Clusters and LPA's: bibliometric analysis of national publications from 2000 to 2011

The objective of this study is to analyze scientific publications about clusters and local production arrangements (LPA's) in Brazil from 2000 to 2011. The study was conducted in journals classified by Qualis (Capes) in the areas of Administration, Economics and Engineering, with a total of 80 papers. The analysis made it possible to identify publication characteristics regarding methodological approaches and research methods, the most cited authors, researched clusters and LPA's and the most studied themes. A tendency was verified in recent studies: the use of theoretical approaches with greater emphasis on cooperation. It was observed that empirical research, in general, is restricted to identifying the existence of clusters in given locations and to describing them with basis on the chosen research themes. Therefore, there is an opportunity for advancing the research and for an effective contribution for theory development.