Twenty‐first Century Industrial Policy in a Small Developing Country: The Challenges of Reviving Manufacturing in Rwanda

The Rwandan government — widely lauded for its political commitment to development — has refocused its efforts on reviving growth in the manufacturing sector. This article examines how pressures from different levels — international, regional and domestic — have shaped the evolving political economy of two priority sectors (apparel and cement). To achieve its goals of manufacturing sector growth, the Rwandan government aims to access foreign markets (on preferential terms) and larger regional markets while developing effective state–business relationships with locally based firms. Despite the government's political commitment to reviving its manufacturing sector, its strategy has been both shaped and impeded by shifting pressures at the international level (through Rwanda's recent suspension from the African Growth and Opportunity Act), the regional level (through competition from regional firms) and the domestic level (through over‐reliance on single firms). Within the current industrial policy literature, there is limited reflection on how developing countries are dealing with the multi‐scalar challenges of enacting industrial policy in a much‐changed global trading environment. This article contributes to the industrial policy literature by addressing this lacuna.     

Management cultures and regional development: High performance management and the location of new manufacturing plants

In-depth case studies of new manufacturing plants are used to motivate a new business location model that incorporates management practices and cultures as location factors. This model is tested using US data on the location of new manufacturing plants. It is found that plants that adopt high performance management practices and cultures rely on different criteria when making their location decisions from those plants that are managed in more traditional ways. Omitting management culture from studies of business location may result in biased estimates of the importance of various traditional location factors. By demonstrating that location decisions are differentiated according to the management practices of firms, it is argued that regional development planning should pay more attention to specific business characteristics and that regional development policy include programmes that strengthen complementarities between management practices and the regional economic environment.     

Public financial support and firm-specific characteristics: evidence from Portugal

This paper analyses the underlying factors explaining a firm’s use of public financial support and possible misalignments between policy goals and the characteristics of firms holding a public grant. Using firm-level data for a sample of Portuguese manufacturing firms over the 2006–2013 period, we investigate how public financial support at the firm level is related to observable firm’s characteristics. Our findings suggest that firms lacking resources, capabilities and international involvement seem to be those with great barriers to use public financial support. Therefore, it cast doubts on the efficiency of public financial support programmes aiming to mitigate market failures, by assisting constrained firms. In turn, public financial support seems to boost market selection mechanisms by favouring ‘good’ firms and pushing less-endowed firms outside the market.     

Determinants of the Uneven Regional Participation of Firms in European Technology Programmes. The 'Low R&D Trap'

Technology is of key importance to the growth of regional firms and economies. Research has shown the association between low technology development or take-up and regional disparities. Hence technology policy is moving closer to the heart of regional policies. European innovation programmes are intended to involve firms, large and small, in international technology research and development networks. The paper focuses on the involvement of Spanish firms in such programmes. Participation tends to be low if business R&D, presence of large firms, and the development of regional innovation systems are also low. Creation of R&D infrastructure through the Structural Funds has now to be prioritized at EU level and also define a new scheme of sectoral priorities in order to support R&D innovation activities in fields diverse from high-tech, if regions are to escape the 'low R&D trap'.     

The Role of Knowledge Intermediaries in Developing Firm Learning Capabilities

Regional innovation systems (RISs) literature has emphasized the critical role of interactive learning and knowledge exchange amongst firms and a variety of spatially connected innovation institutions as the foundation of regional innovation. Knowledge intermediaries have been analysed in terms of the technology-transaction services they provide firms and/or knowledge producers such as universities and therefore the role they play in facilitating interaction within the RIS. However, innovation also depends on the capability of the firm to learn. Some studies have suggested that intermediaries also play a role in that regard as participation in intermediary knowledge transfer programmes can contribute to the development of firm capabilities for problem-solving and learning. Our research is based on two case study intermediary programmes involving interviews with facilitators and participants. Our data show that knowledge intermediaries affect organizational learning capabilities by impacting on firms' network relationships, internal and external communication channels and internal learning processes which in turn affect the ability to interpret and use knowledge within the firm. This suggests that the role of knowledge intermediaries might be greater than facilitating interactions in the innovation system, as knowledge intermediation may affect the ability of firms to learn and absorb knowledge from their environment.     

