Guilty by Association: A Cross-industrial Approach to Sourcing Complementary Knowledge in the Uppsala Biotechnology Cluster

A wide range of industrial studies recognize the tendency of similar and related economic activities to co-locate in so-called industrial systems or clusters. While a cluster is defined by its cross-industrial relations the supporting and complementary role of cluster actors is seldom fully explored. This study will focus on the dynamics of cluster relations and give an account for the complementary nature of clusters by analysing anchor firms and complementary agents (such as specialized service providers and institutions for collaboration) in the Uppsala biotechnology cluster in Sweden. The empirical data used involves a triangulation of interview, survey and individual-based register data based upon a mapping of cluster actors active in 2002 and 2003. It is shown that both the formerly dominant pharmaceutical company and the local university have actively taken the role as anchor firms/organizations creating a local and dynamic milieu for biotechnology activities. Furthermore, it is shown that the local cluster consists of a variety of complementary agents contributing to knowledge spillovers and cluster competitiveness.     

Changing partnerships: Firms and the French state

Lindblom's hypothesis that in market‐oriented systems businessmen predominate over statesmen is tested in relation to the way French firms have switched partners since the 1980s. Instead of a dirigiste—style special relationship with government, they have formed multinational partnerships. The implications of the new competitive context, under the pressure of delocalisation panic, are considered, prior to the examination of the effects of nationalisation and privatisation on the national identity of firms. The virtual bankruptcy of Crédit Lyonnais is examined as an example of state‐dependent capitalism, and the impact of EC competition policy is considered. The partial industrial disengagement by the French government in favour of market competition reinforces the applicability of Lindblom's hypothesis to the relations between firms and state in France.     

Regional technology policy and factors shaping local innovation networks in small German cities1

Local innovation networks are considered to be important to innovation and technological change and to growth prospects of regions and cities in Germany. When analysing the local (or regional) innovation system, one should consequently not only investigate horizontal and vertical relations among firms but also the contacts with universities and other research institutions. Furthermore, the role of government agencies and interest groups that provide financial support as well as commercial and technical information should also be taken into account. However, the review of relevant theoretical and empirical investigations related to the German experience shows that such innovation and R&D cooperation networks appear to be less significant than expected. In general various regional technology policy measures adopted in German states (the provision of research infrastructure, establishment of technology centres, innovative small and medium sized enterprises support programmes, etc.) have been more successful in economically better-off large cities than in the rural areas. Apart from offering a critical review of relevant theoretical and empirical research, this study introduces the present regional technology and R&D promotion policies in German states and examines the local innovation systems, taking Landshut as an example.     

Asian Transnational Enterprises and Technology Transfer in Thailand

Like many of its neighbours, Thailand is increasingly interested in upgrading the technological capability of its indigenous firms through the inward investment (foreign direct investment, FDI) of transnational enterprises (TNEs). Its science and technology policies, however, remain fragmented, and they compete with regional distribution priorities. This paper examines the nature of technology transfer between Asian TNEs (Japan and the newly industrializing economies (NIEs), that is, the NIEs of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) and Thai firms based on the responses of some 145 firms from a 2005 survey. It finds only modest levels of technological transfer in production and process technologies. Asian TNEs evaluate factor cost advantages and government incentives favourably. Logistic regressions, however, indicate that government incentives are negatively related to technology process modification between NIE subsidiaries and Thai customers. But, the technical training of Thai workers significantly increases the likelihood of Asian subsidiaries undertaking process technology transfers. Among NIE firms, the ability to import foreign skilled labour further increases the likelihood of such technological activities. Finally, forward linkages among the NIEs are positively associated with firm location in the urban agglomerations of Bangkok and Chon Buri, and, among smaller firms. Our study suggests that prevailing FDI policies have little influence on technology transfer, while technology policies that favour large TNEs work against smaller NIEs that are engaged in modest technology transfer.     

