The phenomenon of maritime clusters has spawned a rich body of scholarly work in the last fifteen years. Yet, the answer to one important question has remained elusive: what is a maritime cluster? This question is important because maritime clusters have rapidly become the focus of economic competitiveness policies promoted by both firms and policymakers. This study reviews research articles published over a 15-year period that investigate maritime clusters and derives three distinct definitions of a maritime cluster from them: an industrial complex, an agglomeration of interlinked industries, and a community-based network.
Economic ClustersMaritime
Major players from the worlds of business, academia and politics in five federal German states work together in the maritime cluster.
The Maritime Cluster Northern Germany (MCN) promotes and develops cooperation in the Northern German maritime industry.
The MCN gives the industry a voice, creates platforms so stakeholders can interact with one another, and promotes interfacing with other industries — innovative, technology-oriented and forward-facing. From shipbuilding, engineering and ocean technology to shipping and offshore activities, the maritime economy has many facets and enormous future potential. In Northern Germany the maritime industry has been key to the economy for decades and will continue to play a decisive role in determining future economic development.
As an export country, Germany needs a high-performance maritime industry. Future challenges depend on innovative solutions for matters that connect the sea to the shore. The maritime sector secures well over 400,000 jobs in Germany and the activities of the industry as well as the work of scientific research institutions largely concentrated in Northern Germany. These maritime institutions and enterprises in the region form an important cluster across a variety of networks. The states of Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein support the cross-state cluster formation through the MCN.
