Institutions advising entrepreneurs: a case study of the Gisborne aquaculture cluster

This paper is based on the writer's doctoral research which studies a cluster of entrepreneurs involved in the emerging industry of land based recirculating system aquaculture in the Gisborne Region (pop. 45,000) on New Zealand's East Coast. It asked how effective the institutions that contribute to New Zealand's Growth and Innovation Framework are in supporting those entrepreneurs. In particular this research explored the relationships between the entrepreneurs and those institutions involved in enterprise development, offering advisory services or that regulate the activities of the entrepreneurs. It sought to understand how these various institutions have affected the development of this loosely linked cluster of entrepreneurial ventures.