Björn Asheim

• Lund University

Non-metropolitan regions are considered more exposed to external shocks than their metropolitan counterparts, while having lower capacities to change. However, there is considerable variation among non-metropolitan regions. We argue that this variation can be captured theoretically by modelling the dynamic interplay between perceived and real oppor...

In this paper, we propose a theoretical and conceptual framework for articulating and studying changes in the global economic landscape and illustrate this framework in the current context. The framework pivots around the notion of rescaling, which is interpreted from a human agency perspective. We disentangle three theoretically distinct dimension...

In this paper, we empirically and theoretically present regenerative regional development in responsible value chains as an alternative to the prevailing traditional, neoliberal economic rationale of globalization. We develop the argument on the back of a longitudinal in-depth case study on actors’ engagement in the recurring crises in the maritime...

This paper investigates the role of human agency in 40 phases of regional economic development in 12 Nordic regions over 30 years. It contributes with a theoretical framework to study agency over time and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis based on a unique dataset combining over 200 interviews, with printed and online sources, and quanti...

Human agency has become a core topic in economic geography complementing traditional, structural approaches to explain regional development. This paper contributes firstly with a discussion of the theoretical and conceptual relationships between the agency of individuals, organizations, and systems. Secondly, it proposes a novel analytical framewor...

Many countries in the developed world are currently experiencing low rates of economic growth, which is furthermore regionally and socially unequal. This increasing inequality seems to have deepened during the Corona crisis. When economic policies are discussed in these demanding times, the strategic question remains whether the best strategy is to...

The temporality of agency plays a fundamental role in regional development but has received little attention in economic geography and regional studies. This paper zooms in on two aspects of temporality: the temporality of intentions and the temporality of consequences. The former refers to actors’ perception and valuation of opportunities in the n...

This editorial presents the Regional Studies special issue entitled ‘Smart Specialisation and Learning Regions as a Competitive Strategy for Less Developed Regions’, which promotes theoretical and empirical research on Smart Specialisation Strategies in less developed regions, highlighting the role of collaborative networks, regional development po...

The regional innovation systems (RIS) concept has become popular among academics, political decision-makers and regional stakeholders of innovation. Understanding the competitive dynamics of RIS and their impact on regional competitiveness today has thus become a priority. This paper provides researchers, academics, political decision-makers and ot...

Offering a novel contribution within the growing field of regional innovation policies, this book combines recent theoretical developments and empirical contributions, with a particular focus on non-core regions. Leading academics in the field discuss the topics of regional path transformation, place-based strategies and policy learning. Also inclu...

Desde a súa aparición na década de 1990, o enfoque dos sistemas rexionais de innovación (SRI) atraeu unha considerable atención por parte dos xeógrafos económicos, académicos e responsables de políticas de innovación. O enfoque SRI ocupa un lugar destacado no discurso científico sobre a desigual xeografía da innovación e os factores que explican a...

New industrial innovation policies like smart specialization aim at boosting economic growth by diversification towards more complex and higher value economic activities. This paper proposes a conceptual and analytical framework to support the design and implementation of such policies considering place-specific preconditions, particularly the diff...

The article engages in a critical discussion of the related variety/regional branching argument and foregrounds a more differentiated perspective on regional industrial path development. It contributes by (i) sharpening the definition of key concepts, namely specialisation and diversity, related and unrelated variety; (ii) discussing their relevanc...

Foreword This paper is written with support from the FORINNPOL program of the Research Council of Norway, under the project title 'Innovation policy beyond myopia'. The project was coordinated by Professor Bjørn Terje Asheim. Paying particular attention to transformative change, it intends to identify and reflect on the principles and practices of...

The special issue zooms in on knowledge dynamics that drive innovation processes and new path development in different regional and sectoral contexts. This investigation rests on the differentiated knowledge base approach, which offers a clear distinction between analytical, synthetic and symbolic types of knowledge and deep insights into their idi...

The literature on cluster evolution suggests that heterogeneity of firm capabilities and openness of network structures are essential for the renewal of mature and declining clusters. This chapter argues that the regional and institutional context in which clusters are embedded plays an important role for the renewal of clusters. It elaborates how...

The evolutionary turn in economic geography has shed new light on historically contingent regional preconditions for innovation and economic growth, which has the potential of improving the analytical input to regional innovation system approaches. Evolutionary economic geography has renewed interest in and sharpened the conceptual lens on firms, t...

This paper explores the geography and structure of global innovation networks (GINs) of two multinational companies belonging to industries with different knowledge bases. It contributes to the existing literature on knowledge bases, by studying both intra-firm and inter-firm GINs. By means of social network analysis based on primary data, we ident...

