<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<bold>Subject and purpose of work:</bold> The study aims to explore the role of social capital in the new concept of “effective” cluster, by exploiting not only its human and financial assets but also the social networks with the cluster.
<bold>Materials and methods:</bold> The study presents the case-study findings of the five life-sciences clusters which were conducted in 2018-2019. Additionally, the article discusses the role of social capital and the collaborative efforts within the life sciences clusters during the Covid-19 pandemic.
<bold>Results:</bold> All the analyzed cluster environments have their own social dynamics. Considering the scale and scope of social ties, the Cambridge and Medicon Valley clusters conform with the concept of the “functional clusters”, while the Bay Area and Seattle clusters can be classified as “effective clusters”.
<bold>Conclusions:</bold> All the cluster ecosystems have evolved from different origins and they follow different evolutionary paths. Yet, clusters with richer social capital achieve higher collaborative synergy, leading to an increase in knowledge spillovers and innovations. Public policies should focus on the active promotion of social networks and market-oriented intermediaries connecting main cluster partners.
</abstract>

Subject and purpose of work: The study aims to explore the role of social capital in the new concept of “effective” cluster, by exploiting not only its human and financial assets but also the social networks with the cluster.
Materials and methods: The study presents the case-study findings of the five life-sciences clusters which were conducted in 2018-2019. Additionally, the article discusses the role of social capital and the collaborative efforts within the life sciences clusters during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Results: All the analyzed cluster environments have their own social dynamics. Considering the scale and scope of social ties, the Cambridge and Medicon Valley clusters conform with the concept of the “functional clusters”, while the Bay Area and Seattle clusters can be classified as “effective clusters”.
Conclusions: All the cluster ecosystems have evolved from different origins and they follow different evolutionary paths. Yet, clusters with richer social capital achieve higher collaborative synergy, leading to an increase in knowledge spillovers and innovations. Public policies should focus on the active promotion of social networks and market-oriented intermediaries connecting main cluster partners.

Social Capital and Social Networks in the Life Sciences Industry Clusters. An Analysis of Selected Case Studies

Economic and Regional Studies / Studia Ekonomiczne i Regionalne

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Subject and purpose of work: The study aims to explore the role of social capital in the new concept of “effective” cluster, by exploiting not only its human...

Social Capital and Social Networks in the Life Sciences Industry Clusters. An Analysis of Selected Case Studies

Published Online: Oct 11, 2021

Page range: 279 - 293

Received: Jul 01, 2021

Accepted: Sep 01, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ers-2021-0020

Keywords
social capital, networks, cluster, life sciences

© 2021 Małgorzata Runiewicz-Wardyn, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Social Capital and Social Networks in the Life Sciences Industry Clusters. An Analysis of Selected Case Studies

Published Online: Oct 11, 2021

Page range: 279 - 293

Received: Jul 01, 2021

Accepted: Sep 01, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ers-2021-0020

Keywordssocial capital, networks, cluster, life sciences

© 2021 Małgorzata Runiewicz-Wardyn, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
social capital, networks, cluster, life sciences