Title: Causal cross-impact analysis for identification and assessment of strategic options for industrial clusters

Authors: Heiko Duin; Klaus-Dieter Thoben

Addresses: BIBA – Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH, Hochschulring 20, 28359 Bremen, Germany ' BIBA – Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH, Hochschulring 20, 28359 Bremen, Germany; Faculty of Production Engineering, University of Bremen, Badgasteiner Straße 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany

Abstract: Strategic planning for industrial clusters differs compared to strategic planning for corporations. Industrial clusters are characterised by the existence of non-focal organisational networks within the cluster representing different roles like manufacturing companies, suppliers, research institutions and regional development agencies. This paper shows how strategic planning can be carried out with the help of cross-impact analysis in networked structures found in such clusters using a German aviation cluster as an example. For this purpose, a planning team of ten persons was put together, which unifies the different perspectives of the different types of partners. Using an adapted strategic planning process, the team developed, analysed and used a causal cross-impact model to derive strategic options for the cluster. These options were further developed into sets of measures and integrated into the cross-impact model. This approach allowed the review of the effectiveness of the various strategic options including the assessment of their robustness.

Keywords: industrial cluster; aviation cluster; causal cross-impact analysis; enterprise networks; networked organisations; strategic planning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNVO.2020.106496

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 2020 Vol.22 No.3, pp.272 - 300

Received: 14 Apr 2018
Accepted: 03 Oct 2018
Published online: 09 Apr 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article