Martina Fromhold-Eisebith

Bridging Scales in Innovation Policies: How to Link Regional, National and International Innovation Systems

Abstract The conceptual discussion on innovation systems, emphasizing the importance of interaction between actors, institutions and policy elements for supporting technology-based economic development, has been marked by separate debates on issues of national, regional, international and sectoral systems for a long time. Recently researchers increasingly engage in logically connecting system scales which provides important insights into interdependencies. Theoretical considerations, however, have hardly been associated with ideas for application, despite the strong political value attached to the innovation systems idea by international organizations. This paper highlights the function of the innovation systems approach for policy conceptualization, focusing on the question how systems on different spatial scales—from the international over the national to the regional one—could be linked and coordinated for achieving positive effects. Major issues are which features of a national innovation system enable the evolution of successful regional innovation systems, and how a fruitful integration of international impulses into systemic approaches could be facilitated. First it is discussed which qualities usually attributed to the functioning of innovation systems are best taken care of at which spatial scale. Then the paper outlines a policy framework that aims at expediently combining tasks of innovation support at different spatial levels including the national, regional, and international dimensions.

Regional cycles of learning: foreign multinationals as agents of technological upgrading in less developed countries

Within the debate about positive effects of foreign multinational branch plants on host regions in less developed countries questions of technological learning and upgrading rank at the top. This paper describes forces and mechanisms which, under favourable conditions, promote dissemination of know-how through the dynamics of regional cycles of learning. Enriching earlier insights into the local embedding of subsidiaries and processes of cumulative causation, it emphasises why and how agglom-erating branches of globally operating technology companies engage in upgrading their less developed locality: effects are triggered by a combination of increasing regional labour-cost pressure and corresponding reactions of firms which relate to their branch activities and affect the institutional framework. Two models of regional cycles of learning are introduced which depict crucial distinctions between spatial clusters of technology firms with and without foreign affiliates. Empirical evidence is provided by comparing two technology regions in developing Asia: Bangalore, India, and Bandung, Indonesia. Both are well endowed with universities, research institutions, and firms in technology sectors, but differ with regard to the presence of foreign firms, and accordingly, display divergent qualitative developments.

Das „kreative Milieu” — nur theoretisches Konzept oder Instrument der Regionalentwicklung?

KurzfassungTheorien erfolgreicher Regionalentwicklung, die wie das Konzept des kreativen Milieus auf die Bedeutung persönlicher Kontaktnetze verweisen, wecken zu Recht das Interesse von Praktikern der regionalen Entwicklungsplanung. Dieser Beitrag stellt grundlegende Aussagen des Konzepts vor und bewertet sie hinsichtlich einer möglichen Instrumentalisierung. Ausgewählte Beispiele kreativer Milieus im In-und Ausland unterstreichen die Variantenbreite, aber auch Unplanbarkeit der hierunter faßbaren regionalen Entwicklungsverläufe. Abschließend können dennoch einige Ideen präsentiert werden, wie sich der Milieu-Ansatz trotz gewisser Vorbehalte für die Regionalentwicklung nutzen ließe.AbstractTheories of successful regional development which, like the “creative milieu” concept, stress the importance of networks of personal contacts quite rightly attract the interest of those involved in the practice of regional development planning. This article presents some of the key ideas behind this concept and evaluates them with regard to the possibility of translating them into planning instruments. A selection of examples of “creative milieus” both in Germany and abroad serve to highlight the wealth of variety which exists, but also underline the unfeasibility of trying to plan for the regional development processes associated with this concept. The article concludes by advancing a number of ideas which demonstrate how — notwithstanding certain reservations — the milieu approach might still be applied to good effect in regional development.

Sectoral Resilience: Conceptualizing Industry-Specific Spatial Patterns of Interactive Crisis Adjustment

Abstract While the regional resilience approach stresses major place-specific factors of adaptability to economic crises, industry-sector-specific mechanisms of shock response, which often cross-regional boundaries, still require conceptualization relating to aspects of resilience. This paper proposes the concept of sectoral resilience, which acknowledges that the actors who constitute the value chains and production systems of an industry sector, when struck by a major global crisis, collectively and interactively form a sector-specific pattern of response and adaptation. As these actors often strategically use assets at different locations, industry-specific spatial patterns of adaptation emerge that affect various regions in differing ways. After defining the suggested concept and related terminology, its geographical logics are outlined. Then major conceptual pillars of sectoral resilience are depicted, relating to six major, partly interdependent process fields. For each of them, mechanisms of shock adaptation of an industry sector and major factors of inter-sectoral distinctions of resilience patterns are pointed out, briefly illustrated by the examples of the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors. The approach helps us better understand industry-specific features of crisis adaptation and intersections of regional and corporate logics of resilience.

Life Cycle Engineering in Preliminary Aircraft Design

In preliminary aircraft design, the assessment of aircraft life cycle is mainly focused either on life cycle costs, or on economic and environmental analysis of certain life cycle phases. This paper presents an interdisciplinary approach for life cycle engineering during preliminary aircraft design enabling the evaluation of costs and environmental impact of the entire aircraft life cycle. The developed sustainability analysis modules are integrated in a platform together with an aircraft design suite. This allows for feeding back economic, ecological and social impact into the aircraft design synthesis, hence enabling future optimization of aircraft designs for sustainability.

