Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Regional Innovation and Cooperation
among Industries, Universities, R&D
Institutes, and Governments
Eberhard Becker, Bettina Burger and Thorsten Hülsmann
Abstract Globalization and regionalization seem like contradictory concepts.
However, they present the framework for economic activity, innovation, and
cooperation in our time. Under these circumstances, regions are, to an increasing
extent, in an entrepreneurial position. They must compete among each other for:
enterprises, investments, highly skilled personnel, and jobs. The extent to which a
region is competitive depends on several factors, the most important of which are
knowledge, social capital, networks, and supporting structures. These factors may
be self-organized or government-based. In reality, there is no single recipe known
that guarantees success in all cases. However, in view of the relevance of knowl-
edge and learning, the cluster approach can offer an explanation as to why some
regions manage to develop their knowledge-based industries more successfully
than others. When we talk about globalization we have a new economic setting in
mind, one in which profit-oriented multinational strategies of large business cor-
porations lead to an international division of labor. The resulting post-Fordist
concept of flexible production is comprised of a formation of independent units
within large corporations. These units are integrated into regional networks, instead
of being hierarchically sub-ordered into the centralized corporation. To local
communities, this situation poses a challenge but also provides new opportunities
concerning the task of directing their development to the advantage of the region.
M. E. Porter (
1990
,
1998
,
2000
) is one of the prominent writers to draw attention to
the relevance of regions in a globalized economy. The first part of this chapter gives
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