Pulling Together in Lowell: The University and the Regional Development Process

Universities are increasingly involved in regional economic development and innovation. In the long-established industrial city of Lowell, Massachusetts, in the US north-east, firms, community groups, and various centres, institutes, and academic departments at the University of Massachusetts have been engaged in systematic activities designed to revitalize neighbourhoods and improve industry performance. This paper examines these relationships and assesses changes made at the University since 1990 as it seeks to implement an enhanced regional development mission. An iterative process has begun at Lowell that involves faculty from diverse disciplines and off-campus constituencies. Internal relationships among faculty and between faculty and administrators are being altered, while external relationships are being reconstituted to make certain that the campus listens better and engages the community in collaborative activities in the best land-grant university tradition.     

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.     

Spatial Agglomeration of Manufacturing in Greece: Sectoral Patterns and Determinants

This article aims to demonstrate how the industry characteristics of manufacturing sectors affect the patterns of their spatial agglomeration. It also addresses several intricate issues concerning the measurement of localization economies and estimation of their main determinants in manufacturing industries. The original empirical analysis employs annual industrial data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) during the period 1993–2006 in Greece at the prefecture level, i.e. for 51 prefectures. The data processing reveals three important findings. The first is the temporal persistence of localization economies in the Greek manufacturing. The second refers to the high level of agglomeration associated with the high-technology industries as well as the resource- and scale-intensive industries. Lastly, there are significant effects of industry characteristics related to knowledge externalities, labour skills and productivity, scale economies and own-transport expenditure on spatial agglomeration, as resulted from the use of alternative geographic concentration indices and panel data models. Results obtained have implications for policy-makers, who can enhance the regional manufacturing activity by affecting these industry-specific factors. Amongst others, planning measures and policies which aim at promoting the local development and regional convergence should focus on reducing transport costs for firms or sectors, by improving the infrastructure capacity, interconnectivity and quality of services.     

R&D Cooperation in Innovation Systems—Some Lessons from the European Regional Innovation Survey (ERIS)

Our paper summarizes some of the main results of the European Regional Innovation Survey (ERIS) as far as they are discussed in this special issue of European Planning Studies . The overall target of the ERIS project is a quantitative and qualitative assessment of determinants crucial for the innovation potential of any region, i.e. innovative and non-innovative manufacturing firms, business services and research institutions, as well as the innovative linkages and networks between these actors. Empirical research is based upon almost 8600 questionnaires collected in 11 European regions. Results confirm some of the common hypotheses on the relationship between space and innovation networks but others are contrary to existing scientific knowledge. Obviously the impact of national innovation systems on the innovation activities of manufacturing firms in a given European region is-at least-as strong as the impact of the respective regional innovation system. The spatial range of innovative linkages significantly depends on the size, the type of the cooperation partner, the R&D intensity and the industry of the analysed manufacturing firm. For example, the higher the technology intensity of the industry, the greater is the need of each firm to use intraregional knowledge via innovation linkages. It is therefore an important task in regional innovation policy to promote network-building among firms and other actors of a regional innovation system and to interlink these intraregional networks with national and international knowledge sources.     

Delocalization Patterns in University–Industry Interaction: Evidence from the Sixth R&D Framework Programme

Increasing university–industry interaction (UII) and university contribution to the local economy are compatible—conventional wisdom would say. However, similar to other university activities, interaction with industry may be limited due to a lack of absorptive capacity in local firms. The data of those participating in the European Union's (EU's) Sixth R&D Framework Programme (FP6) were used to obtain values for the number and, notably, the budgets of UII projects at the regional level for the EU27. Two types of interactions were considered: inside and outside the region. Our analysis indicates that universities from regions whose firms have low absorptive capacity participate more often in FP6 projects with firms outside the region. Our results highlight the value of policies that facilitate firm R&D to enhance collaboration with regional universities.     

