Abstract
This research investigates how cluster organizations function as systemic catalysts of innovation, sustainability, and social progress across industrial and regional contexts. Integrating evidence from the Italian energy sector, textile districts, and a multiregional European analysis, the study advances a multilevel understanding of clusters as orchestrators of collective transformation. Using a mixed-methods design, the research combines qualitative case studies with the energy cluster lOMBARDI, the textile clusters of Prato, Biella, and Como, with a quantitative panel analysis of European NUTS-2 regions (2016–2024) linking cluster density and collective Creating Shared Value (CCSV) practices to the Social Progress Index. Findings reveal that cluster organizations translate technological, regulatory, and social pressures into coordinated strategies that enhance innovation performance, accelerate digital and green transitions, and generate measurable social outcomes. Energy and textile clusters show how institutional coordination fosters startup survival, sustainability-oriented innovation, and digital capability development, while the European analysis demonstrates that regions with higher cluster density achieve stronger social progress— up to the point of diminishing systemic returns. The study positions cluster organizations not merely as intermediaries but as orchestrators of transformation, aligning economic competitiveness with societal well- being. It contributes to theory by integrating Cluster Theory, Institutional Theory, Dynamic Capabilities, and Shared Value perspectives into a unified framework of collective agency for sustainable regional development.