The article discusses the strategic roles of public policy and institutions and the way this effect to the efficiency of regional innovation systems in the landscape of evolutionary economic geography. It argues that the current emphasis on path dependency historically contingent preconditions has provided important insights into the interdependenc...

Innovation collaboration is subjected to partner search and selection constraints. These constraints are reinforced by geographical distance, and mediated by privileged information accessed through pre-existing formal and informal ties to foreign business contexts. Multinational corporations may therefore influence the collaborative linkages mainta...

The article discusses the strategic roles of public policy and institutions and the way this effect to the efficiency of regional innovation systems in the landscape of evolutionary economic geography. It argues that the current emphasis on path dependency historically contingent preconditions has provided important insights into the interdependenc...

ASHEIM B. The changing role of learning regions in the globalizing knowledge economy: a theoretical re-examination, Regional Studies. Highlighting four theoretical developments, this paper theoretically re-examines the learning region in view of the changing roles of regions in the globalizing knowledge economy: (1) from specific contexts to genera...

Previous research has made a strong case for socially and spatially embedded learning processes as a vehicle for competitiveness. In recent years, an increasing amount of evidence asserts that local knowledge links need to be complemented by extra-local links to retain a competitive advantage in a globalising economy. This paper establishes a frame...

ASHEIM B. T., LAWTON SMITH H. and OUGHTON C. Regional innovation systems: theory, empirics and policy, Regional Studies. Interest in regional innovation systems has grown significantly over the past three decades driven partly by advances in theoretical analysis, partly by the growing interest in innovation as a source of competitive advantage, and...

The core arguments of the constructed regional advantage (CRA) approach stem from the work that started in Brussels in an expert group appointed by DG Research of the EU Commission. In 2006, DG Research launched the final report on "Constructing Regional Advantage" as the new way of taking on and combating new challenges and problems of globalizati...

Today, economic growth is widely understood to be conditioned by productivity increases which are, in turn, profoundly affected by innovation. This volume explores these key relationships between innovation and growth, bringing together experts from both fields to compile a unique Handbook. © Philip Cooke, Bjørn Asheim, Ron Boschma, Ron Martin, Daf...

In an article in the Financial Times at the beginning of May 2008, entitled ‘Nordic states stay hot on globalization’, Christian Keller of the Harvard Business School states that ‘The Nordic region is like the bumble bee: it flies, against all the rules of aerodynamics.’ To this statement I would add that the region does it even better, as it flies...

Universities are increasingly seen as potential contributors to regional innovative capacity by serving as local knowledge conduits, bringing global state-of-the-art science and technology into the region. In practice, however, more active university engagement with their regional innovation systems is not as straightforward as it may seem. The art...

abstractThis special issue presents the results of a European research project on the creative class in European city regions. In this introduction, the need for contextualizing the approach is underlined, taking into account the differences between the United States, where Richard Florida's ideas were developed, and Europe. In modifying the approa...

The geography of the creative class and its impact on regional development has been debated for some years. While the ideas of Richard Florida have permeated local and regional planning strategies in most parts of the Western world, critiques have been numerous. Florida's 3T's (technology, talent, and tolerance) have been adopted without considerin...

This chapter provides a good example of a successful cross-regional cluster, and presents the challenges and benefits of such a structure. The engagement and the equal collaboration of the regions involved have been crucial in developing the cluster. Also, this chapter highlights the relevance of the "triple helix" model (industry, university, gove...

Using international examples, leading scholars present the first critical analysis of cluster theory, assessing the cluster notion and drawing out, not only its undoubted strengths and attractions, but also its weaknesses and limitations. Over the past decade the 'cluster model' has been seized on as a tool for promoting competitiveness, innovation...

1. Introduction: When is Regional "Beautiful"? Implications for Knowledge Flows, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Bjorn T. Asheim, Olof Ejermo & Annika Rickne 2. Do Regional and Non-regional Knowledge Flows Differ? An Empirical Study on Clustered Firms in the Dutch Life Sciences and Computing Services Industry Anet Weterings & Roderik Ponds 3. Shake...

Since Florida published his provocative book, The rise of the creative class, in 2002 it has spurred an impressive amount of attention and occasionally, heated debate among academics and policy-makers. With this paper, we aim at pushing this debate further, but not by summarizing, reviewing or contributing to the various types of critiques of Flori...

The process of knowledge production exhibits a very distinctive geography. This article argues that this geography is fundamental, not incidental, to the innovation process itself: that one simply cannot understand innovation properly if one does not appreciate the central role of spatial proximity and concentration in this process. The goal of thi...

