INFORMAL SME CLUSTERS IN THE MUNICIPAL ECONOMY (THE CASE OF CAR SERVICES CLUSTERING IN THE CITY OF KEMEROVO)

Abstract

Informal SME clusters within districts and cities remain underexplored. The research purpose is to identify informal clusters and the presence of MAP-effects in them (based on car services in Kemerovo city). [bMethods[/b] of spatial analysis, questionnaire survey, concentration density assessment and statistical methods were used.
As a result, two city clusters were identified with car services density 4.5-5.0 times higher than the average (“Kuznetskii” and “Yuzhnyi”), which is due to the attractive location connected with a large number of potential customers. But the initial impetus for the cluster development was the historical (for “Yuzhnyi”) and accidental (for “Kuznetskii”) factors. MAP-effects are erratic. In about half the cases, information, knowledge and competencies are exchanged, as is joint participation in value chains. But the chains are rather unstable. With time, these effects diminish due to changes in social practices, professional communication transfer to the Internet, and the more focused specialization in individual units and makes. At the same time, common purchasing is widely spread, which is facilitated through modern means of Internet communication. Common purchasing and use of expensive equipment is not widely practiced owing to the lack of trust and the ongoing car services specialization.
Cluster effects should be considered in the context of the municipal SME development policy, as resources and support are used more efficiently in clusters. In particular, it would be rational to: 1) move from a spatially neutral to a partially selective policy (directing new projects on the location in clusters, priority infrastructure expansion, priority areasformalization for the SME location, depending on the activity); 2) take clusters into account in territorial planning (in land use and development plans); 3) contribute to the collective use of expensive capital assets on digital platforms using municipal-private partnership mechanisms.