Government support for the development of regional food clusters: evidence from Alberta, Canada

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Date
2011-03
Authors
Steiner, Bodo E.
Ali, Jolene
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Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
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Abstract
This paper analyses government support for networking and regional cluster growth in the food sector. It is, to the best of our knowledge, the first paper to provide a literature review of studies on regional food clusters, focusing on key features that characterise successful regional food clusters. The review compares key characteristics of such clusters with characteristics of clusters from other industrial sectors. The insights from these studies on clustering success and the role of government are contrasted with empirical evidence on government support for clustering in the Canadian food sector, specifically in the province of Alberta. The empirical evidence is based on two small industry surveys, one conducted in March 2005, and the second in August 2009. Considering this empirical evidence, we have little support for an emerging food (innovation) cluster in Alberta, and little evidence for effective government support toward food cluster development in Alberta.
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Keywords
Location based clustering , Food clusters , Networks , Innovation , Government support , Alberta, Canada , Regional clusters , Regional development
Citation
Steiner, B.; Ali, J. (2011) 'Government support for the development of regional food clusters: Evidence from Alberta, Canada'. International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development, 3 (2):186-216. doi: 10.1504/IJIRD.2011.038924
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© 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.