Industrial clusters and promotion of CSR: the case of developing countries

Abstract

The publication of Porter’s book entitled "Competitive Advantage of Nations" allowed clustering to become a worry of all countries and territories. It has proven its efficiency as an effective means of industrial and economic development of nations and a way to improve the competitiveness of firms by allowing them to benefit from positive externalities induced by collective action and geographic proximity both in developed and developing countries. But, beyond its economic benefits that are widely discussed in the theoretical and empirical literature, the question that can be asked about clustering is "To what extent clustering can contribute to the diffusion of CSR in the context of developing countries (DCs)?". This relatively new question is still underexplored by the researchers. Also, the available studies on the subject brought divergent conclusions on the potential impact of clustering on CSR. In this paper, we show that clustering, through joint action it implies and the support that it enjoys can encourage firms to adopt a positive attitude towards the ecological environment and the society by implementing CSR policies. But this can be achieved only when the State and the private institutions accomplish their role by deterring socially irresponsible behavior and by funding and encouraging CSR actions and initiatives.