Open AccessCOOPERATION OF AGRI-FOOD CLUSTERS WITH UNIVERSITIES: THE CASE STUDY FOR POLAND
Author(s) -
Joanna Wiśniewska-Paluszak,
Krzysztof Koszela,
Izabela Lipińska,
Lucyna Przezbórska-Skobiej,
Anna WielickaRegulska,
Arkadiusz Sadowski,
Olga Grabowska-Chenczke
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
agrofor
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2490-3442
pISSN - 2490-3434
DOI - 10.7251/agreng2002132w
Subject(s) - cluster (spacecraft) , business , arable land , distribution (mathematics) , economic geography , joint (building) , marketing , regional science , industrial organization , geography , agriculture , computer science , engineering , architectural engineering , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology , programming language
Poland is a major supplier of food for Western Europe. It ranks 4th in the EU in arable land. Agri-food industry clusters are developing dynamically in Poland, which is mainly related to the agri-food specialisation of most regions of the country. Clusters play a significant role in creating supply chains, joint investments, and developing innovative solutions; for these reasons, their development depends on cooperative relations with scientific institutions, which become initiators of joint activities. This paper aims to investigate collaborative relationships that arise between agri-food clusters and universities. The article analyses an example of an agri-food cluster from the Greater Poland region, which mainly develops modern distribution channels of food products produced by its participants. To obtain data, we interviewed cluster management. We elaborate on the concept of university-cluster collaboration (UCC) which identifies that the cooperation between cluster participants and the universities bases on creating interpersonal relations by direct and personal interactions between cluster entrepreneurs and university research staff.