Die ‚Wissensregion’ als Chance der Neukonzeption eines zukunftsfähigen Leitbilds der Regionalentwicklung

KurzfassungEine wachsende Zahl von Regionen nutzt derzeit im deutschsprachigen Raum das Label der „Wissensregion”, um eigene Stärken und Ziele begrifflich zu fassen. Doch scheinen, abgesehen vom Marketingwert der Bezeichnung, noch kaum konkrete Vorstellungen zu herrschen, welche besonderen Inhalte damit sinnvollerweise zu verbinden sind. Dieser Beitrag fordert dazu auf, die „Wissensregion” ausdrücklich als Chance der erneuten Reflexion über Ziele und Ansätze der Regionalentwicklung zu begreifen. Bislang unzureichend integrierte Aufgabenfelder sollten hier explizit Berücksichtigung finden. Es wird das heuristische Konzept des „Hexagon-Modells der Wissensregion” vorgeschlagen, das jene revidierten Zielsetzungen der Regionalentwicklung in eine praxistaugliche Struktur zu fassen versucht.AbstractA growing number of regions in German speaking countries currently refer to the label of the ‘knowledge region’ in order to put into terms their strengths and development objectives. Besides the marketing value of the notion, however, ideas on which concrete substance may expediently fill this shell seem to be lacking. This paper calls for taking up the ‘knowledge region’ as a chance for newly reflecting on goals and approaches of regional development. The notion offers options to include tasks that have insufficiently been regarded before. The author suggests the heuristic concept of the ‘hexagon model of the knowledge region’, which captures a revised set of goals in structured ways with an applied perspective.

Creating Regional Futures: A Scenario-Based Inter- and Transdisciplinary Case Study as a Model for Applied Student-centred Learning in Geography

Human geography students face changing qualification requirements due to a shift towards new topics, educational tasks and professional options regarding issues of spatial development. This ‘practical turn’ raises the importance of inter- and transdisciplinary work, management and capability building skills, with case study projects and student-centred learning providing suitable approaches. This paper introduces the example of the teaching and research project ‘Leben 2014’: Students, faculty and local actors have collectively worked out future development scenarios for a rural region in Austria, actually creating impact. The project may thus serve as a model that inspires similar schemes in other countries.

Qualifikationsentwicklung der Beschäftigten in Deutschland — eine raumbezogene Analyse

KurzfassungAuf der Basis von Daten des Instituts für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung zeigt der Beitrag die Entwicklung der Qualifikationsstruktur der Beschäftigten in den Regionen Deutschlands von 1993 bis 2002 auf, umgesetzt in Karten und Abbildungen. Dabei werden räumliche Entwicklungstrends in einzelnen Qualifikationsgruppen, eine darauf bezogene regionale Typisierung, altersstrukturelle Aspekte, Differenzierungen nach siedlungsstrukturellen Kreistypen sowie Stadt-Umland-Prozesse in zwei ausgewählten städtischen Großräumen (Berlin und Agglomerationsraum Rhein-Ruhr) vorgestellt.AbstractBased on data provided by the German Institute of Labour Market and Employment Research, the article depicts the development of the qualification structure of employees in German regions between 1993 and 2002, illustrated by maps and figures. We analyse spatial patterns of change for different qualification groups, outlining a regional typology, and discuss issues of ageing as well as differentiations according to types of settlement structure; finally, centre-periphery developments in two selected urban agglomerations are addressed (Berlin and Rhein-Ruhr).

Textbooks and Academic Cultural Contexts

What can be gained from having a German reviewer, involved in academic teaching in a country without a ‘textbook culture’, write about these two economic geography textbooks? Hence, in which ways is this review employing a perspective which essentially differs from that most likely expressed by reviewers of the Anglo-American tradition, which forms the books’ context of production? There may be distinct advantages of applying an outsider’s view: it reveals inwhich respects the student-oriented format of content presentation that qualifies the books by Hayter and Patchell, and Mackinnon and Cumbers implies particular benefits, or shortcomings, juxtaposed to German seminal books on economic geography. Rather than prescribing compulsory reading material for students from beginning to end, German books are mostly used as repositories of lecturing material picked by academic teachers according to individual preferences, and as an information source to be consulted by students individually in order to deepen their knowledge, for instance, when preparing for examinations. Anyway, the comparison of the reviewed books with newly published German works instructing academic teaching in economic geography (BATHELT and GLÜCKLER, 2012; BRAUN and SCHULZ, 2012; LIEFNER and SCHÄTZL, 2012) offers interesting insights. It shows whether and how the Anglo-American perception of essential knowledge to be acquired by economic geography students basically differs from the German one. At first sight, the most striking feature of the two reviewed books is their dedicated didactic outline, meant to introduce firstor second-year university or college students to economic geography. From a German view, these typical textbook qualities deserve particular expression of appreciation; our own book authors can still learn from that.

The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008

This book is mainly a revised version of an earlier volume by Paul Krugman from 1999, enriched by some passages and chapters commenting on the recent financial and economic crisis. Since the publication is obviously propelled by the prospective marketing value of the author’s fresh Nobel Prize for Economics, it has to satisfy readers interested in instructive economic analysis as well as those who want to learn more about the celebrity behind. The resulting book is an entertaining read, which is quite surprising given the complexity and seriousness of its topic. While style and also the somewhat simplistic presentation of facts and interpretations are obviously geared towards a broad readership, the book nonetheless makes interesting points and provides a good starting point for a much-needed discussion of the crisis beyond mere academia and politics. This review will focus on the book’s political intention, its academic merit, and its significance for geography and regional research.