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Faraway, so Close! : The Changing Geographies of Regional Innovation

Coenen, Lars LU (2006) In Meddelanden från Lunds universitets geografiska institution. Avhandlingar
Abstract
Innovation, the act and outcome of making something novel, is unevenly distributed across the geographical landscape. This uneven distribution has a profound impact on the differential success of regional economies. Localized learning between co-located firms and organizations provides an important source of increased innovation for regions to face challenges posed by increasingly global competition. At the same time, it is important for regions to be open and receptive to distant knowledge.



This study investigates how local and global knowledge is combined in a productive nexus of learning processes in the context of regional innovation. In particular it looks at how characteristics of the industrial knowledge base... (More)
Innovation, the act and outcome of making something novel, is unevenly distributed across the geographical landscape. This uneven distribution has a profound impact on the differential success of regional economies. Localized learning between co-located firms and organizations provides an important source of increased innovation for regions to face challenges posed by increasingly global competition. At the same time, it is important for regions to be open and receptive to distant knowledge.



This study investigates how local and global knowledge is combined in a productive nexus of learning processes in the context of regional innovation. In particular it looks at how characteristics of the industrial knowledge base shape these geographies of innovation. For this it draws on comparative case studies of regional innovation systems and clusters in a broad range of different sectors ranging from furniture to electronics. The regions that have been analyzed are mainly located in the Nordic countries but also include studies of regions located in Canada and the UK. A considerable part of the empirical analysis has focused on the Medicon Valley biotechnology cluster located in the Swedish-Danish cross-border Öresund region. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Popular Abstract
Innovation, skapandet av nya produkter och processer, är i hög grad ojämnt fördelat över det geografiska rummet. Denna ojämna fördelning har stor betydelse för regionala ekonomiers relativa framgång. Geografiskt koncentrerat kunskapsutbyte mellan företag och andra organisationer är många gånger avgörande för dessa aktörers sammanlagda innovativa kapacitet, och därmed för regionens förmåga att möta de utmaningar i form av ny konkurrens som globaliseringen medför. Samtidigt är det viktigt för regionen att vara mottaglig för kunskap som produceras på andra håll i världen.

Denna avhandling studerar hur lokalt och globalt producerad kunskap kombineras i regionalt innovationsskapande. Speciell vikt läggs vid... (More)
Popular Abstract
Innovation, skapandet av nya produkter och processer, är i hög grad ojämnt fördelat över det geografiska rummet. Denna ojämna fördelning har stor betydelse för regionala ekonomiers relativa framgång. Geografiskt koncentrerat kunskapsutbyte mellan företag och andra organisationer är många gånger avgörande för dessa aktörers sammanlagda innovativa kapacitet, och därmed för regionens förmåga att möta de utmaningar i form av ny konkurrens som globaliseringen medför. Samtidigt är det viktigt för regionen att vara mottaglig för kunskap som produceras på andra håll i världen.

Denna avhandling studerar hur lokalt och globalt producerad kunskap kombineras i regionalt innovationsskapande. Speciell vikt läggs vid att förstå och förklara hur olika industriers karaktär påverkar den geografiska fördelningen av innovationsskapande aktivitet. Undersökningen bygger på fallstudier av industriella kluster och regionala innovationssystem inom en rad olika industrisektorer, från möbelindustri till elektronik. I huvudsak studeras regioner i de Nordiska länderna, men jämförelser görs också med regioner i Kanada och Storbritannien. En stor del av den empiriska analysen är inriktad på bioteknologiklustret Medicon Valley i den svensk-danska Öresundsregionen. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Gertler, Meric, University of Toronto
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Regions, Innovation, Regional Innovation Systems, Clusters, Biotechnology, Social sciences, Social geography, Samhällsvetenskaper, Socialgeografi
in
Meddelanden från Lunds universitets geografiska institution. Avhandlingar
issue
169
pages
241 pages
publisher
Department of Social and Economic Geography, Lund University
defense location
Geocentrum I, Sölvegatan 10 Sal 128 (Flygeln)
defense date
2006-10-24 13:15:00
ISSN
0346-6787
ISBN
91-974998-9-7
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
67a0d33b-1357-455f-bd3b-8f552ac93a8b (old id 547297)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:50:57
date last changed
2019-08-15 15:55:29
@phdthesis{67a0d33b-1357-455f-bd3b-8f552ac93a8b,
  abstract     = {{Innovation, the act and outcome of making something novel, is unevenly distributed across the geographical landscape. This uneven distribution has a profound impact on the differential success of regional economies. Localized learning between co-located firms and organizations provides an important source of increased innovation for regions to face challenges posed by increasingly global competition. At the same time, it is important for regions to be open and receptive to distant knowledge.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
This study investigates how local and global knowledge is combined in a productive nexus of learning processes in the context of regional innovation. In particular it looks at how characteristics of the industrial knowledge base shape these geographies of innovation. For this it draws on comparative case studies of regional innovation systems and clusters in a broad range of different sectors ranging from furniture to electronics. The regions that have been analyzed are mainly located in the Nordic countries but also include studies of regions located in Canada and the UK. A considerable part of the empirical analysis has focused on the Medicon Valley biotechnology cluster located in the Swedish-Danish cross-border Öresund region.}},
  author       = {{Coenen, Lars}},
  isbn         = {{91-974998-9-7}},
  issn         = {{0346-6787}},
  keywords     = {{Regions; Innovation; Regional Innovation Systems; Clusters; Biotechnology; Social sciences; Social geography; Samhällsvetenskaper; Socialgeografi}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{169}},
  publisher    = {{Department of Social and Economic Geography, Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Meddelanden från Lunds universitets geografiska institution. Avhandlingar}},
  title        = {{Faraway, so Close! : The Changing Geographies of Regional Innovation}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}