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The chapter aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and crisis on the implementation of the game market strategy of clustering business structures. The chapter contributes to the literature by clarifying the concept of economic clustering from the perspectives of game theory and stakeholder theory in the COVID-19 pandemic and crisis. The scientific novelty and originality of the research results are that they revealed differences in the effectiveness of the game strategy of clustering business structures, first, between developed and developing countries and, second, between conditions of stability and conditions of crisis. The theoretical significance of the results and conclusions is that they opened a new perspective on the clustering of business structures – from the perspective of game theory (as a game strategy in its alternativity with the strategy of individual business presence in the market) and from the perspective of stakeholder theory (as a market strategy, the effectiveness of which is evaluated for all stakeholders). The practical significance of the research lies in the fact that it allows rationalising the decision-making on the implementation of the game strategy of clustering business structures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and crisis, considering the peculiarities of developed and developing countries. The authors provide their recommendations for each category of country.

To determine the influence of the development of clustering of the national business environment on the level of digital competitiveness.

The research was performed using the following methods: statistical analysis, correlation analysis and comparative analysis.

We study the influence of the development of clustering of the national business environment on the level of digital competitiveness. It is revealed that the studied developed countries (Singapore, Denmark and Switzerland) demonstrate a high level of clustering of business, which is assessed through the use of the indicator ‘State of сluster development’, and a high level of digital competitiveness. The considered developing countries (Peru, Mexico and the Philippines) have medium values of the above variables. Only Peru was able to use a highly effective mechanism of clustering, which influenced the digitalisation of sectors of the economy, which have business clusters. We also describe the competitive advantages of the development of cluster entrepreneurial structures, which ensure their economic and market success.

The scientific novelty of the results obtained is due to the elaboration on the specifics of the influence of the cluster strategy of business integration on the level of national digital competitiveness.

A few decades ago, most research works on internationalisation were aligned to studies in developed economies. In recent times, business entrepreneurs in developing and emerging economies have shown their potential to permeate international markets. The current capability of business entrepreneurs in developing and emerging economies, which drives their ability to overcome the numerous barriers to internationalisation, particularly within clusters, requires a critical examination. As a result, the study situates the discussion on internationalisation within the theory of agglomeration in developing and emerging economies and argues that the gains enjoyed by business entrepreneurs from operating in close proximity in clusters are critical for overcoming the barriers of internationalisation. This research adopts a systematic review of secondary data to tease out the unique attributes of clusters in developing and emerging economies, which supports the internationalisation drive. The findings show that most emerging economy clusters are engaged in exports but there is minimal work on international entrepreneurs operating within clusters. The unique features that drive exporting clusters are the presence of multinational companies, public agencies and collaborative relationships. These unique features have the capacity to minimise the constraints to internationalisation and determine the export performance of businesses in the cluster.

This research is to determine scenarios and perspectives for improving the cluster strategy of business integration in the post-COVID-19 era with the help of the methodology of the game theory.

The methodology of this research includes the complex method, statistical method, correlation analysis and the game theory of decision-making.

Based on the analysis of scientific approaches, we formulate the authors' treatment of the essence of the notion of clustering, which characteristics are evaluated in this work. In this treatment, we distinguish factors that influence the development of clustering of business structures of the state, which level is assessed within the analysis. The components of the competitiveness of business structures are among such factors. Cluster structures of certain countries successfully functioned during the COVID-19 pandemic, using effective strategies created independently (United States) and based on the strategies of non-market regulation (China).

The scientific novelty of this research consists in the identification of the types and characteristics of the strategies of clustering of business structures formed during the COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 eras.

The purpose of this paper is to find out the different types of business networks formed by firms with the stakeholders present in a cluster, i.e. how firms in a cluster interact with the cluster stakeholders?

To answer the research question, this study uses an exploratory research design, which is carried out in two stages, Stage 1 involves use of primary data, which was collected through semi-structured personal face-to-face interview mode and Stage 2 involves survey research method where data was collected through a survey questionnaire. Data for interviews and questionnaires were collected from managers and owners of firms operating in the cluster at their offices.

The study has identified four types of business networks between a firm and its buyers, only one type of business network with the suppliers and educational institutes, finally two types of business networks with government agencies and local associations. However, with respect to network with other stakeholders such as research institutes and competitors, the study shows that the interaction between a firm and these stakeholders is not strong i.e. the linkages between them remain largely unfilled.

The study has been limited to only one cluster thus it might not be appropriate to generalise the findings. Further research in this area needs to be done by taking other clusters to generalise the findings.

The study has tried to answer the research gap of lack of literature on types of business networks formed by firms with the stakeholders present in an industrial cluster, and thus, contributed to the existing literature of business networks. The identified business networks provide a much deeper understanding of how firms connect with its buyers, its suppliers, government agencies and educational institutes operating in an auto-component cluster.

An efficient policy supporting clustered business operations necessitates an appreciation of the dynamics of rivalry and collaborations among businesses. This paper postulates that variation in competition and cooperation can significantly influence the nature of business relationships among clustered businesses, which is essential for cluster policy particularly (Newlands, 2003) as most research on rivalry and cooperation in clusters have been in developed economies. The purpose of this paper is to seek to fill the gap in the literature in African clusters based on original empirical research.

The study adopts a mixed-method research design allowing for data triangulation to study two food processing clusters. The approach comprises a survey and in-depth interview with key actors along the supply chain.

