Japan, and China shows that cluster initiatives have proved
their positive contribution into the economic development of regions, since
success in the modern instability conditions can be achieved only through
integrations. The creation of clusters encourages the economic development
of the region, starts the process of synergy and allows the eective use of the
natural and human potential of the region.
The interaction of manufacturing enterprises and scientic centers,
state and private enterprises within clusters contributes to the growth
of employment, investment attractiveness, accelerates the process of
spreading advanced technologies in the national economy. At the same
time, state support and incentive mechanisms are used for the development
of the cluster system, which helps to attract entrepreneurs and investors,
promotes the creation of clusters in various regions.
Stimulating and supporting clusters are important programs for
governments and other public entities. Cluster development initiatives are
actually an important area in economic policy considering the previous
eorts in regard to macroeconomic stabilization, privatization and
market opening, as well as reducing the expenses on business operations
(Mauroner, 2015).
2.2. Specic features of cluster policy in Ukraine
Clusters are also created and function in Ukraine. For example, the
“Podillia First” Program has been implemented since 1998; regional clusters
of sewing, agricultural and processing enterprises, as well as construction
companies and manufacturers of building materials were created in the
Khmelnytskyi region within the framework of this Program. A clustering
process of the regional economy was observed in Odesa, Kherson, Ivano-
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Frankivsk, Zakarpatska and Lviv regions at the beginning of the ХХІ
century.
This process took place with the support of local authorities by combining
the eorts of business and science in such sectors of the economy as tourism,
construction, agricultural activity, and consumer goods industry.
The functioning of clusters has led to positive structural changes in
dierent regions of Ukraine. However, the lack of a legislative framework, a
state strategy to support clusters, incentive mechanisms and other reasons
did not allow clusters to become a driving mechanism for attracting
investors to Ukraine.
The analysis of world experience regarding the implementation of the
cluster strategy allows us to single out a number of features that are useful
for increasing the eciency of cluster activities in Ukraine. The formation
of a cluster is a natural stage in the development of a country’s economic
activity, since the use of a cluster approach is perceived as the main
characteristic of countries with a highly developed economy.
There is no single cluster management model. Therefore, it is necessary
to adapt the management of the cluster to the specics of each country and
each cluster by creating a highly eective environment for the cluster’s
functioning.
The cluster system is able to develop business relations not only within
the borders of one state, but also at the international level. This allows
exchanging experience, technologies, and developing interaction between
clusters.
The cluster promotes competitiveness through innovation, helps
coordination and integration of all interested participants. The integration
of business structures can be carried out in various forms by using various
mechanisms, whose choice depends on the specics of production, the
market situation, economic conditions, etc.
To solve existing problems that Ukraine has at the present time
according to the dicult socio-economic situation, it is necessary to use legal
instruments that have proved positively themselves in the world practice. It
is advisable to borrow and implement into the legislation of Ukraine those
positive developments in the eld of creation and functioning of the system
of clusters that exist in various countries of the world, namely:
1) in the USA – the system of providing loans, as well as stimulating
mechanisms for the taxation of companies that carry out scientic research
and development programs within the cluster; 2) in Canada – the system of
tax incentives for the private sector; 3) in Germany – the system of nancial
stimulation of clusters, the mechanism for uniting public and private cluster
participants; 4) in Austria – the procedure for reducing regulatory barriers
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Oleh Predmestnikov, Viktor Vasylenko , Nataliia Fastovets , Olena Kurepina y Olha Hanych
Clusters as a Mechanism for Solving Socio-Economic Problems of Post-Conflict Ukraine
in the process of implementing innovation programs; 5) in France – the
system of incentives for the development of high technologies; 6) in Italy
– methods of supporting small and medium-sized businesses, stimulating
mechanism for attracting investments; 7) in Finland – the mechanism
of state support for clusters; 8) in Japan – the system of incentives for
the import of modern technologies; 9) in China – the mechanism for
encouraging cooperation between business and Universities inside the
cluster.
In our opinion, the further development of the system of clusters in
Ukraine should be carried out in the direction of the formation of a highly
eective favorable environment for scientic and technical progress, which
is adequate to the modern problems of Ukraine. The cluster system is aimed
at the interaction between state authorities, local self-government agencies,
business and research institutes.
Strong relationships between business structures and research institutes
characterize regional clusters. Research institutions can play an important
role in promoting the transparency needed to foster innovation and to
attract investments. This makes it possible to strive for excellence and raise
the level of all participants.
Therefore, we believe that the use of a cluster approach to solve existing
socio-economic problems in Ukraine will allow solving many accumulated
problems. It is necessary to use intensive factors to ensure the eciency of
the use of clusters, increase competitiveness and increase the innovative
direction of the development.
Implementation of the suggested conceptual principles of creating
cluster structures will allow developing both the regional economic system
and the economy in general. The ability to continuously evaluate will provide
an opportunity to ensure the improvement of the cluster’s operation.
Conclusion
The conducted research allows us to make the following conclusions:
1. Clusters have received development in various countries of the
world, including the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Italy, France,
Japan, China and others, and have positively proved themselves at
the regional and state levels.
2. Clusters have assisted to revive the economy of regions, to encourage
investors, to develop high-tech industries, and to create new jobs.
3. In terms of a dicult socio-economic situation in Ukraine, clusters
can become a mechanism, which helps to solve a complex of problems,
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namely: attraction of investments, development of the economy of
regions aected by hostilities.
4. Clusters are currently being created in Ukraine. However, there is
no legislative framework, a state strategy for supporting clusters,
incentive mechanisms for investors not allowing clusters to become
a driving mechanism for the recovery of Ukraine’s economy.
5. It is necessary to borrow various mechanisms, which allow using
clusters to attract investments and activate economic processes in
the region, from dierent world countries and implement them into
Ukrainian legislation.
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Vol.41 Nº 77