不同类型产业集群发展中地方政府行为的比较研究

产业集群是当今地方政府发展本地经济的主要政策方向之一。本研究首先从理论上探讨地方政府在经济发展和产业集群中行为动机和特征,其次案例分析内生型的花都区狮岭镇皮革皮具产业集群和外生型的东莞市石龙镇电子信息产业集群发展不同阶段中地方政府的行为方式,然后对比发现两种类型产业集群中的地方政府行为方式与产业集群的形成过程和发展特征相协调,最后总结出不同类型产业集群在不同阶段地方政府行为方式的重点领域,以期为地方政府产业集群政策的制定提供参考。     

Regional Competition for Mobile Oligopolistic Firms: Does Public Provision of Local Inputs Lead to Agglomeration?

We develop a model in which two regional governments compete for two mobile oligopolistic firms. Regional governments provide local infrastructure to attract mobile firms in order to increase regional employment and income. Firms face the trade-off between better regional infrastructure and fiercer competition for local workers. Strategic interaction prevails at the regional level as well as at the firm level. We show that an equilibrium with spatial concentration of firms as well as an equilibrium with spatial diversification of firms exists. In almost all cases regional competition leads to a suboptimal provision of local infrastructure.     

COMPANY WELFARE PROGRAMMES AND INDUSTRIAL MODERNIZATION IN FINLAND

Prior to the modern welfare state, many large companies provided extensive welfare programmes for their employees. In this article, such welfare programmes – or corporate welfarism – in Finnish manufacturing firms in the early 20th century are the focus of attention. I analyse the content of these programmes and how they changed over time as part of the modernization and professionalization of management and industrial and societal change. I also discuss how company managers perceived the role of welfare provisions in corporate development and what happened with these programmes when the first steps towards the modern welfare state were taken. I show that these programmes started as a necessity and part of industrial paternalism, but gradually became part of labour management, in particular for the creation of a loyal workforce and productivity improvements. These programmes often developed in collaboration with local municipalities, which led to intertwined relationships at the local level, marked by both trust and tension in local communities. Once general welfare reforms emerged, companies often abandoned their voluntary programmes, while some services were taken over by the municipalities. I also ask to what extent these programmes were managerial strategies to counteract growing state involvement in their affairs.     

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.     

EXPORT PERFORMANCE AND EXPORT POTENTIALS: WESTERN CANADIAN EXPORTS OF MANUFACTURED END PRODUCTS

This paper analyses the export performance and export potentials of end products manufactured in western Canada. Exports are explicitly interpreted as part of the (progressive) internationalization of firms. A sample of manufacturing firms is classified according to a five-stage model of the internationalization of firms on the basis of variations in marketing and technological strategy. It is suggested that improvements in export performance would be facilitated by export stimulation programs that are sensitive to the varying resources and to constraints of firms in different stages of internationalization. More generally, export promotion should be seen as part of the problem of stimulating the growth of firms.
Cette communication analyse la situation actuelle et potentielle des exportations de produits fabriqués dans I'ouest canadien. On considère catégoriquement que les exportations font parti de I'internationalisation (progressive) des fabricants. Un échantillon de ces derniers est classifié selon un modèle, à cinq étapes, de I'internationalisation de ces socieétés, basé sur les variations dans leurs stratégies techniques et commerciales. II est sug-géré que les taux des exportations pourrait ětre améliorer par des programmes visant a les stimuler, en autant que ces efforts tiennent compte du bilan des ressources et des contraintes des sociétés, durant les différentes étapes de leur internationalisation. En général il ne devraitpas avoir de distinctions entre les efforts visant à stimuler les exportations et ceux qui encouragent la croissance des sociétés fabricantes.     

Are there differences in social capital related to corporate regional engagement in dynamic and less dynamic non-core regions?