Labour Relations and the Transfer of Knowledge in Industrial Clusters: Why do Skilled Workers Share Knowledge with Colleagues in Other Firms?

Industrial clusters are held to offer competitive advantages to firms that accrue from the transfer of tacit knowledge between skilled workers co-located in spatially bound regions. This paper argues that informal knowledge transfers between skilled employees working in spatially bounded industrial clusters might have an association with the labour relationship between employers and employees. In the literature on industrial clusters general knowledge is readily traded through codified texts and collegial networks but high value, tacit knowledge transfers occur less frequently but are critical to the success of firms located in clusters. Tacit knowledge transfers are held to occur when workers move to other firms because of firm death or poaching but less frequently through contacts between colleagues from other firms. Industrial clusters are said to offer labour market advantages for skilled workers in the form of ample job opportunities and rising wages, which engender firm loyalty and discourage the transfer of tacit knowledge of competitive value to other firms. However, the limited empirical evidence available on actual working conditions for skilled workers in regional industrial clusters indicates that this argument is contestable. Some evidence suggests that there are limited wage premiums accruing to the industrial districts, a limited role for geographic proximity, and weak localised returns on seniority and education. We argue that in such circumstances high value knowledge between workers in different firms might be traded as an act of epistemic solidarity or sociability that disregards the interests of employer organisations. Such actions might vary by region and country in relation to the prevailing system of labour relations. Australian labour relations are offered as a case in point.     

Innovations, Competitiveness and Local Embeddedness: A Study of Machinery Producers in Sweden

This paper is about technological relations and firm performance in the Swedish machinery industry. Taking its point of departure in the proliferating literature on the localized nature of learning and innovation processes, the paper sets out to answer three empirical questions: To what extent are firms integrated in localized production systems based on buyer-supplier relations? At what geographical level–local/regional, national or international–are the most important technological relations found? Is there a correlation between localized technological relations and the technological performance of firms? The results indicate that few firms display localized buyer-supplier relations. Rather, the industry is highly internationalized, with the most important customers and competitors located outside Sweden. In terms of technologically important relations, the domestic arena seems to be more important. The majority of the most important technological relations link the machinery producers to other actors in Sweden. Three out of four firms may be classified as predominantly local/regional or national in their technological relations, or technology profile. This survey therefore supports the notion that there exists both local/regional and national innovation systems. Finally, however, despite the fact that most firms are fairly locally embedded in their technology relations, there is no evidence that such embeddedness shows up as superior firm performance, in terms of technology level or innovative capacity.     

Decentralized Industrial Policy in Germany. Case Study: Bavaria

Bavaria has achieved a dynamic change in its economic structure since the end of World War II, having evolved in the last four decades from an agricultural to a well-performing modern and service state. A wide variety of R&D-, SME- and infrastructure-oriented industrial policy measures have significantly contributed to the establishment of new small firms and job creation, the modernization of industrial structure as well as the economic and technology development in this German state. Bavarian industrial policy also stresses the subsidiarity principle and the working-together-through-dialogue principle of various groups including government, firms, trade unions, interest groups, etc. This type of loosely defined industrial policy has functioned remarkably well in the Bavarian-specific framework, in which a few large leading firms of international renown, in combination with the strong SME-basis, have played a key role for the rapid development. This study examines some major characteristics of regional industrial policy measures in Germany, taking Bavaria as a successful case.     

Sustainability of the tourist supply chain and governance in an insular biosphere reserve destination: the perspective of tourist accommodation

ABSTRACT

Small islands in peripheral regions are currently perceived as attractive tourist destinations. Governance plays an important role as a strategy for the revival of such destinations to achieve a more productive, environmental, social and sustainable management structure. ‘Good’ governance of a destination depends on all the actors involved in the tourism network. Such governance requires a redefinition of relations between government and society and minimal boundaries between public and private sectors. This paper has analysed the level of implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a tourist destination that is a biosphere reserve (BR), the island of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain), from a comprehensive approach involving a tourism supply chain (TSC) with private and public agents. The focal firms analysed within the TSC have been tourist accommodation establishments in Fuerteventura. The paper shows that the level of involvement of tourist accommodation in CSR is positive. However, this involvement is not sufficiently high to meet the requirements of a destination designated as a BR. Therefore, coordination policies should be developed that promote governance systems and further enhance sustainability in the destination.     

