Robert Hassink

How to unlock regional economies from path dependency? From learning region to learning cluster

Abstract Since the Industrial Revolution the cyclical processes of rise and fall of regional economies have been accelerating. Many of the specific problems of the falling part of clustering, that is old industrial areas, are related to path dependency and lock-ins. Particularly political lock-ins hinder the necessary restructuring processes in old industrial areas. They can be considered as thick institutional tissues aiming at preserving existing industrial structures and therefore unnecessarily slowing down industrial restructuring and indirectly hampering the development of indigenous potential and creativity. Of the recently born offspring of the family of territorial innovation models, the learning region concept seems to be most focused on overcoming and avoiding political lock-ins in old industrial areas. Most scholars consider learning regions as regional development concepts in which the main actors are strongly, but flexibly, connected with each other and are open both to intraregional and interregional learning processes. Policy-makers in learning regions are involved in learning from institutional errors made in the past and by doing that in avoiding path-dependent development. Empirical evidence, however, shows that the learning region is of limited importance to unlock regional economies from path dependency, due to three weaknesses: its fuzziness, its normative character in its squeezed position between national innovation systems and global production networks. A less normative and more process-oriented concept is proposed in this paper, namely that of the learning cluster.

Technology transfer agencies and regional economic development

Abstract Many regions in Western Europe have set up technology transfer agencies in order to support endogenous potential by encouraging the diffusion of new technologies from universities and large firms to small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). However, many studies have shown that business partners such as customers and suppliers are the most important partners for the stimulation of the innovativeness of SMEs. Universities and transfer agencies are given a very low rank in these studies. These results have led to doubts about the usefulness of these institutions for regional economic development. In order to increase transparency, streamlining of the agencies involved is necessary so that there are fewer actors and more cooperation between them. To be able to reach technology‐following SMEs, at least one transfer organization in every region should employ senior engineers with extensive business experience to visit firms frequently (proactive) to help them come up with some technological issues (d...

The dilemmas of interregional institutional learning

In recent research and literature in which regional development concepts and regional innovation policy have been addressed, a strong interest in the role of knowledge and learning has been shown. In this, a strange phenomenon can be observed. Whereas much work is concentrated on learning within regions, and some reference is made to learning from external sources, scant attention is paid to the interregional dimension. This seems to amount to a dilemma: although development concepts and policy strategies are themselves the subject of constant exchange and learning processes at an interregional level, the interregional dissemination of such concepts, and concomitant processes of learning, are largely ignored. Even where a supraregional perspective is adopted, little is said, either analytically or empirically, about the nature and role of learning processes between regions. One basic message that follows from this, the authors conclude, is that researchers working on regional development and regional policy need to become more reflexive. In order to achieve this, a model of knowledge cycles is presented. The model not only helps our understanding of how observations taken from regional experiences can be translated into more general analytical concepts and policy prescription, it also draws the necessary attention to the way that such general abstractions are part, as well as catalyst, of processes of interregional learning.

The Strength of Weak Lock-Ins: The Renewal of the Westmünsterland Textile Industry

Modern theoretical concepts in economic geography are used to try to explain the positive sides of geographical clustering of industries. Of the few theoretical concepts which are used to try to explain the negative sides of clustering, that is, the decline of old industrial areas, evolutionary regional economics, in general, and the lock-in concept, in particular, are promising ones. Lock-ins have been furthest developed by Grabher in his study on the steel and coal-mining complex in the Ruhr Area, Germany. They can be considered as thick interfirm, institutional, and cognitive tissues aimed at preserving existing industrial structures and therefore unnecessarily slowing down industrial renewal. It is particularly in regions with political lock-ins in which the legacy of manufacturing endures. On the basis of a study on the restructuring of the textile industry in Westmünsterland in Germany, in this paper I analyse whether these kinds of lock-ins can also be observed in regions with strong concentrations of the textile industry, an industry that strongly differs from the above-mentioned steel and coal-mining complex. I show that the impact of lock-ins can be regarded as relatively weak in the textile region of Westmünsterland. Partly because of that, industrial renewal has been relatively successful, which in turn has kept lock-ins weak.

Advancing Evolutionary Economic Geography by Engaged Pluralism

Hassink R., Klaerding C. and Marques P. Advancing evolutionary economic geography by engaged pluralism, Regional Studies. Since 2006 economic geographers have been confronted with attempts to constitute a new paradigm of evolutionary economic geography. This paper aims at advancing evolutionary economic geography by reviewing its core critique and proposed solutions, particularly that of integrating the perspective of a geographical political economy. Although the authors sympathize with the identified shortcomings of evolutionary economic geography, the proposed alternative approach, geographical political economy, is regarded as being too narrow and reductionist. By combining evolutionary and relational economic geography in certain respects a plea is made for advancing evolutionary economic geography by engaged pluralism.

