Mari Jose Aranguren

Cluster Life Cycles, Path Dependency and Regional Economic Development: Insights from a Meta-Study on Basque Clusters

In this study, we aim at evaluating the role of path-dependent and past-dependent forces in the historical trajectory of clusters. For that purpose, we study the life cycles of four of the main industrial clusters in the Basque Country (paper-making, electronics and information and communication technology, maritime industries and aeronautics) and analyse the factors that account for the origin, development, maturity and, if so, decline of those clusters, considering factors related to both cluster dynamics and the regional environment. Our analysis shows that the existence of a life cycle does not imply a straightforward growth path. Clusters follow multiple growth patterns in their development. The heterogeneity of growth patterns may be, in some cases, due to different initial conditions. However, despite similar initial conditions and/or resource endowments and opportunities for development, we can observe heterogeneous evolutionary patterns. Clusters react differently to the same external shocks (e.g. international demand, global competition and technological change) and evolve differently according to their capabilities.

A social capital approach for network policy learning: the case of an established cluster initiative

Regional development policies to foster innovation and competitiveness have evolved towards a ‘soft’ focus on facilitating relationships of cooperation. This is demonstrated by the popularity of network and cluster policies. However, the development of these policies poses particular challenges since there is insufficient understanding of the factors in the social structure that underpin networking behaviour and network outcomes. The analysis of this social context provides an important base for policy learning and therefore for the development of networking policies. The paper makes both a theoretical contribution (in establishing the framework) and a methodological contribution (in exploring its implementation in an ongoing policy process). The case studied is that of the Basque aeronautics cluster, a medium-sized cluster with 35 members founded in 1997 within the Basque Country (Spain) cluster policy, one of the longest-running cluster policies in Europe. The participatory design carried out in the application of the theoretical framework to the case study enabled a deeper appreciation of the different realities and behaviour of targeted firms and supported strategies to improve policy effectiveness.

The Role of Interactive Learning to Close the “Innovation Gap” in SME-Based Local Economies: A Furniture Cluster in the Basque Country and its Key Policy Implications

This paper identifies an “innovation gap” in the (in)efficient relation between innovation structures and production systems in SME-based economies and, by elucidating an implicit aspect of key theoretical contributions from Lundvall and Cooke, among others, sets the basis for a policy focus that may help reducing those margins of inefficiency. In this work, we identify three interdependent drivers of innovation: the “critical mass” of firms in a specific geographical location; the formation of “organizations” devoted to the creation and diffusion of knowledge and innovations; the ignition of “learning processes” within the production system that help catalyse significant innovations within the local economy. We suggest that the importance of processes of codified knowledge flows needs to be complemented by interactive flows of tacit knowledge that help overcoming the “innovation gap” that often exists between firms and knowledge institutions. Since this gap represents the inefficiency of the innovation structures, we suggest that it should be targeted by policy-makers and business associations as a central issue for innovation promotion through actions that intensify interactions and learning processes through bottom-up initiatives. These elements are analysed in a furniture cluster in the Basque Country and are highlighted on the basis of successful micro-territorial experiences.

Nested Methodological Approaches for Cluster Policy Evaluation: An Application to the Basque Country

Aranguren M. J., de la Maza X., Parrilli M. D., Vendrell-Herrero F. and Wilson J. R. Nested methodological approaches for cluster policy evaluation: an application to the Basque Country, Regional Studies. This paper explores the evaluation of cluster policies designed to support cooperation and networking. It examines the case of the long-running Basque policy, where support is provided for ‘cluster associations’. It first examines empirically the effects of the cluster associations on firm productivity performance, alongside other variables including agglomeration and firm behavioural characteristics. The results provide some weak evidence for the existence of additionality associated with the policy. This empirical work is complemented with context-specific knowledge of the policy in question to show that the nesting of both empirical and contextual approaches is crucial for effectively evaluating such policies.

