Article citationsMore>>

Irún, B., Moya, P., Monferrer, D., Moliner, M. A., & Bayonne, E. (2022a). The Key Role of European Clusters as Innovation Ecosystems, and Their Implication in the Successful International Promotion of the Member Companies in the Strategic Chinese Sectors: Net-Zero and Smart Cities, Smart Ports and Smart Factories. In J. M. Guaita Martínez, & R. Puertas Medina (Eds.), Digitalization in Business: On the Road to a Sustainable World (pp. 95-144). Nova Science Publishers.

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Beyond Networking: Industrial Clusters as Institutional Orchestrators of CleanTech Innovation Ecosystems

  AUTHORS: Enrique Bayonne, Beatriz Irún Molina, Paloma Moya, Alberto Sáez

  KEYWORDS: Energy Clusters, Innovation Ecosystems, Open Innovation, Ecosystem Orchestration, CleanTech, Sustainability Transition, Public-Private Collaboration, Knowledge Transfer, Net-Zero Industry Act, CECV

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Social Sciences, Vol.14 No.10, October 30, 2026

  ABSTRACT: Achieving a net-zero economy requires not only technological innovation but also institutional arrangements capable of coordinating collaboration among multiple stakeholders. While the technological dimension of the CleanTech transition has been extensively studied, less attention has been devoted to the governance mechanisms that enable innovation ecosystems to emerge and scale. This paper examines the CECV CleanTech Open Innovation +LATAM-Caribe programme as an exploratory qualitative case study of a cluster-led open innovation ecosystem. Drawing on programme documentation, stakeholder engagement and direct observation, it explores how industrial clusters orchestrate collaboration between large corporations, SMEs, start-ups, research organisations and public institutions. The findings indicate that clusters facilitate knowledge exchange, reduce coordination barriers, mobilise complementary capabilities and align innovation initiatives with the European Net-Zero Industry Act. Beyond networking, clusters emerge as trusted institutional intermediaries that strengthen governance and public-private collaboration. The study proposes a three-layer governance framework for analysing cluster-led collaboration in emerging CleanTech ecosystems. Its transferability and contribution to industrial decarbonisation require further empirical assessment.