Wouter Jacobs

A Theory of Institutional Change: Illustrated by Dutch City-Provinces and Dutch Land Policy

Since the early 1990s, planning theory has focused on the issue of institutional change. Not only does institutional change have clear bearings on processes of spatial planning, it is also, increasingly, seen as an object of planning. A core concept in the literature is the juxtaposition of ‘institutional design’ and ‘institutional evolution’. Yet, in understanding processes and the role of institutional change, this dichotomy does not appear to be very helpful. We therefore propose a more encompassing perspective that includes both ‘design’ and ‘evolution’ dimensions, invoking various components from theories of policy change, inspired by the work of Kingdon. We try to unravel, in particular, why, under seemingly comparable conditions, some cases show substantive institutional transformations while others do not. We briefly discuss two cases from the Netherlands to illustrate this point, namely the thwarted process of establishing city regions within the scalar fabric of territorial governance, and some instrumental changes in land policy.

The Location and Global Network Structure of Maritime Advanced Producer Services

Within research on world cities, much attention has been paid to advanced producer services (APS) and their role within both global urban hierarchies and network formation between cities. What is largely ignored is that these APS provide services to firms operating in a range of different sectors. Does sector-specific specialisation of advanced producer services influence the economic geography of corporate networks between cities? If so, what factors might explain this geographical pattern? This paper investigates these theoretical questions by empirically focusing on those advanced producer services related to the port and maritime sector. The empirical results show that the location of AMPS is correlated with maritime localisation economies, expressed in the presence of shipowners and port-related industry as well as APS in general, but not by throughput flows of ports. Based upon the findings, policy recommendations are addressed.

An Evolutionary Perspective on Regional Port Systems: The Role of Windows of Opportunity in Shaping Seaport Competition

How do seaports evolve in relation to each other? Recent studies in port economics and transport geography have been focused on how supply-chain integration has structurally changed the competitive landscape in which individual ports and port actors operate. Port regionalization has been addressed as the corresponding new phase in the spatial and functional evolution of port systems. However, these studies lack theoretical foundations that allow us to assess empirically the role either of the institutional context or of strategic agency in the competitive (spatial and functional) evolution of regional (integrated) port systems. The authors present an evolutionary framework to analyze the development of seaports in a regional context by making use of the concept of ‘windows of opportunity’. The role of seaport-based evolution in the processes aimed at positioning market players and ports on the container scene in the Rhine–Scheldt Delta is examined.

Why are maritime ports (still) urban, and why should policy-makers care?

Despite ongoing transformations in the maritime transportation industry and the rise of global supply chain systems, most of the worlds important container ports remain urban. Ports continue to occupy urban spaces, are embedded in localized knowledge systems, draw on urban labour markets and infrastructure and are subject to local politics and policy concerns. We identify contemporary geographic theories which help us understand the often increasingly urban attachment of core economic activities despite globalization. We explore how these theories may apply to port studies, highlighting both how they have been used by maritime scholars to this point and also why further development and application are warranted. We argue that a central concern of these geographic theories is the articulation of place- and sector-specific processes operating at a variety of spatial scales. This is in contrast to most maritime studies which continue to be dominated by perspectives which emphasize the global logic of the transportation industry and the analysis of space in generalized and abstract terms. We conclude that a re-appreciation in maritime studies of urban economic processes, informed by geographical theory, will provide policy-makers and others with more understanding of why deep connections between ports and urban places still matter.

The Impact of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) on Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) Start-ups: Empirical Evidence from the Dutch Randstad

Jacobs W., van Rietbergen T., Atzema O., van Grunsven L. and van Dongen F. The impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) start-ups: empirical evidence from the Dutch Randstad, Regional Studies. This paper focuses on the impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) on the level of entrepreneurship in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) in metropolitan regions. Large globalizing metropolitan regions or ‘world cities’ are generally considered prime office locations for MNEs and KIBS alike. Certain locations in these metropolitan regions or world cities provide multifarious benefits of being co-agglomerated. Yet the impact of local MNEs, whether domestic or foreign, on successful local entrepreneurship in related KIBS has hardly been conceptually or empirically addressed in the literature. This paper presents evidence from the Dutch Randstad based on a questionnaire given to 2,000 KIBS firms founded in 2001–08 and supported by interviews with major international KIBS. The main conclusion is that MNEs in KIBS firms spawn successful entrepreneurship in KIBS. Implications for regional development policy are also addressed.

Multinational Knowledge Strategies, Policy and the Upgrading Process of Regions: Revisiting the Automotive Industry in Ostrava and Shanghai

This paper revisits how and why new multinational knowledge-based strategies and multi-level governmental policies influence the upgrading process of regions in developing economies. Automotive multinationals traditionally exploited local asset conditions, but it is shown that they have also been contributing to knowledge-generation systems via investments in R&D centres and cooperation with regional knowledge producers. We discern three elements of the upgrading process of regions—upgrading of domestic firms, subsidiary evolution and establishment of strategic relations with local knowledge institutes—to analyse two case studies: Ostrava (Czech Republic) and Shanghai (China). The cases show that all types of upgrading—product, process, chain and functional—have taken place in the last years, and that follow sourcing may have a positive impact on regional upgrading. These observations provide lessons for governments in developing economies which aim to strengthen innovation-based regional development.

Sustainable development of cities: the role of leader firms

The issue of global climate change tops the international political agenda in the search for longterm international agreements on the global reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). Cities have in this global (strategic) context an important responsibility in promoting sustainable development and reducing emissions. Cities take up only 2 per cent of the world’s surface, but the functionaleconomic activities (industry, housing, transport) located within urban agglomerations are responsible for almost 80 per cent of the greenhouse gases released into the world’s atmosphere. Port cities act as a specific case in this challenging context, specifically because of their location along the coast, their hub function in world trade and their industrial profile. The scale enlargement and increased intensity of port and industrial activity over recent decades have put the relationship with nearby metropolitan areas under pressure. At the same time, port expansion projects at a considerable distance from cities are faced with ecological sensitivities and tighter environmental legislations. Nonetheless, the port and its nearby urban environment remain closely linked, and within these times of climate change have more than ever become strategic partners in sustainable development and innovation. New global and national regulatory frameworks on sustainability pose a fundamental challenge for both internationally operating businesses