The Grip of History and the Scope for Novelty: Some Results and Open Questions on Path Dependence in Economic Processes

-Path dependence, irreversibility, increasing returns, learning, lock-in.

Overseas investment patterns: a case study of the strategic practices of emerging chinese gold mining companies

JEL: F63, M16, O54This dissertation explores the overseas investment pattern of the Chinese gold mining industry. We focus on the case of Zijin Mining Group Ltd. This company has taken a leading role in the internalisation of the Chinese sector and its shareholding structure, being partially state-owned, is distinctwhen compared with its domestic peers. We use a “case study” approach to test whether the “Uppsala model” provides an appropriate analytical framework for accounting and explaining the outward expansion movement of such a company from an emerging economy. We address two main research questions: a) how have Chinese gold mining companies been conducting overseas investment? And b) why have these strategies performed the way they have been. We conduct an extensive literature review and move on to carry out an analysis drawing on a rich array of primary resourcesto understand the internationalization process of Zijin. We document a number of project-cases and take an in-depth examination of Zijin’s mining investment. We identify gaps between the Uppsala model and the development of its resource theories such as evolutionary theories of the firm, and evolutionary economics. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms behind trajectories of adaptations to foreign environments is a crucial task. In the context of the emerging Chinese gold industry we find that firm-specific and path-dependent knowledge is a causal determinant of performance in overseas investment processes. Our findings are relevant to the design of context-sensitive strategies by participants in movements of outward investment, and especially to managers of emerging Chinese gold companies which are influenced by state policy and exploring new roads to the overseas market.Esta tese explora o padrão de investimento estrangeiro na indústria chinesa de mineração de ouro. Explora-se o caso da empresa Zijin Mining Group, Ltd. Esta empresa tem tido um papel de liderança na internacionalização da indústria chinesa e sua estrutura accionista, parcialmente estatal, é diferente em comparação com outras empresas. A investigação emprega uma abordagem de “estudo de caso” para apurar se o “modelo de Uppsala” fornece um quadro analítico apropriado para explicar o movimento de expansão externa de uma empresa de uma economia emergente. Abordamos duas principais questões de investigação: a) como é que esta empresa de mineração de ouro da China fez investimentos no exterior?,e b) porque razão essas estratégias são realizadas na forma como o são. Realizamos uma extensa revisão da literatura e procedemos a uma análise com base numa ampla gama de fontes primárias para compreender o processo de internacionalização da Zijin. Documentamos uma série de projetos de casos e assinalamos uma apreciação do processo de investimento de Zijin Mining que revela diferenças com o modelo de Uppsala mas, que alternativamente, mostra sintonias com os novos desenvolvimentos das teorias baseadas nos ecursos, tais como a família das teorias evolucionistas da empresa. A compreensão dos mecanismos fundamentais por trás das trajetórias das adaptações a ambientes estrangeiros é uma tarefa crucial. No contexto da emergente indústria chinesa de ouro argumentamos que o conhecimento específico à empresa, que é dependente do seu percurso histórico, é um determinante causal do seu desempenho em processos de investimento no exterior. Os nossos resultados são relevantes para a concepção de estratégias sensíveis ao contexto por parte de participantes em movimentos de investimento directo estrangeiro e, especialmente, potencialmente informativos para gestores de empresas de ouro que são influenciadas pela política estatal de países emergentes e que tentam explorar novos caminhos em mercados geograficamente distantes

Evolution for our time: a theory of legal memetics

The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance for legal thought of recent developments in evolutionary theory which are associated with the notion of 'memetics'. 'Memetics' aims to account for processes of cultural transmission and change using a version of the 'genetic metaphor'. This is the idea that patterns of cultural evolution are closely analogous to those which occur in the natural world as a result of the interaction between genes, organisms and environments. At a further, more ambitious level, the initial metaphor gives way to a search for mechanisms which unite biological and cultural evolution. Identifying these general evolutionary mechanisms is part of a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary research agenda.legal evolution, memes, path dependence, employment contract, corporate governance

Does the Concept of “Community of Practice” Show New Trajectories for the Evolution of Industrial Districts?

