A Conceptual Framework for Firm Cooperation and Clusters and Their Impact on Productivity and Competitiveness

DYNREG,

REALIZING NEW REGIONAL CORE COMPETENCE: ESTABLISHING A CUSTOMER-ORIENTED SME-NETWORK

South West-Flanders is a region in Belgium with an almost unique concentration of firms - mainly SMEs - in what could be called the Ahousing and home furnishing@-business cluster. The extreme geographical concentration of these small and medium sized firms does not translate itself into a sustainable competitive advantage as has been illustrated for other industries in different countries. A critical analysis shows that the lack of commercial success is a direct consequence of the non-existence of networking strategies among these SMEs: Strategies are strictly defined within the firms= boundaries, fierce competition erodes profit margins and new ways of competing remain unexplored. The paper demonstrates that the establishment of innovative networking strategies such as a customer oriented SME network could regenerate the regional economy and transform the existing geographical concentration of firms into a growing and profitable SME network. The network concept is not production or technological oriented, as has been illustrated in for other regions by many scolars. The critical role of an explicit regional development policy and the local institutions in the initial phase is also analysed. The usefulness of the combining concepts such as networking strategies among SMEs, business clusters and regional development is illustrated by means of examples from other industries and countries.regional and urban economics ;

Integration, Cooperation and the Financing of Innovation

The purpose of this paper is to develop a joint analysis of the organizational and financial flexibility of the innovative firm. In this way, we complete by determinants linked to financing factors the choice between integration and inter-firms co-operative agreements. We deduce the superiority of co-operation to resolve the specialization-adaptability dilemma which faced the innovative firm.financing, innovation, integration, cooperation

Generating competitiveness through interfirm co-operation: the forest industry of South Karelia and small and medium size subcontracting companies

After the depression in the beginning of 1990's the regional development has been unequal in Finland, favouring some rapidly growing growth centres. The motors of the development in these centres have essentially been universities and IT-firms. At the same time when IT-based regions have been very successful many of the more traditionally oriented production areas have had problems in ensuring economic growth and balanced development of the whole region. In South-Karelia (province which lies at the South-East border of Finland) the development of the whole region is heavily related to one economic branch, forest industry. This is due to the fact that South-Karelia and it's surroundings forms production area in which the production is (even in the world scale) most intensively focused on chemical forest industry. There are four major forest industry production plants in the area: Stora-Enso / Imatra Mills, UPM-Kymmene / Kaukas Mills, Metsä-Serla / Simpele Mills and Metsä-Botnina / Joutseno Mills. In South Karelia case it is very clear that large scale enterprises have a significant role in the balanced and comprehensive development of the whole province. This applies especially to the development of economical circumstances and smaller companies in the area, but also to other aspects of human life: social, cultural and political. When we look at the structure of the companies in the area, we can determine that the situation is very biased. There are large scale companies and small companies but almost none of the medium size companies. In these economical conditions it's very clear that there might be several barriers to develop successful and multilateral co-operation between the two company-clusters, which are formulated according to company size. One of the most important barriers between the two parties is the capacity of production: The differences in production capacities hinders companies ability to develop interfirm co-operation. This study focuses on two central concepts, interfirm co-operation and competitiveness. The aim of the study was to find operation modes through which the companies in the South-Karelian region would be able to improve their competitiveness. The main objective of the study was to determine how the large scale enterprises of the woodprocessing industry in the South-Karelian region could increase their subcontracting activities among local small and medium size companies. The sub-objective of the study was to clarify the weight that those companies have on the economic structure of the South-Karelian region, and to determine the different interfirm co-operation forms that were used in the area. The methodology of the study included several characteristics of both concept analytical and constructive paradigms. The study was divided into two parts: theoretical and empirical. The theoretical part of the study forms a frame of reference in order to determine the concept of interfirm co-operation and also to classify different forms of interfirm co-operation. The theoretical part of the study was used as a basis for questionnaire and interviews. The results of the study show that interfirm co-operation is significant if the woodprocessing industry increases their subcontracting activities among the local small and medium size companies. The results show quite clearly, that interfirm co-operation can increase the competitiveness of companies. Especially useful are those modes of action which are based on long term relationships and create so called win-win situations.

SME policy and the Regional Dimension of Innovation: Towards a New Paradigm for Innovation Policy?

Based on the empirical findings achieved in a comparative research,involving 40 innovation policy instruments in 11 European regions, thispaper exposes the claim for a new innovation policy paradigm andproposes a shift in rationale and in broad orientations for innovationpolicy, addressing SMEs in their regional context. The main role forinnovation policy, which aims to increase the capacity of a region andthe capabilities of its SMEs to innovate, is to foster interactive learningwithin the firms and within the region. This calls for an interactivemode of policy intervention.The paper also deals with the question of how to build a coherentportfolio of policy instruments, taking into account both regionalsituations and specific SMEs needs in terms of innovation. The keymessage delivered is that there is no "one-size-fits-all" policy portfolio.Regional differences in innovation capabilities call for a tailored mix ofpolicy instruments. One salient element of the conclusion is the need formore "policy intelligence" in this complex field.economics of technology ;

The Sixth Framework Programme of the European Union: A Layperson's Guide to Funding

This guide aims to help NGOs and companies in the new EU member states to better understand and have easier access to the EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) funding. The information gathered consists of several guidelines for the application process and a collection of specific up-to-date information and (web) addresses. In addition to the original version of this guide, updates should be available every six months from the same source

Removing Barriers, Integrating Research, Spreading Excellence: The European Satellite Communications Network of Excellence "SatNEx"

Within the recently launched 6th Research Framework Programme of the European Commission, 21 major players in satellite communications research have joined forces to implement the European Satellite Communications Network of Excellence (SatNEx). The primary goal of SatNEx is to achieve long-lasting integration of the European research in satellite communication and to develop a common base of knowledge, thus contributing to the realization of the European Research Area. This paper discusses the background and motivation for implementation of the network and highlights the SatNEx mission and key objectives. A top-level overview is then provided including a description of the consortium, the Joint Programme of Activities (JPA) and the time schedule with deliverables and milestones. Finally, an update of ongoing work is presented

Peripherality and proximity. Do business support services matter?

This essay is based on empirical evidence from the case of Tuscany (Italy) and follows previous work on the role and meaning of image in regional development and innovation policies (Bellini, 2004). Discussions about image and branding policies is usually placed in the framework of "place marketing" and marketing literature helps in defining the features, components and main characters of image and of its relationship with local identity. We suggest, however, that managing images is also a political process with significant impact in supporting and shaping the scenario (perceptions and expectations) for innovation policies. In fact this process implies a competition between images in order to "control" the representation of the past, present and future of an area. This competition aims at influencing the policy agenda by manipulating the gap between image and identity. In other words, we suggest that image-related policies should be considered part of the toolbox of a modern innovation policy.

Geographical co-location, social networks and inter-firm marketing co-operation : the case of the salmon industry

This study looks at the factors that influence the development of marketing co-operation among cluster-based firms. It examines data from SMEs operating within the salmon farming industry in two different regions: Scotland and Chile. Analyses indicate that informal social networks help explain the observed relationship between geographical proximity and inter-firm marketing co-operation, especially for firms located in peripheral rural communities. A theoretical model is proposed for further research in the field that, until recently, has been traditionally analysed only by economists. Practical implications are suggested for practitioners and policymaker