ISSN: 1648 - 4460

International Journal of Scholarly Papers

VU KHF

Transformations  in
Business & Economics

Transformations in
Business & Economics

  • © Vilnius University, 2002-2008
  • © Brno University of Technology, 2002-2008
  • © University of Latvia, 2002-2008
Article
Leadership in Clusters: Attributes of an Effective Cluster Leader in Slovenia
Hugo Zagoršek, Anja Cotič Svetina, Marko Jaklič

ABSTRACT. Clusters have recently emerged as a crucial concept for developing and enhancing the competitive advantage of regions or industries. However, the success of the cluster development initiatives has often been lower than expected. Research suggests that lack of high-quality leadership is one of the major factors determining fate of such an initiative. The paper explores the issue of leadership in the context of clusters. It focuses on the attributes that make successful cluster leaders. In the theoretical part, leadership in a cluster environment is compared to leadership in a traditional organizations and a framework for understanding effective cultures leadership is developed. The empirical research was performed via personal interviews in 83 companies that belonged to clusters in Slovenia. Respondents were asked to list three attributes of effective cluster leaders. Content analysis revealed 11 characteristics of effective cluster leaders, with most important being: 1) forward looking, 2) expert, 3) skilled manager and 4) credible. The paper concludes with the list of priority tasks for a cluster leader, developed on the basis of the research findings. These suggestions may provide a good starting point for leaders of cluster development initiatives.

KEYWORDS: leadership, clusters, cluster development, regional development, Slovenia.

JEL classification: R58, M10, P2.

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Scholarly papers Transformations in Business & Economics
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