Understanding Technology Development

There are wide variations between the developing countries in the capabilities of their enterprises to import, utilize and improve upon industrial technologies. It is important for the purposes of industrial policy to understand why these differences exist and how industrial capabilities may be improved. This article presents the findings of recent research into the nature of capability development and the role of government policies in promoting such development. The process of becoming efficient in industry is very different from the usual textbook portrayal, in which firms costlessly access and absorb new technologies. In reality, there is a long and uncertain learning process involved, differing with the nature of the technology, the efficiency of factor and product markets, and the provision of various technological information and services from the infrastructure institutions. There is a widespread risk in developing countries that all these markets suffer from failures: the scope for technology development policies rests on the need to remedy these failures. The experience of the most successful newly industrializing economies (NIEs) suggests that well-designed interventions, both selective and functional, are needed to promote technology development. Experience clearly shows the dangers of government failure, but it is necessary to retain a large role for the government if industry is to succeed. The pattern and implementation of interventions have to be very different. This article points out the outlines of economically desirable interventions.     

The Role of Personal Factors in the Location Decision of Software Services Start-up Firms

This paper explores the factors which influence the business location decisions of start-ups, focusing in particular on the role of personal factors. Established explanations of industry location emphasize proximity to firms in the same or related industries and proximity to a wider set of business services, though recent research suggests that personal factors may play an important role in explanations of industry location—particularly in technology-enabled sectors. A survey of 97 new firms, founded between 2008 and 2012, in the Irish software services sector, shows that the business location decision is influenced by the personal motivation of entrepreneurs to attain a desired quality of life, and that this outweighs economic factors such as proximity to firms within the same or related industries, proximity to a broader set of supporting business services, infrastructure or the availability of government support schemes. Personal factors are particularly important to firms located outside the Dublin metropolitan area and to home-based businesses. This has important policy implications for national and regional governments seeking to encourage entrepreneurship in technology-enabled service sectors.     

A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR SMALL BUSINESS POLICY

A number of public policy issues have been discussed in this article, the most important of which are: 1. Small business would not need special consideration if our economy were basically a competitive one. 2. A large and growing segment of our economy has sufficient market and political power to make our economy basically non-competitive. 3. Small firms tend to provide price competition, to lead in the development of new products and processes, and to generate new innovations and new employment. 4. Government policy tends to create artificial economies of scale, giving an unwarranted advantage to the very large firm. As a first approximation, a policy of government neutrality on firms of varying size is needed. But, because of discriminations which already exist which favor large firms over small firms, special small business programs may be necessary to provide an equitable policy base. Unfortunately, programs designed to benefit all business, like the investment tax credit, tend to primarily benefit larger firms (Berney, 1979). This is the case for two reasons. First, there is a basic difference in production relationships: large firms tend to be more capital intensive and small firms more labor intensive. Second, the more complex a rule or regulation, the more costly it is for small business to use it. Consequently, even the employment tax credit, which should benefit the small firm is not used by them. Instead, it tends more to benefit the larger firm. Neutrality, as a governmental policy, would appear to demand different treatment for firms of varying size. As an example, the “regulatory flexibility” concept applies different standards to different sized firms so that the burden of regulation is more equitably distributed. The concept of encouraging or requiring financial institutions and other lenders to establish “dual prime rates” is a further example. Since small firms appear to have much higher debt to equity ratios and rely more heavily on shorter-term bank credit, they are more heavily burdened by a tight money policy which forces increases of interest rates. Thus, dual prime rates help to spread the burden of rising interest costs more equally. As many people prefer to work for themselves, equalizing the burden of government policy could only serve to increase the basic growth rate for small business, thus providing an easier start for entrepreneurs and would encourage a more rapid rate of economic growth. None of these discussions, however, argues that small business should be protected from failure. The more efficient firms will succeed and prosper, and the least efficient will not. Many currently successful entrepreneurs learn how to improve their production processes or managerial skills from their failures. What is being recommended as a first step is that government should concentrate on equalizing burdens and benefits in order to achieve true neutrality. If private economies of scale do indeed exist, new firms must grow to survive; what the government should not create are artificial economies of scale with public policy. A strong argument for further action can also be made: it appears that significant external benefits are produced by an economic system with a dynamic small business sector. Since these benefits go to society as a whole rather than entrepreneurs alone in the form of increased profits, a freely operating market without government assistance does not generate as many new small businesses as would be optimal for our society. To internalize the benefits that come from small business, governmental programs need to be devised to increase the rate of return on new, innovative small businesses. Should this happen, we could then anticipate increased rapid rates of innovation and technological change, more rapid rates of employment growth, expanded price competition in all sectors of the economy, and improved export capabilities, in short, true flexibility in our capitalistic system.     