The findings show that business clusters with more formal business structures tend to have minimal horizontal competition but higher vertical cooperation. Comparatively, clusters with more socially embedded milieu tend to have higher levels of cooperation and minimal competition in both vertical and horizontal relationships. The research also shows that such variations in inter-business relationships have an effect on cluster operations in terms of business access to finance, formal contract, sharing of innovation and the way they relate to different stakeholders in their supply chain.

This paper advances a critical case for international business theory on clusters in Africa to incorporate the distinctive business relationships in small and medium enterprises (SME) clusters. It also demonstrates how unique location-specific attributes of developing economies hold the key to sustaining the operations of SME-based clusters.

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential impact of Industry 5.0 on businesses and management by integrating advanced technologies to develop smart cities (Society 5.0) and digital value chains, leading to Innovation 5.0 and triple bottom line sustainability. We propose an Organization Value Chain 5.0 model to describe the ecosystem interactions that leverage organizational innovative behavior through knowledge management.

Using a systematic literature review methodology, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of 968 Industry 5.0 articles, 297 Innovation 5.0 articles and 510 Society 5.0 articles from the WOS and Scopus databases. This analysis supports the development of our conceptual model.

This allowed us to propose the conceptual model for the new notion of Organization Value Chain 5.0 and its ecosystem components.

This study provides a detailed analysis of Industry 5.0, its technological elements and its relevance to creating Society 5.0, smart cities and digitalized value chains. It highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement and integration for effective digital industrial transformation.

This paper examines the role played by business cluster ecosystems and intellectual capital (IC) in achieving high-growth firm (HGF) status.

We draw our insights from the knowledge-based perspective and economic geography as a theoretical lens, which combined offer a more unifying understanding of how business cluster ecosystems and IC foster high growth entrepreneurship.

Drawing on a sample of 11,360 German incorporated firms across 80 clusters, we find that cluster ecosystems play a significant role in supporting firms to become HGFs. More specifically, being located in business clusters increases the likelihood of becoming HGFs by 2.2% to 4.49%. We also find that clusters with more productive firms in the ecosystems provide favorable conditions for member firms to achieve HGF status, while the impact of other cluster-specific conditions (high-tech cluster membership and multinational enterprise share in clusters) is less clear. Additional insights suggest that firm IC (investments in intangible assets) enables firms to achieve high growth status.

The findings of this paper hold theoretical and managerial relevance and shed more light on the impact of cluster-specific factors in the ecosystems and firm IC in achieving high growth entrepreneurship.

This paper is among the first of its kind to bring together three distinct literatures (HGFs, business clusters and IC) and utilize insights from each to derive a conceptual framework that links them in explaining high-growth entrepreneurship.

Recently, there is an increasing academic and practitioner interest on the Igbo ethnic group, their business activities and how they have utilised industrial clusters to drive local industrial development in the southeast region of Nigeria and the country at large. However, there are relatively few studies that have explored the mechanisms driving this development. Our chapter focuses on explicating the Igbo business industrial clusters and its inherent locally generated venture capital approach built on the Igbo traditional culture and philosophy. We draw on previous literature to show the three phases: assessing competency, providing the start-up capital and continuous replication process involved in creating and sustaining the locally generated venture capital approach as operated by Igbo business industrial clusters. We contend that overall, this approach has the potential to drive modern business and industrial policies for driving entrepreneurial start-ups, innovation, and economic sustainability. We conclude our chapter by highlighting the implications for Africa, African business practices and areas for future studies.

This study investigates how a competitor orientation (knowledge of and acting on competitors' strengths and weaknesses) facilitates coopetition activities (collaboration with competitors), within networks of competing micro-sized, independent, family restaurants, owned by entrepreneurs from ethnic minority backgrounds.

An instrumental case study features data collected from interviews with 30 owners (as key informants) of micro-sized, independent, family-owned restaurants, in two urban clusters within the Midlands (UK). Specifically, the context involves restaurants offering South Asian cuisine and where the owner originated from the Indian sub-continent (Bangladesh, India or Pakistan). Secondary data were collected wherever possible. These two clusters (not named for ethics reasons) are highly populated by members of these respective ethnic communities; also, they contain a relatively large number of restaurants offering South Asian cuisine.

A competitor orientation facilitated strong coopetition-oriented partnerships comprised of extended family and intra-community members that helped enhance individual firms' performance, maintained family employment and sustained their cluster. It also helped owners develop subtle counter strategies where weak ties existed, such as via inter-community networks. For example, strategies attracted customers that were not loyal to a particular restaurant, or indeed, sub-ethnic cuisine (within Bangladesh, India or Pakistan, like the Punjab region). Subtle as opposed to outright counter strategies minimised retaliation, since restaurant owners wanted to avoid price wars, or spreading misinformation where the reputation of a cluster may suffer alongside the likely survival of individual businesses within that regional cluster.

Mixed evidence exists in earlier studies regarding the competitive rivalry in certain sectors where ethnic minority ownership is prominent; not least, restaurants located in regional clusters. However, this investigation considers the notion – what if some of these earlier studies are wrong? More specifically, does certain prior research under-represent the extent that rival entrepreneurs of an ethnic minority origin collaborate rather than compete for mutually beneficial purposes? New evidence emerges regarding ways in which a competitor orientation can influence the performance-enhancing nature of coopetition activities among business owners originating from both intra and inter-ethnic communities.