Understanding the dynamics of cluster process measurement is impossible without relying on the fundamental developments of the Russian scientific school, which has shaped the modern scientific paradigm of spatial analysis in Russia. Therefore, this study addresses the pressing issue of spatial cluster analysis from the perspective of the theory of self-organization of complex adaptive systems. The aim of the study is to develop and test a methodology for identifying and assessing spatial patterns of self-organization using the example of the shipbuilding and ship repair industry in the Kaliningrad Region. Analysis of the spatial distribution of clusters requires an interdisciplinary synthesis of economic geography, regional economics, and network theory, as it is at the intersection of these fields that the most productive tools for identifying patterns in the localization of cluster formations emerge. The methodological framework is based on the integrated application of spatial statistics tools in a geographic information systems environment. Using the example of shipbuilding and ship repair in the Kaliningrad Region, it was demonstrated that the traditional view of a cluster as a simple geographic agglomeration is insufficient. The use of a combination of spatial statistics methods has proven effective for multi-level diagnostics. The study's results demonstrate that, at the regional scale, the distribution of enterprises is statistically indistinguishable from random. However, at the level of the Kaliningrad urban district, statistically significant spatial clustering was identified, forming the core of a potential self-organizing cluster. It was established that enterprise concentration gravitates toward key infrastructure and manifests itself at specific spatial scales, i.e., radii, confirming the operation of agglomeration effects and the existence of conditions for synergistic interactions. The results also demonstrate that the proposed methodological approach enables a qualitative shift from the recognition of geographic concentration to the diagnosis of self-organization processes, which has important practical implications for the development of targeted territorial policies aimed at the targeted development of clusters at the regional scale
Keywords
space, distribution, industry, cluster, location, shipbuilding, ship repair, self-organization