Abstract
Although a cluster, which is the accumulation of companies and institutions that belong to or related to a specific industry, is important for industrial development and industrial competitiveness, this paper proposes a new concept of ‘a venture cluster,’ which focuses the function of creating venturing start-ups. A venture cluster has four components: intellectual sources, hardware support functions (incubators, venture capital funds, etc.), software support functions (consulting, training, staff recruiting, accounting service, etc.), and industrial and social acceptance.
Using this concept the paper analyzes the situation in Sapporo, where many university spin-offs are being created in the biotechnology area. The analysis has found that a venture cluster, especially for university spin-offs, has been dynamically formed with a multi-layered and well-collaborated network structure in Sapporo.
