Italian Industrial Districts on the Move: Where Are They Going?

Since the second half of the 1990s the Italian economy has experienced a significant slowdown in the rate of economic growth. The “dwarfism” of its manufacturing firms, their specialization in traditional sectors and their organization in industrial districts have been identified by many scholars as major structural weaknesses in the Italian industrial system. Nevertheless, there is a vast and flourishing empirical literature showing that many industrial districts are actually changing in terms of sector specialization, international and innovation strategies and emergence of new forms of enterprise organization. In this paper, we provide a critical survey of the new and different patterns of industrial organization emerging in industrial districts.     

Clusters and Industrial Districts: Where is the Literature Going? Identifying Emerging Sub-Fields of Research

The industrial district and cluster literature has generated an extraordinary quantity of articles, debates and topics for discussion, and encompasses one of the most vibrant lines of research in the field of economics, geography, management and related disciplines. The literature, however, is fairly fragmented. In this paper, “bibliometric” methods are used to analyse the cluster literature published between 1957 and 2014 in order to explore “prospective” research priorities through the method of “bibliographic coupling”. Beyond focusing on foundational works in the past, this approach shifts the focus away from the practice of analysing co-citations and seminal contributions to one of looking at current and emerging trends in the literature. Using the ISI Web of Knowledge (Web of Science) as a database, an examination of two samples of 3955 and 2419 articles is made. Results reveal the existence of sub-fields of inquiry that follow their own particular research agendas, which remain distinct yet interconnected to one another.     

Enterprise Clusters and Industrial Districts in Colombia's Fashion Sector†

This paper presents the theory of enterprise clusters and industrial districts, and contrasts it with the evidence of two productive agglomerations in the fashion sector in Colombia. The empirical evidence on Bucaramanga and Medellín, that host the largest groups of Colombian textile and clothing producers and exporters, is based on a survey questionnaire, carried out in November–December 1998. The results of the survey confirm the relevance of the Industrial district concept in understanding the recent developments of Colombia's textile and garments industry, and reveal the presence of some dimensions of an enterprise cluster in both Medellín and Bucaramanga, although each with different characteristics. However, both Colombian clusters are characterized by a low degree of firm–level specialization and poorly–developed enterprise networks. This is similar to what has been observed in most enterprise clusters in Latin America, and may clearly hinder the local external economies and collective efficiency. Backward linkages are poor or lacking in both clusters. The strategy prevailing in most enterprises has been the internalization of many stages of the productive process. Forward linkages are much stronger, and the retailers play a crucial role in the commercial phases. However, only Bucaramanga firms have entered global production and marketing networks, whereas Medellín firms are mainly oriented to the national market. Moreover, the two clusters have developed under very different economic policy regimes, and this had had its consequences on the clusters' performance and structure.     

Regional Innovation Systems and European Research Policy: Convergence or Misunderstanding?

In this article the question of interfacing, innovation policy and regional policy at the European level is addressed. Under which conditions will the new European research policy, relying on networks of centres of excellence, be compatible with 'cohesion' objectives? Since there will be no unique regional development scheme based on science and technology, how can policy-makers take into consideration the variety of local contexts? The analysis focuses on the fact that the concept of regional innovation system can be misleading for describing the territorial context. However, a cognitive approach seems possible, based on the notion of regional competence to innovate. The analyses are illustrated with empirical results concerning the French regions, and especially Alsace.     

Innovation Governance Nexuses: Mapping Local Governments' University–Industry Relations and Specialization in High Technology in Sweden

In this paper, we take as a point of departure an assumption that innovation governance matters as a local and regional policy instrument, and consequently we investigate whether local policy can be linked to local industry. To do this, we use Swedish survey data on policy and high-tech agglomeration at the level of municipalities and present evidence on innovation governance nexuses, i.e. locations with greater industrial specialization paired with stronger formalization of innovation governance. Theoretically, this paper follows the literature on regional advantage, but a novel approach is used in which innovation governance literature is linked to that advantage. The findings indicate that these types of policy instruments are useful by creating networks that channel and direct resource and knowledge flows, particularly at locations with higher education institutions.     

Shopping or Specialization? Venue Targeting among Nonprofits Engaged in Advocacy

Studies of venue shopping have typically analyzed the case of an individual advocacy group or issue campaign rather than comparing venue strategies across multiple groups. Moreover, this literature focuses on interest groups and advocacy coalitions whose principal mandate is to influence public policy. Using original data, we test theories of venue selection among nonprofit organizations that report engaging in policy processes but the majority of which do not self‐identify as an advocacy group. Our analyses explore the “where” of nonprofit advocacy across three different venue types: branch (executive, legislative), domain (bureaucracy, elected officials), and level of government (local, state, federal). Like interest groups, we find that nonprofits shop among both executive and legislative branches and among elected and bureaucratic domains; however, they tend to specialize in one level of government. Geographic scope and revenue source predicted venue targeting, but most other organizational characteristics including age, capacity, and structure did not.     

Evolution of Innovation Policy in Emilia-Romagna and Valencia: Similar Reality,Similar Results?