上海大都市区物联网产业集聚与空间演化

新兴技术产业的空间集聚与扩散对大都市区的空间结构有直接的影响,厘清新兴技术产业的空间分布和区位选择规律对新兴产业集群培育和大都市区空间结构调整都具有重要的政策意义。本文分析了上海市物联网企业的空间分布和集聚特征,结果发现初创期物联网企业在郊区集聚,随后向郊区其他区域扩散,并呈现出从单极向多极集聚转变的空间演化进程。通过构建负二项回归探究上海物联网企业的区位选择因素,结果表明制度因素和企业集聚效应对企业区位选择有重要影响。在产业发展初创期,企业区位选择受政府管制和市场机制双重影响,其中制度因素发挥了关键作用;而在随后的兴起期,产业集聚效应对新企业的入驻具有强大的吸引力。     

Memory Politics and Ontological Security in Sino-Japanese Relations

Most international relations (IR) research on the role of collective memory and representations of the past gives the impression that these primarily matter for states constrained internationally by their history as aggressors, such as Japan. How former perpetrator states represent the past is seen as important for bilateral relations because it may affect perceptions in previously victimised states. Representations of the past in the victimised states are seldom dealt with. This article argues that war memory in victimised states is also highly relevant for bilateral relations, since it is closely connected to “ontological security”, or the “security of identity”. By analysing Chinese official documents and Japanese parliamentary debates the article shows how the Chinese government has used representations of the past for ontological security purposes, and how in response Japanese political actors have politicised exhibits at Chinese war museums that are seen as a threat to Japanese identity and interests.     

Recent Technology Imports into India: Results of a Survey

This paper analyses the results of a survey of twenty-four recent cases of technology imports into India. Over the last thirty years, large firms in Indian industry have come under increasing competitive pressure from small firms which pay lower wages and which are also favoured by government policy. Most small firms obtain technology through informal channels within the country. But some import technology; and larger firms import it in their defence against competition from small firms. Larger firms, with a history and a reputation, have better access to technology from abroad; smaller firms often go through an extensive search before they find a willing technology supplier. Irrespective of size, firms that import technology within their own specialization are observed to put more effort into technology choice, absorption and adaptation. Indian policies of across-the-board import substitution, by promoting diversification into new products developed abroad, tend to discourage specialization and hence to encourage technology imports and to work against technology absorption and innovation.     

