Clusters: A strategy to achieve social and economic growth taking success factors from Seoul and Barcelona cases

Clusters are nowadays a strategy to achieve competitive advantages where the relationships between technology, innovation and industrial location have come to be essential features of regional development. Clusters from Seoul, Korea with government intervention and initiatives of private sectors there is only one, Guro Digital Complex and in the case of Barcelona, Spain with the government intervention and initiatives of private sectors there is only one too and is named 22@Barcelona. These days the new trend of the global economy, building innovative local clusters has become one of the core strategies economic and technologic success. The first clusters start in the United States of America and then in Europe, Asia and Middle east. Basically, the concept of cluster is the relationship between companies and high-technology focused particularly on consolidating the following sectors: Media, ICT (Information, Community and Technology),. Design, Energy and Media. Cluster has the potential to attracting , retaining and promoting foreign companies. Strategies are necessary in order to build locally embedded innovative clusters. The creation of a cluster involve coordination of many aspects that require new management techniques, new government policies, public organizations, new infrastructures, neighborhood support, etc. It also needs time and stages. In the majority of cases, the transformation into cluster area previously took place in old industrial areas based in manufacturing textiles, sewing, metallurgy and low tech industry. Cluster has the advantage of space devoted to the production and creation of new housing, enabling people to live near their workplace. By working closely with a cluster, members of the organization have the opportunity to build relationships with industry that can facilitate the provision of services. Otherwise, the housing area with local shops ensure the vitality of commerce in the area. Two different regions to study with their cultural and historical characteristics one from Seoul and the other from Barcelona may seem on a superficial view two clusters very similar, but an exhaustive study will find differences. The two clusters areas were originally old industrial areas mainly based on textile and garment manufacturing between the years 1960 to 1980. The analysis of the morphology of each cluster that takes place from the two districts will be also one of the starting points to identify the organization and to take the positive benefits from the two clusters for finding the best factors to the profit of both countries