Factors conducive to the development of business cooperation in a cluster initiative – a statistical analysis

Changeability of market conditions make businesses look for effective cooperation methods. To increase their competitive edge, companies often work together in clusters which are groups of organizations on a certain area connected by a network of vertical and horizontal relationships. The formation of a cluster is a result of a cluster initiative. The goal of the article is to determine factors conducive to cluster initiatives and the relationship between these factors and the number of enterprises cooperating within a cluster in individual provinces in Poland. A spatial analysis of data concerning production and services companies was carried out. The years 2012-2014 were analyzed.