Commercializing Science in Europe: The Cambridge Biotechnology Cluster

The article examines the variety of linkages firms have established with university science. These include using universities as a source of ideas for start-ups, scientific collaboration between firms and laboratories, the role of scientists on the scientific advisory boards of firms, and the role of universities in supplying firms with a labour market for talented scientists. These linkages are plentiful across Cambridge area biotechnology firms. However, and perhaps surprisingly, our evidence shows that a key actor, the University of Cambridge does not dominate the scientific linkages of the area's firms. A large percentage of Cambridge's firms do not derive from its university. The majority of scientific collaborations are not with University of Cambridge laboratories, nor do Cambridge scientists dominate the scientific advisory boards of firms. Moreover, the majority of scientists within area biotechnology firms appear not to have left University of Cambridge laboratories to move to industry.     

Promoting Innovative Clusters through the Regional Research Centre (RRC) Policy Programme in Korea

This article deals with government policies to promote innovative clusters in which firms and related supporting institutes closely interact and stimulate the innovation process. It argues that the Korean government has taken various types of policies in the process of developing clusters. The Regional Research Centre (RRC) policy programme and the Semiconductor Equipment Research Centre (SERC) of Hoseo University are case studies. The RRC programme aims to establish a regional research network among research agents having a common interest in regionally specialized technologies, and to strengthen their technological capability. The SERC, established in 1996 as one of the RRCs, has played a successful role as the government intended. The local business environment wherein user firms and suppliers were scattered and fragmented was greatly improved as the result of the active role of the SERC.     

Global Markets, Local Home-working: Governance and Inter-firm Relationships in the Balinese Clothing Industry

Abstract: Within the industrialization process of the Indonesian economy, the manufacture of clothing has played a significant role. Besides Java, Bali has the second highest agglomeration of industrial activities within this sector. However, in contrast to Javanese clothing firms, which have a strong emphasis on Western-styled clothing, Balinese clothing firms focus on the manufacture of Batik and embroidery products. Based on the commodity chain debate, I will show in this paper how Balinese clothing industry is organized into and governed within the global and local economy. This aims in particular to unravel how these types of garments (Batik and embroidery) can shape and reshape buyer relations. The analysis will also include a discussion of aspects, such as product development and raw material procurement. Furthermore, since Balinese clothing companies organize their production activities within extensive networks of rural home industries, the driving forces behind these specific network co-ordinations will be explored.     

我国政府角色归位的对策和建议——以湖南省情为研究背景

我国政府角色归位应该从影响政府定位因素的诸多关系出发。从处理政府与社会关系来看,要落实好以人为本;从处理政府与市场关系来看,要谋划好市场规划;从处理好政府与社会关系来看,要培育好公民社会;从处理好政府与政党关系看,要调整好权力格局;从处理好政府与自然关系来看,要坚持科学发展观。     

Mussolini's colonial race laws and state-settler relations in Africa Orientale Italiana (1935-41)

Abstract Why in Mussolini's empire were relations between colonizers and colonized regulated by the government in Rome? The reason is not to be sought in the supposed tendency of Italians to fraternize with Africans but rather in the totalitarian nature of the regime and the rapidity with which the empire was populated. In a few years tens of thousands of Italians emigrated to Africa Orientale Italiana (AOI); the informal elaboration of common standards of behaviour on the part of colonists towards the local population would have required time while Mussolini intended to forge the empire following a strict hierarchy of racial relations.

By and large, Italians were in agreement with their government over the subordination of the colonized, but they disagreed with the forms that such subordination should assume. Many Italians violated the race laws; but mixing with Africans did not necessarily mean being on friendly terms with them. A significant minority of Italians went to AOI with the intention of making rapid and easy profits: they had no intention of settling permanently and were intolerant of any rules, including those aimed at racial segregation. Thus a clash developed between these Italians, who were not interested in long-term colonial projects, and the government which was determined to impose its own model of colonial order.     

Global firms in local information societies: Work and employment issues for Europe

The strategies of large firms have a major influence on the evolution of the global information society because they dominate the markets for information and communication technologies. This paper examines the user rather than the producer role of large firms, and focuses on the surrounding issues relating to evolving patterns of work and employment. Its discussion of these issues and their policy significance reflects the perspective of the EU on what is effectively a global agenda on the future of work in the information society.