How aerospace clusters respond to the challenge of sustainability: a comparison of the Toulouse and Montreal clusters

Abstract This paper examines how aerospace clusters help shape the innovation dynamics of aerospace manufacturers in the environmental transition to develop sustainable commercial aircraft. It intersects the economic geography, innovation, and sustainability literatures to develop a theoretical framework about the conditions that facilitate such a transition, and uses the case of two major aerospace clusters, Montreal and Toulouse, as a testing ground. Using a mixed-methods approach combining social network analysis and a series of interviews with some of the key actors in each cluster, the main findings of the study highlight a major difference between the two clusters: while in Toulouse the transition towards sustainability is a top-down approach orchestrated by the crucial role of public authorities, in Montreal the transition is a bottom-up one initiated by an active group of actors from aerospace firms and university research centers. The study also suggests some paradoxical outcomes of collaboration and competition between the two aerospace clusters during this process of environmental transition. Our study aims to contribute new insights to the literature on sustainability transitions in clusters and to develop implications for cluster research and policy-making.