Stewart MacNeill

Leadership of cluster policy: lessons from the Austrian province of Styria

The discourses of the ‘new economic geography’, the ‘knowledge-based economy’ and ‘innovation’ stress the importance of networking amongst a wide variety of agents for the circulation of knowledge, the reduction of costs and the efficiency of exploitation. Of the various ‘networked’ territorial innovation models ‘clusters’ has been the most commonly adopted by policy-makers. However, cluster policy implementation requires careful management if the different actors are to be properly engaged and committed. In this article, we will argue that a great deal rests upon the quality of leadership both at the strategic level of regions, or other administrative scales, and of individual projects or initiatives such as cluster support organisations. The main issues and challenges of leadership will be outlined. Furthermore, we examine cluster policy in the Austrian region of Styria where its successful application has assisted the transformation of the region from a crisis point in the 1980s. We consider what has been achieved and how the adoption of a particular ‘distributed’ style of leadership has been effective in creating a strong institutional base, achieving cooperation across organisational, sectoral and other boundaries and building lasting partnerships based upon mutual self-interest.

Rover and out? Globalisation, the West Midlands auto cluster, and the end of MG Rover

This paper sets the scene for this Policy Studies special issue on plant closures by outlining the form of the auto cluster in the West Midlands, the nature of structural changes unfolding in the industry, and the decline and eventual collapse of MG Rover (MGR). Structural changes highlighted include: greater pressure on firms to recover costs when technological change has been intensifying, driving up the costs of new model development; increased international sourcing of modular components; and a shift of final assembly operations towards lower cost locations. All of these make maintaining mature clusters such as the West Midlands more challenging for firms and policy makers. The paper then looks at ‘what went wrong’ at MGR. Given long-run problems at the firm and its inability to recover costs, BMWs sale of the firm in 2000 left MGR virtually dead on its feet, and by 2002/2003 it was clear to many that the firm was running out of time. Whilst recognising that the firms demise was ultimately a long-term failure of management, the paper also looks at other contributing factors, including government policy mistakes over the years, such as the misguided ‘national champions’ approach in the 1950s and 1960s, a failure to integrate activities under nationalisation in the 1970s, a mistaken privatisation to British Aerospace in the 1980s, and a downside of competition policy in ‘allowing’ the sale to a largely inappropriate owner in BMW in the 1990s. The considerable volatility of sterling in recent years hastened the firms eventual demise.

Trends and drivers of change in the European automotive industry: (I) mapping the current situation

This paper provides an overview of the European automotive industry and its importance to the European economy. The paper examines the whole automotive system including car and truck/bus manufacture, the up-stream supply matrix and the downstream distribution and retail sector. The authors examine the main, and well-documented, manufacturing, technological and geographical trends in the industry and relate these to the fundamental drivers of competition, costs, legislation and consumer choice. The article is one of a series of two that, together, present a comprehensive picture of the European motor vehicle industry and its strengths and weaknesses compared to those in the other main global automotive producing areas. The articles consider the possible future trajectories and the likely effects on total employment, working conditions and contracts, the geography of production and the EU trade balance on vehicles.

The Dilemmas of Operationalizing Cluster Policy: The Medical Technology Cluster in the West Midlands

ABSTRACT “Clusters” have become central to European regional economic development policy. However, concerns have emerged over the content and quality of delivery of cluster-based initiatives. Here we review the implementation of English cluster policy, with a focus on medical technologies in the West Midlands region of the UK. Using a policy streams framework, we seek rapprochement between counter arguments that implementation difficulties are the inevitable results of applying a “fuzzy” concept or are avoidable outcomes of organizational deficiencies. We illustrate how both can contribute to failure at different policy stages and suggest that before adopting a cluster approach more consideration should be given to the institutional capacity required for implementation.

Platforms of Innovation

This ground-breaking book offers a coherent theoretical analysis of contemporary industrial knowledge flow dynamics. Furthermore, it advances wide-ranging and varied empirical findings from international comparative research which demonstrate that knowledge cross-pollination, often from industrially unrelated business sectors, is now commonplace in the economics of innovation. This, the authors argue, represents the rise of an externalized ‘matrix’ of knowledge flow dynamics among firms and industries. The book also examines related economic governance research that reveals the catalytic role that leading innovation policy agencies play in animating knowledge flow dynamics, particularly at the regional level. The chapters address various sectors including food and drink, biotechnology, ICT, new media, the automotive industry and tourism.

Trends and drivers of change in the European automotive industry: (II) scenarios and implications

This paper follows on from the mapping exercise covered in the first article. The authors consider four possible scenarios for the future development of the European car industry. These are primarily based on the strength of demand inside and outside Europe, and the extent to which variation might be accompanied by a faster or slower rate of consolidation of vehicle makers and suppliers. The scenarios take account of the growth of new players from emerging car markets, such as China or India, the legislative framework and consumer choice. They enable consideration of the impact of demand on production geography, organisational and manufacturing change, total employment and employment conditions and contracts and the role of public policy.

Assessing Overall Network Structure in Regional Innovation Policies: A Case Study of Cluster Policy in the West Midlands in the UK

Abstract Revisiting the theoretical roots of the key concepts of “embeddedness” and “networks” that underpin many recent regional innovation polices, this paper strives to achieve a more systematic understanding of the overall network structure of geographic agglomerations, which helps to form a more convincing model of regional development based on learning. This also helps to establish an analytical framework with indicators to assess the overall network structure in regional innovation policies. Employing the framework, the examination of cluster policy in the West Midlands highlights its weakness in addressing the overall cluster network structure and the contingent factors influencing the structure. The analysis suggests that there may be similar weaknesses in other regional innovation policies and the theories underpinning them as they share a common weakness in addressing the structural characteristics of overall networks.

The Rationale for Eurodite and an Introduction to the Sector Studies

This ground-breaking book offers a coherent theoretical analysis of contemporary industrial knowledge flow dynamics. Furthermore, it advances wide-ranging and varied empirical findings from international comparative research which demonstrate that knowledge cross-pollination, often from industrially unrelated business sectors, is now commonplace in the economics of innovation. This, the authors argue, represents the rise of an externalized ‘matrix’ of knowledge flow dynamics among firms and industries. The book also examines related economic governance research that reveals the catalytic role that leading innovation policy agencies play in animating knowledge flow dynamics, particularly at the regional level. The chapters address various sectors including food and drink, biotechnology, ICT, new media, the automotive industry and tourism.