Clusters in the Regional Development (the Case of Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region)

The support and the development of cluster formations are a topical issue of government support. Clusters represent an important tool of innovation policy as well as a way to augment its competitiveness both for regions and for the country at large. However, the increasing number of clusters has led to the necessity of choosing the most significant clusters for their further development. This project is devoted to study of the efficiency of cluster policy’s influence on the region development. From the perspective of the analysis of cluster policy carried out in regions, this research is aimed at elaborating recommendations for the development of promising directions in creating clusters of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region. To achieve this goal the importance factors’ approach was elaborated and an empirical study of identifying significant cluster groups in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region was undertaken. The following tasks were set: - To study theoretical and methodological basics of clusters and their functions in the region development; - To define the governmental role in clusters’ activity; - To explore the approaches of identifying significant cluster groups in regions; - To find out the promising cluster groups of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region; - To give and justify recommendations about the direction of SMEs’ clusters development in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region. The scholarly importance of this paper lies in the approbation of the approach of the aggregate data of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region cluster groups’ importance. Its practical significance consists in the possibility of defining the promising directions of cluster groups’ development with taking into account the specific traits of regions’ economy.