Jessica Daniela Giusti

Clusters are a pervasive phenomenon and their importance for regional economic development and competitiveness has been acknowledge extensively (Porter, 2003; Delgado et al., 2016). Yet, clusters are continuously shaped by dynamics (Menzel, 2015) that bring to new spatial clustering processes, new industrial boundaries and interconnections and new shapes, where temporary forms of cognitive proximity complement traditional forms of geographical proximity. Such industrial cluster dynamics are investigated in relation to the maker movement (Anderson, 2012) in the present thesis. The maker movement is a growing global phenomenon, considered as the catalyst for the next industrial revolution, which has reshaped entrepreneurial ecosystems, advanced many industries and opened to a democratization of innovation and entrepreneurship (Aldrich, 2014; Browder et al., 2019). Complying with the three cluster dynamics mentioned above, first we investigate new spatial clustering processes of the maker movement, then we dig into the interconnections between the maker movement and existing high-tech clusters and finally we explore new forms of clustering through on-line collaborative communities of makers.