Path dependence in policies supporting smart specialisation strategies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply the path dependence theoretical framework to STI policies that support research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3). Design/methodology/approach – Review of the recent literature on the phases, sources of reinforcement and change mechanisms (layering, conversion, recombination, etc.) present in path-dependent processes, as well as the role played by mental frameworks, political agents and power relations; and its illustration and testing over 30 years of STI policy development in the Basque Country. Findings – How to operationalise the analysis of continuity and change of STI policies supporting RIS3 policies characterised by path dependence processes. Likewise, learnings from the analysis of Basque case regarding the types of challenges that European regions will face as they design their RIS3, according to their degree of maturity in STI policies. Originality/value – It is the first time that the recently developed tools for analysis ...

Learning from the Local: Governance of Networks for Innovation in the Basque Country

As new concepts of innovation emphasizing interaction between agents have gained influence, regions have become acknowledged as relevant units for policy-making. This paper explores questions around multi-level governance with regards the promotion of local and regional networking initiatives designed to facilitate innovation. The specific case studied is that of the Basque Country region in Spain. As part of a response to the innovation challenge an initiative called Innobasque was launched in 2007 as a region-wide framework through which to stimulate cooperation networks for innovation. While Innobasque is in its infancy, this paper seeks to draw lessons for the development of such projects from analysis of a smaller-scale, local case (Ezagutza Gunea) that has demonstrated considerable success. While the territorial coverage, goals and institutions implied are different in each case, the necessary rationalization of efforts made at different institutional levels makes it interesting to “learn from the local” in trying to understand complementarities and possible overlaps. We conclude that effective coordination of knowledge flows rooted in networks at different spatial scales and of different configurations (“bottom-up” and “top-down”) is a key challenge for regional policy-makers and an important area for future research.

The policy process: clusters versus spatial networks in the Basque Country

Clusters and Globalisation brings together scholars with different perspectives and theoretical groundings, and from different disciplines, to consider conceptual arguments and case study material. In doing so the volume identifies key characteristics and requirements of the forms of cluster that are especially significant for the attainment of economic success in a globalising world.

Determinants of Economic Units Creation in the Period 1985--93: The Case of the Manufacturing Industry in CAPV

This article attemps to highlight the factors that condition the creation of economic units of different dimensions in the manufacturing industry of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (CAPV) during the period 1985--93. We conclude that more establishments are created, particularly those of a small dimension, in sectors in which smaller economic units have a higher advantage in costs vis-à-vis those of a larger dimension, in sectors which are more profitable, with a larger proportion of subcontrating firms, with a lower degree of concentration and of technological intensity and in which entities external to the firm have a heavier wheight in R&D activities.

Participatory evaluation: a useful tool for contextualising cluster policy?

Insufficient attention is often given to the underlying context in which policies that seek to facilitate cooperation between firms are implemented, inhibiting their expected outcomes. This article analyses the processes involved in a participatory cluster policy evaluation experience that was designed to integrate fundamental and ongoing concern with context and how it interacts with the policy. The premise of the argument is that participatory evaluation itself can directly support the aims of the policy (cluster cooperation) and contribute to policy learning. Nevertheless, we find that success is not guaranteed; several obstacles have to be overcome to obtain learning outcomes that strengthen policy-making. While the contribution is primarily methodological, the article also contributes to conceptual debates on the significance of cluster context in policy design, implementation and evaluation. The participatory evaluation process explored in the article, alongside the findings around key practical considerations, can be usefully applied in other policy contexts that aim to enhance cooperation between firms and other economic agents.

Regional competitiveness policy evaluation as a transformative process: From theory to practice

Regional competitiveness policy evaluation is at an interesting juncture. Increasing demand for evaluation is emerging at a time when policy complexity is highlighting the limits of existing techniques. Moreover, widespread use of the concept of policy learning in conceptual analysis is not matched by experimentation and reflection that can articulate what policy learning means in practice. This paper explores the transformative role that evaluation can play in policy learning, in theory, and in practice. It analyses experience with three different competitiveness policy evaluations in the same regional and institutional setting. It finds that explicit demand for evaluation, decisions around the appropriate mode of knowledge generation, the existence of dialogue spaces where relevant policy–stakeholders (including researchers) frequently meet, and the development of trust and cognitive proximity within these meeting places, are all critical factors if evaluation is to be transformative.