Roel Rutten

The Learning Region: Foundations, State of the Art, Future

The aim of this book is to present a much-needed conceptualization of ‘the learning region’. The editors scrutinize key concepts and issues surrounding this phenomenon, which are then discussed in the context of recent literature. This unique conceptualization of the learning region presents a state of the art exploration of theories. Leading scholars from across Europe, the USA and South Africa draw upon various disciplines to explain how regional actors perform regional learning.

The spatial dimension of social capital

Social capital pertains to the social relations between humans, and since these social relations have a spatial dimension, so too does social capital. However, the spatial dimension of social capital has received little attention in the literature so far. Even in a globalizing world where electronic and virtual communication have the potential to defeat the need for geographical proximity, it is still relevant to consider the spatial dimension of social capital. After all, human beings exist most prominently in real rather than in virtual space. This special issue undertakes an inquiry into the spatial dimension of social capital from an explorative perspective. It aims to further theoretical and empirical understanding of the spatial dimension of social capital. As editors we recognize that the debate on social capital is still ongoing in the literature and that it is fed from different, sometimes conflicting perspectives. Therefore, the spatial dimension of social capital can only be conceptualized in the light of these different perspectives, which necessitates an explorative approach. Nonetheless, the various contributions of this special issue allow several conclusions that are valuable to the ongoing discussion on social capital and its spatial dimension. In the first part of this introductory paper, we discuss social capital from a conceptual angle, as we distinguish between two key approaches (the “structuralist” and “interactionist” approaches). We then argue how these approaches may be helpful to the understanding of the spatial dimension of social capital. In the second part, we introduce the various contributions and explain how they contribute to the aim of this special issue.

Innovation in Regions

Abstract The problem of regional economic development is closely related to the ability of organizations in that region to innovate. Research has shown that this ability differs between regions and is even influenced by the characteristics of a region. The milieu of innovation thesis suggests that several different regional factors affect the innovativeness of a region. The hypotheses of this present research are based on this assumption. The innovation of a region depends on the following factors, all of which have a positive impact on regional innovativeness: (1) wealth, (2) the development of gross domestic product (GDP), (3) cultural diversity, (4) the talent of the population and (5) the density of the population. The research is based on data compiled from Eurostat and national-regional data from all European Union countries. We used linear regression methods to analyse the data. The data analysis provides support for hypotheses 1, 3, 4 and 5. That means that wealth, cultural diversity, talent and density do have a positive influence on innovation. However, hypothesis 2 has been rejected. There is indeed a strong, negative correlation of GDP with innovation. A further in-depth qualitative analysis of regional characteristics explains the results of the regression analysis.

The Learning Region

The aim of this book is to present a much-needed conceptualization of ‘the learning region’. The editors scrutinize key concepts and issues surrounding this phenomenon, which are then discussed in the context of recent literature. This unique conceptualization of the learning region presents a state of the art exploration of theories. Leading scholars from across Europe, the USA and South Africa draw upon various disciplines to explain how regional actors perform regional learning.

Managing innovation in regional supply networks: a Dutch case of “knowledge industry clustering”

This paper presents a case study on the collaboration between Oce, a large Dutch manufacturer of copiers and printers, and several of its lead suppliers within the so‐called “knowledge industry clustering” (KIC) project. In 1993 Oce initiated this project to enable innovation by creating inter‐organizational teams and new combinations based on the knowledge and skills of different suppliers. Based on data collected from 28 interviews with respondents that were involved at both the Oce and supplier side of ten different “knowledge clusters”, it is concluded that the critical success factors primarily point at the importance of creating trust in such inter‐organizational teams.

The Effects of Spatial Mobility on the Performance of Firms

Abstract A considerable body of research has analyzed the impact of a firm’s geographic position and levels of organizational and territorial embeddedness on its performance. Generally these studies have assumed that firms are immobile. Research that has focused on the effects of the relocation of firms has treated firms mainly as atomistic actors that can move freely in geographic space and has tended to neglect the influence of changes in a firm’s geographic position and level of organizational and territorial embeddedness. We integrated insights from both streams of literature to answer the research question, “What are the effects of relocation on a firm’s performance, and what is the influence of a firm’s geographic position and its level of organizational and territorial embeddedness on this relationship?” On the basis of our analysis of data from a survey of managers of Dutch automation services firms, we found that the degree of impact of a firm’s relocation on its performance depends on the characteristics of the relocation. For example, a move to an urbanized region hampers performance, whereas a move to a research and development-intensive region fosters a higher level of performance. Furthermore, firms with high levels of organizational embeddedness suffer in the short term from relocation, but benefit in the long run.

Innovation, Policy and Economic Growth: Theory and Cases

The origin for this special issue goes back to June 2004, when a group of economic geographers at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, organized an international conference on “Governance and Places”, or GaP. GaP can be understood in two different ways. First, it refers to the research group on Governance and Places from the Faculty of Management Sciences at Radboud University, the group that organized the conference. One of the teams of the GaP group researches the knowledge-based economy and innovation. Secondly, GaP refers to the real meaning of the word, in the sense that there is a gap between knowledge, on the one hand, and innovation, on the other hand. Both scientists and practitioners are searching for ways to close this gap in order to boost our economies. One of the sessions in the conference was dedicated to this knowledge gap. Scientists from a variety of disciplines (i.e. economic geography, sociology and business economics) presented and discussed their work in this session. Their papers are the basis of the current special issue.

Social Capital, Distance, Borders and Levels of Space: Conclusions and Further Issues

In this special issue, we attempted to combine two multifaceted concepts, social capital and space, a difficult and complex task. The various papers in this special issue have all demonstrated that social capital has a spatial dimension but they have also demonstrated that a straightforward connection between the two concepts does not emerge. In our view, the next step on the road to explaining the relation between social capital and space is to better conceptualize the latter. In the introductory paper, we focused on social capital, arguing that this concept can be approached from a structuralist or an interactionist perspective (with focus on the networks and the norms/values, respectively) and that it can bring positive as well as negative effects. Social capital is carried by individuals and different types of organizations, but, as the contributions in this special issue demonstrate, it also has a spatial factor. This necessitates conceptualizing space more clearly in order to better understand how social capital and space are related. In this final paper, we make an effort in this direction. Space may be theorized as a concept with three complex approaches. 1. A horizontal space in which distance is a continuous variable and in which access to social capital diminishes continuously with distance—although the relationship is not necessarily linear. This distance approach is based on the classic contributions

Beyond proximities : The socio-spatial dynamics of knowledge creation

Knowledge creation is recognized as interaction between individuals in a social context, but geography-of-knowledge-creation research inadequately connects social context to physical place. The proximities approach reduces physical place to near-far dichotomies and territorial innovation models conflate social context and physical place. This paper introduces the concept of ‘conversations’ as social spaces of knowledge creation and develops typologies of how conversations are connected to physical places, based on the effort required to bridge distance and on the attractiveness of places for knowledge creation. Addressing the socio-spatial dynamics of knowledge creation, the paper explains how conversations may be anchored in multiple locations.

Beyond the Learning Region: A New Direction for Conceptualizing the Relation between Space and Learning

The learning region has been unsuccessful in delivering its main ambition of conceptualizing the relation between space and learning. Taking the region as the level of analysis biased the learning region towards learning in regional networks up to the point where it conflates regions with networks. As learning is a process of social interaction between individuals, innovation networks of individuals are suggested as the alternate level of analysis. The spatial dimension of innovation networks is two-fold. Their reach may vary between the local and the global. Second, regional social capital and norms and values affect learning as they are brought into the networks by spatially sticky individuals.