The Hiramatsu Concept of “One Village, One Product” as an Element of Regional Industrial Specialization and a Cluster Policy Tool

Abstract

OVOP (“one village, one product”) can be interpreted as an early phase of creating clusters, bearing in mind the differences and similarities between these two phenomena. The chapter aims to present the development of the Hiramatsu concept by including the developing countries alongside developed countries in the existing model and to evaluate the concept implementation possibilities for the development of regional industrial specializations and cluster policies. The chapter presents three research questions: (RQ1) may the Hiramatsu concept be used in the developing countries?, (RQ2) can the one village, one product model foster the development of regional industrial specializations? and (RQ3) can the Hiramatsu concept be a tool of model cluster policy? As a result of the research conducted in the chapter, it can be concluded that the Hiramatsu concept can be implemented in the developed and developing economies as an element of regional policy, wherever there is a large concentration of industry. This concept can also be a useful executive tool in cluster policy.