Mission and goals

The essence of clusters is not a simple issue, as for many years competition was the basis of company strategy planning and implementation. Currently, companies need a change in approach, from competitiveness to wise cooperation.

In the modern world of business, to gain a competitive advantage requires from businessmen prompt adaptation to the ongoing changes in a more and more dynamic environment. Identifying and taking the opportunities which appear on the market necessitates diverse reserves and competences. Innovative ideas or technologies are being introduced and implemented at company level. Such activity is profitable; however, it also involves high risk, as the product or technology might not be accepted on the market due to the high price for clients.
Gaining greater flexibility with an adequate proportion between costs and profits is mostly possible through the consolidation of several business entities. A tendency to shift from competitiveness to cooperation has been observed over the last decade. At present, such initiatives are also made in Poland. One of them is the Innovative Technologies Cluster of Production.

"For several years the popularity of clusters in Poland has been increasing dynamically. The clusters have become the mission symbol of European Union programmes, national and regional economic projects and a substantial challenge for companies. The essence of clusters is not a straightforward issue as competition has been the foundation of strategic thinking, planning and implementation for 50 years. With strategic thinking based on creating competitive advantage, companies gained nothing more than incremental growth – imitation or evolutionary growth instead of a principal value of innovation. Companies need to leap from the conventional competitive attitude to an innovative one which is based on the value of cooperation."
[ScD Eng Lilla Knop, from ‘Opportunities and Barriers of Technical Clusters Development in Poland’