ABSTRACT

This article explores corporate regional engagement and related social capital in non-core regions. Corporate regional engagement comprises various activities of firms to influence regional contexts, which are challenging in non-core regions (e.g. on account of their organizational or institutional thinness). Corporate regional engagement engenders positive effects for regional development when firms collaborate among themselves (bonding social capital) and with other actors (bridging social capital) to improve regional endowments. We assume that dynamic regions have at their disposal higher levels of inclusive social capital in terms of collaboration networks for regional concerns and trust, while less dynamic regions have more exclusive and fragmented social capital. Consequently, less dynamic regions in particular appear to have potential to develop in a more social sense by activating the endogenous potential of region-wide collaboration. Those assumptions are tested based on a survey with Chief Executive Officers from the manufacturing industry from three dynamic and three less dynamic Swiss regions. The findings show that in dynamic regions, more firms are members of regional cross-industry associations, favouring regional collaboration; in less dynamic regions, meanwhile, more firms are members of industry-specific associations and service clubs, where benefits seem to be higher for individual firms than for the regional business environment.     

Characteristics of Collaboration in Product Innovation in the Regional System of Innovation of East Gothia

The focus of this article is on product innovations introduced by firms (establishments) and the collaborations they enter into with other firms and organizations in carrying out this activity. The theoretical framework combines innovation theories with the literature on regional innovation systems and the knowledge-based economy. Empirically we have investigated characteristics of collaboration among manufacturing establishments in the region of East Gothia in Sweden, with specific focus on the number of employees involved in the innovation projects, mechanisms of knowledge transfer between organizations, as well as financing and patenting in relation to product innovations.     

The Determinants of Regional Sourcing by Multinational Manufacturing Firms: Evidence from Yorkshire and Humberside,UK

An examination of the factors influencing the extent of regional sourcing by multinational manufacturing firms using data collected by interview from 50 foreign- and UK-owned plants in Yorkshire and Humberside. The evidence shows that higher levels of regional sourcing are observed where certain demand characteristics coincide with strengths in the supply potential of the region. A 'corporate filter' reduces regional sourcing. There were no differences in regional sourcing between foreign- and UK-owned multinationals. The findings identify barriers to policy aspirations of increased regional sourcing and emphasize that any policy initiatives should target the plants of domestic, as well as foreign, multinational enterprises (MNE).     

Knowledge Networks as a Regional Development Resource: A Network Analysis of the Interlinks between Scientific Institutions and Regional Firms in the Metropolitan region of Hanover,Germany

The debate on regional innovation potentials has concentrated in recent times upon the topic of regional knowledge networking. This article presents the findings of the first phase of a detailed network analysis of the cooperation relations between scientific institutions and firms in the “metropolitan region Hanover-Brunswick-Göttingen”. The research concentrated on the regional and supra-regional cooperation relations of approximately 500 science establishments of the region, including their interlinks with private sector firms. This analysis of a polycentric metropolitan region's knowledge networks in different fields of competence produced detailed information on the density of knowledge interlinking within the region, on the degree of connectivity between the region's scientific institutions and private sector firms, and on central network nodes within the regional innovation networks. The case study exemplifies the methodical approach of a regional network analysis and emphasizes the role of knowledge networks as a development resource which is of particular relevance to the region's innovation capacities.     

Do Manufacturing Firms Profit from Intraregional Innovation Linkages? An Empirical Based Answer

Nowadays, inter-firm linkages in the form of regional networks are seen as growth-promoting and important prerequisites for successful innovation activities in firms. Beginning with this hypothesis, the paper sets out to answer the question, whether manufacturing businesses with strong intraregional ties are more successful with respect to growth rates and innovative activities than those firms with little connection to their region. From a survey carried out in 10 European regions, the results verify that in spite of numerous network relationships on the national and international level small businesses are most likely to cooperate with others in their vicinity. In addition, the more knowledge-intensive innovation activities of businesses are, the more important is the relevance of spatial proximity in particular and networking in general.