Logistics Clusters : A study on the Jönköping-Nässjö-Vaggeryd   region

Abstract: Purpose - The thesis is based around on of the most commonly used scientific terms in economics today, cluster. Many actors tend to claim that their regions are working clusters and when the Logkomp project was initiated, the authors wanted to research whether a logistics cluster existed in the Jönköping-Nässjö-Vaggeryd region. Methodology - This research is purely based on the involved actors’ perception whether a cluster exists or not, rather than based on calculations. The actors were interviewed with both short questions with rating from 1-10 and deeper questions where they were allowed to elaborate their answers more freely. Since the project is ran by the municipalities in the region, the municipalities role in the cluster was examined thoroughly and the companies’ perception of cooperation with the municipalities were compared to the municipalities’ perceptions of their own performance. Conclusions - Based on the interview results, the authors were able to compare the perceived situation in the region with academic definitions and models, thus evaluating the level of clusterness. It can be shown that the region is slowly becoming a logistics cluster but there is several important factors that need to be taken into consideration before this can happen. It is also apparent that all involved actors need to pull their weight and there is potential for improvement by all actors.