One-size-fits-all cluster policies have been rightly criticized in the literature. One promising approach is to focus cluster policies on the specific needs of firms depending on the stage of development (emergence, growth, sustainment or decline) their cluster is in. In this highly insightful book, these stage-specific cluster policies are analysed and evaluated. Moreover, several chapters also focus on smart specialization policies to promote regional development by taking into account the emergence and adaptation of clusters and industries. In so doing, the book contributes to a newly emerging literature on how the cluster life cycle concept can inform policies and how these policies differ from static approaches that ignore the dynamism of clusters. The underlying idea is to foster the ability of clusters to renew themselves and to generate new developmental paths, thus preventing stagnation and decline.

This state-of-the-art exploration of smart specialization from a cluster life cycle perspective is an invaluable book for academics in the fields of economic geography, entrepreneurship, innovation, industrial economics, regional studies and cluster research. It will also appeal to regional policy makers and practitioners dealing with public policy.

Contributors include: Y. Al-Saleh, B.T. Asheim, A. Auer, M. Benner, P. Cooke, D. Fornahl, J.K. Fosse, M. Fromhold-Eisebith, M. Grillitsch, R. Hassink, A. Isaksen, K. Koschatzky, H. Kroll, T. Lämmer-Gamp, B. Lageman, S. Mahroum, R. Martin, G. Meier zu Köcker, J. Nordhause-Janz, R. Normann, R. Ramlogan, D. Rehfeld, M. Rothgang, E. Schnab, T. Stahlecker, F. Tödtling, M. Trippl, E. Uyarra, J. Vicente