The aim of this paper is to find a framework that could be useful to evaluate the utility of the concept of “Community of Practice” (CoP) for understanding the dynamics of knowledge creation and sharing in Industrial Districts (IDs). The CoP concept stems from the managerial experience of large corporations, which have found in it a kind of “living repository” of knowledge. The source of the concept of agglomeration of firms in ID is completely different. Anyway, many similarities can be found between the concepts of ID and CoP, as well then some differences. The paper proceeds as follows. First, it explains the three main concepts useful for understanding further argumentations: knowledge, ID, CoP. Next, it offers a framework to put in comparison the two concepts of ID and CoP. In the end, an example of how the applications of tools, coming from the CoP concept, can be useful to formulate some hypotheses on the evolutionary behaviour of IDs is shown.Community of Practice, Industrial District, Knowledge, Learning

The impact of regional supply network structure and governance on the resilience of resource extractive regions: the case of South Australia

This thesis examines the adaptation processes among mining equipment and technology services (METS) firms’ in the South Australian resource sector from 2014 till 2016 during a global downturn in resource commodity prices. Of special interest was the effect on the METS firms of the structure and governance of the resource industry regional supply network in terms of their ability to adapt to the downturn and the implications for regional resilience. The research was driven by the common problem faced by METS suppliers operating in resource extractive economies of how to prosper in spite of fluctuating mineral commodity prices. Downturns in commodity prices usually result in significant job losses, reduction in GDP growth and economic decline. It requires resilience at the firm and regional level to not only cope and recover from external shocks, but also to create new technological paths. Previous research into the regional development of resource-extractive regions has proved that the development of technology and knowledge intensive, value-adding industries around resource extractive activity enhances the resilience of resource economies. A diverse and technology intensive METS sector emerging naturally in proximity to resource extraction sites is potentially able to use its accumulated knowledge and capabilities to overcome the consequences of a decline. In the right environment, METS firms can develop high value-added products and services that can have other industrial applications and find new niches in domestic and overseas markets. The ability of local METS companies to diversify and innovate results in the lateral transfer of technologies developed initially to serve the resource sector, encouraging regional economic diversification and the development of alternative growth paths during a decline in the resource sector. Supply chain relationships are critical to the strategic diversification and innovation of regional METS experiencing resource constraints. Their ability to innovate and diversify depends not only on their own internal research and development efforts, but mostly on their collaboration with customers and supply chain partners around customer problems and solutions. Since there are multiple shared suppliers and clients, a regional supply network serves as a conduit for information and knowledge transfer. Our knowledge of the impact of the structure and governance in a regional supply network and firm diversification and innovativeness is still limited, however. There is a lack of conceptual explanation specific to how network governance in a regional supply network influences METS firms’ ability to respond during those periods when the whole network is experiencing constrained resources. To address this problem in the current research, a multilevel conceptual framework was developed, and a mixed-method research design adopted. The findings demonstrated that formal and informal instruments of regional supply network governance impact firms’ strategies and facilitates both short- term adaptation and the long-term adaptability of regional METS. The research contributes to the economic resilience literature by providing empirical evidence of the role of regional supply network structure and governance as factors influencing regional firms’ strategies at the micro-level. In turn, the strategies and behaviour of regional METS firms at the micro level impact adaptability and regional resilience at the meso-level. Therefore, a coordinated effort by governing bodies through policies and resource allocation is required to ensure the formation of well-connected, integrated regional supply networks that can foster long term adaptability and resilience in resource extractive regions.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation & Innovation Centre, 201

