Cluster Analysis of Competitive Advantage in Hungarian Settlements Based on their Social Innovation Potential
Krisztina Varga
Mariann Veresné Somosi
Géza Tóth
The study aims to identify and analyze the social innovation potential of Hungarian settlements and its impact on their competitive advantage. The link between social innovation potential and the factors of competitive advantage can be established on the conceptual plane of sustainable value creation, which seeks to link the concept of competition to the enhancement of social well-being and prosperity in a novel way. Previous studies have yet to be identified to analyze the relationship between social innovation potential and territorial competitiveness. Our methodological approach combines two existing analytical techniques to address complex sustainability issues. The paper pays particular attention to the measurement challenges of the social innovation process as well as the impact measurement and sustainability assessment of social innovation initiatives. Our research defines a complex indicator of the social innovation potential of 3155 municipalities in Hungary. It uses the indicator to examine the extent to which key territorial processes are related to the picture defined by the indicator. In the analysis, we discuss the relationship between territorial competitiveness and social innovation potential in Hungary's municipalities, and to measure territorial disparities, we use the Hoover index. Municipalities are grouped according to their social innovation potential and its components, and the spatial pattern is determined using K-means clustering. Based on a novel cluster analysis framework, the study summarizes the numerical results identified for all municipalities in Hungary. Based on our results, four clusters can be identified for the municipalities based on social innovation potential. The social innovation potential of the municipalities and their current development situation are closely linked.
Keywords:Social innovation, Territorial competitiveness, Cluster analysis, Municipalities, Hoover index
