DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER STRATEGY USING COMPOUND REAL OPTIONS

The subject of the study is pilot clusters that are beneficial to a particular region, taking into account the traditions and production areas of the region. The work aims to develop an innovative strategy for state-supported pilot clusters that would allow for flexible management decision making. The proposed method involves the compound real options to be employed in the following order: 1) an option to reduce and abandon the cluster strategy; 2) an option to develop and replicate the experience accumulated in the cluster; 3) an option to switch from and temporarily stop the cluster strategy; and 4) an option to postpone the implementation of the new cluster strategy. As an example of the implementation of the method presented, the authors discuss the strategy for the development of a pilot electric power cluster in the Nizhny Novgorod region presented by the core company TNS energo NN PJSC. The use of the compound real option method enabled the cost increase of the strategy for this cluster – i.e., the effect of its implementation by the core company rose by 89.1%, from 2 710 022 to 5 124 706 thousand Rubles. Thus, using the compound real options precisely in the presented order avoids unreasonable management decisions to exit the current cluster strategy, which would include many tactical opportunities already implemented for cluster development. First, a put option, i.e., an option to reduce and exit the cluster strategy, supplements the evaluation of the current strategy. If the current strategy continues, the other three options are used.