Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
As a consequence, the availability and access to knowledge, i.e., the presence of
institutions of education, research and development, are an important advantage
for regions.
2.2 Social Capital/Networks
Social capital can be defined as a set of norms and values which govern interactions
between people, the institutions where they are incorporated, relationship networks
set up among various social actors and the overall cohesion of society (Camagni
2003
). Social capital evolves through the interplay of individual and organizational
learning. Thus, it is reproduced at the local and regional level because here, people
live and interact. The global perspective rules the markets, but social capital as a
comparative advantage is closely related to the regional level. Social capital is a
resource that comes to life through the relations between different actors.
A network describes a type of cooperation that stands in between the (vertical)
formal relations, i.e., supplier contracts, and the (horizontal) informal platform of
the market. Networks are characterized by the cooperation of competitors. A
network is strongly based on personal, informal relationships between actors from
politics, business, institutes of education and research, and cultural and social
institutions. In some ways, networks substitute institutionalized structures of
decision-making through cooperation on the personal level.
Therefore, networks offer the conditions for social capital to evolve. Social
capital can only be used in a reasonable way within a limited size of entity. Within
that framework, social networks develop that endow a common identity. Certainty
is increased, and therefore, cost for economic transactions between the members of
a network decrease. The cooperation of a group according to informal principles
causes higher prosperity and growth among the individual members of the group.
However, the members produce positive external effects, thus increasing growth
and prosperity for the entire region.
2.3 Self-Organized Structures
What we have in mind when we talk about self-organized structures in the context
of regional development is a form of organizational system that is, to a certain
extent, self-dependent and flexible. Self-organized structures have the ability to
organize their activities and processes of development as well as the process of
learning. Their goals are self-determined, and they pursue targeted activities to
achieve them. The ability to act self-organized is one of the important factors that
enable regions to be competitive.
Evolving self-organized structures is a reaction to the fact that traditional forms
of regional governments failed, to an increasing extent, in the presence of today's
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