The geography of the creative class and its impact on regional development has been debated for some years. While the ideas of Richard Florida have permeated local and regional planning strategies in most parts of the Western world, critiques have been numerous. Florida's 3T's (technology, talent, and tolerance) have been adopted without considerin...

This short article aims to present some of the perspectives and results of my research on technological change and capitalist development in different national and regional social formations. A macro-geographical approach, comprising a comparative as well as a historical analysis, has been taken during the research. The comparative approach is used...

The article presents an analytical framework for studies of technological change under capitalist relations of production. Special attention is paid to theoretical and methodological questions concerning the relationship between capital accumulation and technological development on the one hand, and the resulting changes in the labour process, the...

The authors address the dichotomy around ‘proximate’ and ‘distant’ learning processes by looking specifically at the characteristics of the knowledge-creation process. By way of suggesting an alternative conceptualization to the well-known tacit – codified knowledge dichotomy, they propose a distinction between ‘analytical’ and ‘synthetic’ modes of...

The chapter argues that the next generation of regional innovation policy is a broad based innovation policy. Such a policy means complementing a science and technology driven policy with a more demandbased, user-driven innovation policy. Finland has pioneered such a policy in its new innovation strategy. This reorientation is in line with the inno...

The chapter argues that the next generation of regional innovation policy is a broad based innovation policy. Such a policy means complementing a science and technology driven policy with a more demandbased, user-driven innovation policy. Finland has pioneered such a policy in its new innovation strategy. This reorientation is in line with the inno...

The geography of the creative class and its impact on regional development has been debated for a few years now. Critiques have been numerous while the ideas of Florida (2002) have permeated local and regional planning strategies in most parts of the western world. The adoption of Florida's 3Ts has taken place without considering whether or not the...

The article presents a regional innovation policy model, based on the idea of constructing regional advantage. This policy model brings together concepts like related variety, knowledge bases and policy platforms. Related variety attaches great importance to knowledge spillovers across complementary sectors, possibly in a region. Then, the paper ca...

This article introduces a theoretical and analytical framework for discussing regional development and regional advantage with reference to a regional innovation system strategy. It uses the differentiated knowledge base approach to transcend the traditional codified-tacit dichotomy of knowledge, and for providing a trans-sectoral understanding of...

Whilst concurring with the new streams of literature in geography that highlight the importance of face-to-face and ‘buzz’ in the globalizing learning economy, we argue that this literature is misleading on three interrelated counts. Firstly, it conflates face-to-face and buzz; secondly, it fails to distinguish between the importance of face-to-fac...

A focus on constructing regional advantage requires an 'unpacking' of what makes territorial agglomerations important for innovation and competitiveness by disclosing and revealing the contingencies, particularities and specificities of the various contexts and environments where knowledge creation, innovation and entrepreneurship take place. In or...

The aim of this paper is to compare the socio-spatial patterns of innovation and knowledge linkages of a biopharmaceutical and an agro-food biotech cluster. Dissimilarities can be expected based on differences in terms of historical technological regimes and sectoral innovation system dynamics between the agro-food and pharmaceutical industries in...

This article is concerned with what conditions successful development of high-tech regions in developing countries. It argues that the recent regional turn in development studies should be welcomed as regions play an increasingly important role for high-tech industries in developed and developing countries. While acknowledging the insights stemming...

In order to advance the understanding of which types of regional innovation system represent effective innovation support for what kinds of industry in different regions analyses must be contextualized by reference to the actual knowledge base of various industries as well as to the regional and national institutional framework, which strongly shap...

So a question that is of undoubted and abiding interest to economic geographers and others is why, in a world largely characterised by utilitarian, unsentimental buying and selling, do clusters exist? They ought to have disappeared with the medieval guilds, the source that Marshall in effect, gave as the ultimate origin of industrial districts. The...

The analysis of the importance of different types of regional innovation systems must take place within a context of the actual knowledge base of various industries in the economy, as the innovation processes of firms are strongly shaped by their specific knowledge base. In this paper, we shall distinguish between two types of knowledge base: analy...

While concurring with the new streams of literature in geography that highlight the importance of face-to-face and buzz in the globalizing learning economy, the article argues that this literature is misleading on three interrelated accounts. Firstly, it conflates face-to-face and buzz; secondly, it fails to distinguish between the importance of fa...

A focus on constructing regional advantage requires an unpacking of what makes territorial agglomerations important for innovation and growth by disclosing and revealing the contingencies, particularities and specificities of the various contexts and environments where knowledge creation, innovation and entrepreneurship take place. In order to achi...

In this paper we have analysed how a territorially contextualized triple helix model can contribute to the formation of regional innovation systems. We have argued the need for changing target levels, towards a more systemic approach based on collective, community-based learning, as well as aim of innovation support, towards more pro-active behavio...

Research in regional growth has been characterised by two trends in recent years. The first is that creativity and talents are seen as parameters for regional growth. The creative class approach has argued that competition for talents has increased as innovation becomes crucial for maintaining competitiveness. This has forced local and regional aut...

In order to advance the understanding of which types of regional innovation system represent effective innovation support for what kinds of industry in different regions analyses must be contextualised by reference to the actual knowledge base of various industries as well as to the regional and national institutional framework, which strongly shap...

In order to advance the understanding of which types of regional innovation system represent effective innovation support for what kinds of industry in different regions analyses must be contextualized by reference to the actual knowledge base of various industries as well as to the regional and national institutional framework, which strongly shap...

Empirical research on the knowledge dynamics of biotechnology demonstrates a dual local-global knowledge flow pattern. The sector is characterised by strong spatial concentration around nodes of excellence that are interconnected through a global network. This requires a specification of the notion of proximity as a facilitator of learning processe...

This chapter highlights the importance of building innovation systems to promote the involvement of SMEs in cross-border knowledge flows. Five main types of SME innovation policy tool are outlined: financial support for innovation projects and innovative new firms, technology centres, upgrading of regional innovation systems, innovation brokers and...

Duress is the result of the ongoing globalisation process, i.e. partly as a result of the more general effects of the globalising economy as such on a small, high-cost region with a highly export oriented industrial cluster, and partly as an impact of two parallel, more specific sub processes of the incoming of MNCs and TNCs buying up the most inno...

'A must read for academics and regional planners alike who wish to understand the workings of a regional innovation system. The authors have given a fresh, comprehensive and sound analysis which offers an excellent framework for regional innovation policy design.' - Mikel Landabaso, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium. This book provides an exte...

It is the overall aim of this article to investigate theoretically how spatial embeddedness of learning and knowledge creation might be challenged by alternative organisational forms (i.e. temporary organisations). The article presents development coalitions as an alternative to projects as a form of temporary organisation. They are potentially abl...

The paper examines how firms in three regional clusters in Norway dominated by shipbuilding, mechanical engineering and electronics industry, respectively exploit both place-specific local resources as well as external, world-class knowledge to strengthen their competitiveness. From these case-studies we make four points: (1) ideal-typical regional...

This paper argues that the poor conceptualization of the “firm” in economic geography detracts from the analytical strengths and policy relevance of the discipline. Identified as a phenotype, the firm remains ambiguous as an analytical category. This paper reviews nine overlapping conceptualizations of the firm in order to identify their relevance...

The understanding of post-Fordist societies as learning economies, in which learning organizations such as learning firms and learning regions play a strategic role, has lately received some criticism. The critique has partly pointed at the structural limits to learning in a capitalist global economy, and partly argued that firms in capitalist soci...

This article analyses the role of interactive learning and localised knowledge in globalising learning economies. Some authors argue that as a result of globalisation and codification processes the importance of local, contextual knowledge and localised learning is decreasing, and, thus, the competitive advantage of high-cost regions (and nations)...

The combined effect of understanding industrialisation as a territorial process, i.e. underlining the importance of agglomeration and 'non-economic' factors for economic development, and innovation as a socially embedded process, i.e. as an institutionally and culturally contextualised, interactive learning process, has changed the view on SMEs as...

This report is a slightly revised version of a paper presented at the Symposium of the Commission of the Organisation of Industrial Space, the 28th International Geographical Congress, The Hague, The Netherlands, August 5-10, 1996. A shortened version of the report will be published in European Planning Studies in 1997.The theoretical part of the r...

The future of industrial districts has been critically discussed during the last years. Some observers have raised questions about the long-run stability of industrial districts, arguing that they will be fragmented either through the take-over of the most successful SMEs by TNCs or the formation of hierarchies of firms inside the districts led by...

The aim of this chapter is to present a theoretical framework for analysis of some aspects of the process of innovation diffusion both among small and medium sized firms in industrial districts and to such firms from the surrounding businesses and social environment. In this theoretical chapter, special attention will be paid to the role of socio-c...

The theme of the paper is the question of whether social geography has an ideological or a critical function in society. This question is approached from four different perspectives: (i) the history of ideas, (ii) the philosophy of science, (iii) the development of theory, and (iv) the view of practice.Having identified the two main directions of s...