This book compares innovation “clusters” in Japan and France. The “cluster” concept, initially based on the endogenous agglomeration of business and universities as the case of “Silicon Valley,” was adopted as a model of competitiveness by practitioners — primarily state officials. In the first decade of this century, many state-led exogenous clusters were established in various countries, including Japan and France. The clusters studied empirically in this book have been the focus of public policies aimed at fostering technological activities and high-tech businesses based on academic–industry collaborations. After approximately 20 years of experimentation, the cluster phenomenon, namely, the interplay between heterogeneous actors, is re-examined, not to assess its performance but to highlight its enduring effect on specific territories in Japan and France. Rather than focusing on performance, this book highlights the influences, both negative and positive, according to the characteristics of the social contexts in Japan and France. The reader can see the effects of those clusters on human, organizational, and cognitive resources, and how their influence ultimately shapes their future territorial development.

Masayo Fujimoto is Professor at Doshisha University, Japan. Editor Fujimoto has conducted research on organizations employing science and technology professionals for over 30 years. She received academic awards in the book category in 2006, 2010, and 2019. Regarding industrial clusters, she participated in a joint project conducted by Stanford University's Silicon Valley research team and the research institute of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Under the leadership of then-Director Professor Masahiko Aoki, he conducted research on Japanese industrial clusters. Drawing on these experiences, she surveys the roles of actors employed within industrial clusters in this study.

Hiroatsu Nohara is a researcher affiliated with LEST-CNRS at Aix-Marseille University (France) and Doshisha University (Japan). His work is grounded in an interdisciplinary framework combining economics and sociology, with particular expertise in knowledge creation, science and technology systems, skills and training, professions and careers, and economic geography. He has led and contributed to extensive international comparative research projects in collaboration with leading academic institutions, including the London School of Economics (with Prof. Marsden), the University of Cambridge(Prof. Rayan), and Cornell University(Prof. Batt). His research has been supported by competitive funding from major international agencies, notably the European Commission, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France).