This paper examines the evolution of regional innovation policy in Emilia-Romagna and Valencia, two regions with similar economic features that implemented close innovation policies in the 1970s and 1980s. We investigate whether their similarities have led to parallel targets, policy tools and governance developments. We show that innovation policy in both regions suffered from the effects of privatization, budget constraints and changes to manufacturing during the 1990s and we highlight the consequences. Although Emilia-Romagna experienced deeper changes to its innovation policy, privatizations and/or the replacement of public funds promoted commercial approaches and induced market failures in both regions. The worst effects of these policies were the implementation of less-risky innovation projects, the shift towards extra-regional projects and markets, and the favouring of large firms.     

Regional Specialization and Industrial Concentration Patterns in the Turkish Manufacturing Industry: An Assessment for the 1980–2000 Period1

Previous studies on geographical distribution of economic activity in Turkey demonstrate that firms are localized in major metropolitan areas as well as a set of emerging regions. The aim of the paper is to complement the findings of the studies on regional and industrial concentration in Turkey's manufacturing industry by exploring whether regional specialization and industrial concentration patterns changed during the 1980–2000 period. The paper further aims to explore the driving forces of industrial concentration in Turkey's manufacturing industry, particularly during Turkey's economic integration process that started with trade liberalization after 1980 and further developed with the Customs Union in 1996. Regional specialization and industrial concentration are measured by GINI indices Turkey's NUTS-2 regions at the four-digit level for the years between 1980 and 2000. To investigate which variables determine industry concentration, systematic relation between the characteristics of the industry and industrial concentration is tested. Following the method proposed by Paluzie, Pons and Tirado, a panel regression equation is estimated, where the dependent variable is the Gini concentration index and the independent variables are the variables that represent the characteristics of the sectors that follow the predictions of classical trade theory, new trade theory and new economic geography. The major finding of the study is that during 1980–2000, Turkey's regions became more specialized and industry became more concentrated. Increases in the average values of regional specialization and industrial concentration support the prediction developed by Krugman hypothesis that regions become more specialized and industries become more concentrated with economic integration. In exploring the driving forces of industrial concentration, the findings demonstrate that firms tend to cluster in regions where there are economies of scale.     

European Integration and Industrial Relations: A Case of Variable Geometry?

This contribution considers the implications for industrial relations of European economic integration, and possible trade union responses. We can understand industrial relations as institutions and processes of social regulation of work and employment, whether by law, collective bargaining or more diffuse norms and standards (often, a combination of all three). These systems of worker protection became consolidated at national level; their foundations are eroded by increasing economic internationalisation (to which the European single market was a response, but which it further reinforced). Through the dynamic of "regime competition", multinational capital can play off national governments and national trade unions against one another, while norms of worker protection are subverted by growing insistence on "shareholder value". Effective regulation of work and employment must be reconstructed transnationally; but most trade union energy has been devoted to a vain pursuit of European analogues of national legislation and collective agreements within a bureaucratic elite process of "social dialogue". What is needed is, first, effective articulation between European-level trade union action and the day-to-day realities of national and workplace trade unionism, and second, a struggle to create a European civil society within which the protection of workers' rights can win popular support and which can sustain effective collective mobilisation.     

Nationalism and revolution: friends or foes?

Nationalism and revolution have generally been held to go together. Many nation‐states have had their origins in revolution, from the Americans in the 18th century to a host of Third World nation‐states in the 20th century. Generally, both modern revolutions and modern nationalism have the same origins, in 18th century Enlightenment thought. But this paper argues that, despite this common origin, the principles of revolution and nationalism are divergent, and can set one against the other. Revolutions emphasise freedom and equality; nationalism emphasises integration and unification. These principles can clash, though not inevitably and not always. The paper examines the 1789 French Revolution, the 1848 revolutions and the 1917 Russian revolution. It shows that in the first two cases, revolutionary aspirations came up against and were eventually displaced by nationalist aims. In the case of 1917, revolution paradoxically, and unintentionally, institutionalised nationalism. These examples show that, though linked at some high level of modern thought, revolution and nationalism express different and at times divergent strands of modernity.     

The Effect of Hedonic Migration Decisions and Region-Specific Amenities on Industrial Location: Could Silicon Valley Be in South Dakota?

This paper analyzes the effect of hedonic migration decisions and regional amenities on industrial location. Labor-intensive firms bifurcate into companies that follow the workers completely to the most attractive places, and companies which engage in a trade-off between "following" and "compensation for disamenities." In the latter case, regional amenities induce three distinct location patterns: (a) a concentration of firms where the level of amenities is rapidly changing, (b) a gradual change of industrial composition at intermediate locations, and (c) a concentration of specific industries at the periphery of high-amenity areas. These patterns explain some of the controversial empirical findings about regional amenities and migration.     

Innovation and Regional Development,Do European Structural Funds make a Difference?

The article draws on a thematic evaluation of Research Technological Development and Innovation (RTDI) related actions supported by the Structural Funds to assist declining industrial areas or Objective 2 regions, during the period between 1989 and 1999. Over the 10 year period, three main approaches were identified in Objective 2 regions, the last two becoming predominant during the latter part of the period: technology push with funding of large projects such as science parks and research facilities; technology transfer with measures to disseminate technology; and demand pull with clearly identified and self contained RTDI priorities. While drawing lessons from the last decade, the paper also integrates some preliminary observations on structural funds investments for innovation during the current 2000–2006 programming period and concludes with a review of possible scenarios for the further development of RTDI in lagging regions in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy.