Cluster Development Models: Challenges and Opportunities

Clusters are the concentration of homogeneous enterprises producing similar products or providing identical services along with relevant backward and forward linkage enterprises in a particular geographic location sharing common opportunities and threats. Clusters are mainly two types based of their origin i.e. naturally grown and manmade clusters. Cluster development practitioners, experts, stakeholder organizations introduced a long list of cluster development models for guiding a cluster manager into his / her predetermined goal of cluster development. Notable models are provided by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Cluster Navigator – New Zealand, Cluster Plus – India, TCI Network – USA and European Cluster Observatory etc. None of the above mentioned model is fully implementable in a least developed country like Bangladesh. Bangladesh has limitations in terms of financial ability, technical knowledge, technological and managerial capacity to dedicate resources for cluster development. In Bangladesh enterprises are located at a particular location like cluster; but they do not have interlink either vertically or horizontally with each other. They are not sharing competitive advantages between them rather competing with each other’s. As a result they are not enjoying expected growth by using advantages of a cluster. Therefore authors would like to analyze most of the available cluster development models and offer a new model titled J. M Model for Cluster Development. This model would be pro-poor, flexible and equally effective in any least developed country and developed economies as well. Basically, the model offered here is the result of the experiences of both the authors from needs assessment for cluster development and development initiatives for about thirty heterogeneous clusters located in different districts of Bangladesh. Each of the SME clusters are unique in nature with diverse opportunities and challenges. To address each of the challenge of cluster development the model shall be flexible enough for adopting tailor made intervention as and when required. This model will lead a practitioner into his or her predetermined goal of developing a naturally grown or man-made cluster.