Technology transfer infrastructures: Some lessons from experiences in Europe, the US and Japan

Abstract In many regions in Europe, the US and East Asia technology transfer infrastructures have been set up to support endogenous potential by encouraging the diffusion of new technologies from higher education institutes (HEIs) and large firms to small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). However, many studies have shown that business partners such as customers and suppliers are the most important partners for the stimulation of the innovativeness of SMEs. HEIs and transfer agencies are given a very low rank in these studies. These results have led to doubts about the usefulness of these institutions for regional economic development. However, some transfer infrastructures in Europe, the US and Japan have been partially able to circumvent deficiencies of traditional transfer agencies. The article aims at learning from experiences of these infrastructures that support the linkage of HEIs and public research establishments with SMEs. The main three research questions are. What are the deficiencies of mos...

Regional Innovation Support Systems: Recent Trends in Germany and East Asia

Since the beginning of the 1990s, one can observe a clear shift in the aims of regional policy in industrialized countries from reducing regional inequalities to developing endogenous small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and innovation in regions through regional innovation support systems. Innovation support systems are defined as a group of actively cooperating organizations that support the innovativeness of SMEs. An innovation support system consists of all agencies found in three support stages, namely the provision of general information, technological advice and joint R&D projects, between firms (of which technology-following SMEs are the main group), higher education institutes (HEIs) and public research establishments (PREs). Agencies found in these stages try to help to solve innovation problems mainly of technology-following SMEs by either giving them advice themselves or by referring them to other agencies in a further stage of support. The agencies can be mainly supra-nationally, nationally or regionally initiated. This paper aims at comparing these regional innovation support systems in Germany and East Asia, that is Japan and South Korea, both concerning the instruments used, their impact on regional economic development, their level of organizational embeddedness in regions and the ability of regions to coordinate innovation support policies. The main conclusions of the paper are that there are similarities between the regional innovation support systems found in the countries when it comes to policy instruments, but that the countries differ concerning their level of regional embeddedness and the abilities of regions to coordinate innovation support policies. The paper also tentatively concludes that in countries where regions have the ability to coordinate policies into integrative innovation support systems, the impact on regional economic development tend to be larger than in countries where these abilities are lacking, that is where dirigiste and grassroots support systems prevail. One important explanation for the different coordinating abilities lies in the different political-administrative systems found in the studied countries (centralized in South Korea versus federal in Germany). Other factors explaining differences are: a time lag of development policies between countries, differences between the history of supporting SMEs in regions, supra-national support frameworks, the commitment of the political leaders in regions, collective trust and the size of countries.

Technology networking in border regions: Case study of the Euregion Maas‐Rhine

Abstract This paper describes the results of a study investigating cross‐border networking by enterprises in the border region where the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet, the so‐called Euregion Maas‐Rhine. The study was undertaken in view of the completion of the Single European Market in 1993, which was expected to induce enterprises to make more effective use of available opportunities to improve their innovative and hence competitive potential. Special attention was given to knowledge transfer and sourcing of technology across borders. It was found that the majority of enterprises are still oriented towards a purely national environment. Technology‐intensive enterprises that are engaged in cross‐border networking, however, seem to be doing better than the ones that maintain a national orientation.

On the battle between shipbuilding regions in Germany and South Korea

Over time we can observe a dramatic global shift in shipbuilding activities, from Great Britain to Continental Europe to Japan to South Korea; most recently China is gaining ground. Every transition is accompanied by institutional and political reactions, leading to protectionism and trade conflicts. The most recent of these battles is being fought out between the European Commission, in particular Germany as a major player in this market, and South Korea, which is accused of illegally supporting its shipyards. As state support has traditionally played an important role, both in establishing and in protecting shipbuilding as a strategic industry within a national economy, the concept of political lock-in appears to provide a promising method for explaining both the rise, through its enabling element, and delayed fall, through its constraining element, of these specific regional economies. Against the background of this theoretical concept, an empirical study comparing two competing shipbuilding regions—Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in eastern Germany and Gyeongnam in South Korea—was conducted; the results are twofold. First, restructuring the shipbuilding industry in these two regions seems less affected by local and regional factors than it is by national and international organisations. National and international organisations are, under globalisation conditions, increasingly responsible for regulating the conditions of competition, but are failing to do so. Second, because of the multiscale involvement of political and economic actors and, hence, the increasing complexity of the restructuring process, the concept of political lock-in needs to be integrated into a much broader explanatory framework—which the authors develop.

On the Nature and Geography of Innovation and Interactive Learning: A Case Study of the Biotechnology Industry in the Aachen Technology Region, Germany

So far, relatively little research has been done on sectoral differences of innovation processes. In order to learn more about these differences, we apply the knowledge base concept which helps us to characterize the nature of critical knowledge that is indispensable for innovation activities. Two knowledge bases are distinguished: the analytical (science based) and the synthetic (engineering based) knowledge base. This paper focuses on the emerging biotechnology industry in the Aachen Technology Region in Germany. It aims to identify the knowledge base which is crucial for the development of new products and processes. Additional questions are as follows: How intense are cross-sectoral knowledge transfers and labour mobility? In which way can we observe innovation-oriented systemic interactions within the region and to which extent are the biotechnology firms connected to extra-regional knowledge sources? In order to investigate these questions, we apply social network analyses and descriptive statistics. Our results show that the knowledge base that is crucial for innovation activities is primarily of analytical nature. Interactive learning of biotechnology firms within the region is clearly dominated by industry–university links, while the vertical dimension of co-operative innovation processes is rather shaped on national and global scales for most firms.