DRIVERS OF SME COMPETITIVENESS WITHIN CLUSTERS: A CONFIRMATORY ANALYSIS OF INNOVATION, PUBLIC INCENTIVES, AND GOVERNANCE PRACTICES

In a context marked by the widespread adoption of cluster policies as major instruments of territorial competitiveness, assessing their actual impact on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains a debated issue in the literature (Porter, 2003; Ketels & Protsiv, 2023). Prior studies highlight the difficulty of capturing competitiveness through predominantly latent variables, as well as the strong dominance of exploratory approaches, particularly in emerging economies (Audretsch & Belitski, 2022). In response to these limitations, this article investigates the following research question: does cluster membership exert a significant impact on the competitiveness of Moroccan SMEs? The study adopts a mixed-methods methodological framework grounded in critical realism (Bhaskar, 2017). An initial qualitative exploratory phase was conducted to contextualize the conceptual model, validate the latent constructs derived from the literature, and adapt measurement indicators to the empirical setting, following the methodological recommendations of Miles and Huberman (2003). The quantitative phase follows a confirmatory approach aimed at testing the structural relationships among variables using structural equation modeling (SEM), a method widely recognized for analyzing complex constructs (Kline, 2015; Hair et al., 2022). The findings reveal a positive and statistically significant effect of cluster membership on SME competitiveness, measured through economic performance, mediated by three key mechanisms: public incentives, innovation and R&D activities, and governance and integrated managerial practices.