Compensación de economías de aglomeración débiles en clusters industriales. El caso del cluster industrial de Marinha Grande, Portugal

Abstract

This paper reports research findings on the mold producing cluster of Marinha Grande (MG), Portu-gal. The case of MG is relevant because, even though it has no mold consuming customers in its proximity, it has managed to be one of the most important regions in the world of mold production. MG is an international exception by constituting as a cluster in itself and not as a component of larger automotive clusters or mold consuming industries. We based our work in interviews to mold firms based in MG and the industry association. We also compared the MG case to the automotive cluster of Windsor Detroit. From this research we propose a conceptual model to enrich local development policies with “compensation mechanisms” in the face of weaknesses in the agglomeration economies of each specific cluster.