DEVELOPMENT OF CLUSTERS IN POLAND AND THEIR ROLE FORECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS

During an era of globalization, technological development and changes incompetition have transformed the role of traditionalfactors of industrial location.It may seem that the possibilities of speedy re-locations of different factors ofproduction enableenterprises to locate their economic activity anywhere to realisecompetitive advantage. However, in reality we observe a tendency for spatialconcentration of economic activity and clusters are becoming a striking feature ofincreasingly complex economy. The paper focuses on the process of developmentof clusters in Poland and their impact on the competitiveness, which may beanalyzed from micro-,meso-and macroeconomic perspective. After joining theEuropean Union,there has been adynamic creation of clusters in different sectorsof Polish economy. The aim of the research is to identify the most importantbenefits resulting from that process. One of the greatest advantage from clusters isthat they constitute the best diagnosed method for stimulating the horizontalcooperation in the economy, which isacentral element in modern innovationprocesses.This assumptionis verified in this article on the basis of data collectedin survey researchconductedin 2012on50clustercoordinators and 350 firmsbelonging to cluster initiatives.Clusters positively contribute to economiccompetitiveness,sotheycanact as growth poles forthe economy atregional andnationallevel, which is a reason for thepopularity of theconcept of cluster-basedeconomicpolicy.Since cluster concept has become a significant element ofmodern economic policy, it is important to examine the instruments used inPoland in order to support creation and development of clusters