The role of multilevel dynamics and agency in regional industry renewal

This dissertation investigates the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of evolutionary economic geography (EEG) and its approach to regional restructuring. A dynamic approach considering that regional industries are continuously renewing (albeit to differing degrees) is developed. Such considerations have largely been ignored in investigations of regional restructuring and much work on EEG, which have instead focused on how to re-establish former contingencies following external shocks, i.e. a reactive approach. The concept of regional industry renewal is discussed, emphasising that regional restructuring is a continuous process characterized by different ‘intensities’ in different regions and/or time periods. Moreover, it is emphasized throughout this dissertation that EEG has addressed the micro level of firms and organizations, the meso level of regional settings, and the macro level of national and international settings. However, particular focus has been put on the meso level, as is illustrated by the literatures on industry clusters, regional innovation systems (RIS) and the concept of related variety. However, ‘uni-level’ approaches focusing on the meso level have implied that EEG has predominantly developed imprecise categorizations of micro-level activity and that the role of the macro level mainly has been approached by looking at supraregional linkages as relatively homogenous. These approaches can largely be classified as static, and dynamic approaches that treat the three levels as integrated are lacking. Thus, the approach to regional industry renewal used herein emphasizes that its sources can be both endogenous and exogenous to a region, and also that agency can play a role in shaping how these processes develop spatio-temporally, i.e. that different actors can proactively contribute to the process. In addition, the few recent contributions investigating the micro, meso and macro levels in conjunction have largely focused on path creation and new industry development, and less so restructuring of existing industry activity. Thus, a multilevel approach to regional industry renewal is developed. Furthermore, this is connected to the debates over the role of structure and agency in EEG. It is argued that EEG has generally ascribed power to structure over agency, but that recent conceptual and empirical works have granted agency (ascribed to the micro level) a more prominent role in the evolution of economic systems. It is proposed that different actors, e.g., firms, industry clusters, and national policymakers, have different scopes and roles in the regional industry renewal processes, but that, importantly, agency resides not only at the micro level but also at the meso and macro levels. The connotation of this argument is for instance that the agency of cluster facilitation can play an important role in regional industry renewal. This is referred to as ‘system agency’, because deliberate actors can play a role in changing structural frameworks, e.g., through changing national regulations or regional innovation policy, and that they, in turn, can influence the practices of other (regional) actors. These issues are explored based on seven papers, each of which used qualitative methodology. The papers contribute with theoretical and empirical insights on the role of agency and multilevel dynamics in regional industry renewal. The empirical work described in these papers focused on the Bergen region in western Norway. Based on this work, the Bergen region is argued to be characterized by beneficial multilevel dynamics as a result of strong firms and research and development organizations, and an industry structure characterized by related and diversified activities. Furthermore, policy has arguably played an important role in contributing to regional industry renewal in the Bergen region, inter alia through RIS development. In addition, the region is also characterized by a largely positive interweaving in global knowledge flow and trade, and several leading firms operate in the region. Thus, the Bergen region serves well as a case study illustrating the theoretical and conceptual approaches developed in this dissertation

How do incumbent companies’ heterogeneous responses affect sustainability transitions? Insights from China’s major incumbent power generators

Transitions research has often been unintentionally biased toward novelty and assumes incumbents as homogeneous groups that are “locked-in” to certain socio-technical regimes. In reality, incumbents are heterogeneous at the company and industrial levels and thus have heterogeneous responses that can both accelerate and deter sustainability transitions. To fill the research gap, this paper explores the determinants of such heterogeneous responses and insights for sustainability transitions, taking China’s major incumbent power generators as its case study. The results are: first, incumbent companies respond heterogeneously if firm-specific, socio-economic, and institutional factors give different opportunities and barriers. Policy feedback effects and development of complementarities in infrastructure, instruments, and organizational elements can increase heterogeneous responses. Second, their heterogeneous responses can accelerate sustainability transitions if they go beyond destabilization of regime, legitimization of alternative policy instruments, and development of infrastructure and institutions that trigger co-evolution with socio-economic and institutional factors

Towards Cross-Border Innovation Spaces: A theoretical analysis and empirical comparison of the Öresund region and the Centrope area

Due to strong regionalization tendencies in many parts of the world, the political collapse in Central and Eastern Europe and the continuing enlargement of the European Union crossborder regions have grown considerably in number and importance in the last years. There is a widespread agreement in the academic literature that in the emerging globalized knowledge economy the competitive strength of these areas increasingly rests on their capacity to create an integrated innovation space. The focus of this paper is on a theoretical analysis of different stages in the development of cross-border regional innovation systems and on a comparative analysis of the innovation capabilities of two cross-border areas in Europe, the Öresund region, composed of Southern Sweden and Eastern Denmark, and the Centrope area, which is located at the intersection of Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary. Departing from the regional innovation system approach, in a first step we will identify conceptually crucial preconditions and key determinants for the rise of transfrontier innovation systems. From an evolutionary perspective cross-border regional innovation systems could be seen as the last and most advanced form of cross-border integration building on the success of previous incremental but less advanced modes of integration. We will discuss a conceptual framework describing the different stages of such a process and we will examine how the prospects for a successful development vary between different geographical settings. This is followed by a comparative analysis of the innovation capacity of the Öresund region and the Centrope area. A special emphasis will be given on comparing the interplay of critical economic, socioinstitutional and political factors, and the main barriers for establishing a cross-border regional innovation system. Our results suggest that the Öresund region and the Centrope area differ enormously regarding their capacity to develop an integrated innovation space.