Innovations in innovation policy: reconstructing the emergence, legitimation and dynamics of cluster policies in Germany

Abstract

Cluster policies are but one of the most well-known policy tools tosteer innovation in the realm of science and technology policy. While there is much research on the effects of cluster based funding for innovation and scholarly strategies, little is said about its emergence, its legitimation and its situatedness in societal discourses and professional practices. This article applies an ‘instrument constituencies’ perspective on cluster policies in science and innovation. Drawing on the case of Germany, it is argued that these policy instruments are not only legitimated by an academic literature but that their introduction also depended on very specific national constellations shaping the uptake of the instrument. It is also shown that the construction of the instrument cannot be separated from its implementation, thus contributing to the emergence of new communities of practice.