Paul Krugman and the New Economic Geography - assesment in the light of the dynamics of a “real world” local system of firms

Since the publication of Krugman's paper on "Geography and Trade" in 1991, a burgeoning literature has developed under the heading New Economic Geography. In the following we shall survey the NEG literature and critically evaluate its contribution relative to earlier work on similar topics. More specifically, we will focus our attention on a model that seems to have given new impulses to the introduction of spatial factors into the economic analysis: Krugman’s model. We will proceed with our assesment analysing if and to which extent the features of the model are effective in investigating a real local system of firms: the Etna Valley, an industrial agglomeration specialized in the production of microelectronic components in the area around the Sicilian town of Catania. What emerges from the critical analysis is that the above model results to be extremely simplified. If, on one hand this may be true for every economic model, on the other, we feel that, in our specific case study, the formalization of the processes of local development does not result to be entirely useful. Indeed, great part of the analysis of the industrial district based on the “industrial atmosphere” (Marshall, 1890) remains out of the picture. Therefore, we find more useful the positions of those authors that not drawing on the deductive methods of theorising and analysing employed by Krugman, nonetheless have managed to enlighten mechanisms that seem to be more apt to investigate dynamics taking place in developing areas. More specifically, they seem to offer more useful insights in the context of non stationary economies where markets are not yet stabilized and therefore are not entirely capable of adequately transmitting incentives and information to the actors in the economy.

How Do Young Firms Manage Product Portfolio Complexity? The Role of Absorptive Capacity and Ambidexterity

Building a complex portfolio of products can be beneficial for young firms due to increased sales growth and competitiveness. Yet, the benefits from product portfolio complexity (PPC) are often outweighed by rising costs, leading to an inverted U-shaped relationship between PPC and performance. Recent research has called for an increased understanding of how firms are able to better manage higher levels of PPC. We suggest that absorptive capacity and ambidexterity are vital to enhancing the benefits and mitigating the costs of increasing PPC. Using a sample of 215 young high technology firms, we find support for positive moderating effects of absorptive capacity and ambidexterity on the inverted U-shaped relationship between PPC and firm performance

Two worlds:design relativity in the complex world

This paper proposes that there could be ‘relative’ meanings of design in organizations, according to the different national cultures in which the organizations predominantly reside, due to the different organizational vocabulary that is used in the design of a ‘complex product’. The paper suggests that under complex conditions, different meanings of design according to national cultures could influence, not only the development of an organization, but also the design of these complex products. The author contends that much research on the meaning of design and its use in design-led innovation takes a Western perspective; however this paper discusses how different national cultures influence the construction of product design and how different national cultures could influence the meaning of design in complex organizations. This is achieved by examining a case study in Samsung, which has been involved in a global dispute regarding its product design patents with Apple. This paper explores how this lens might help to understand how design-led innovation is viewed differently and how the resulting product design is influenced by national and derived organizational cultures

Modeling the Portfolio of Capabilities for Product Variant Creation and Assessment

Choice navigation, solution space development and robust process design are the three mass customization key competences. The first and second are often mapped into product configuration or design automation systems and aim at specifying or co-designing a suitable product variant. Robust process design targets at managing a well-known but flexible supply network. As part of this, the portfolio of capabilities describes limitations to the solution space and is a valuable source of knowledge containing general design guidelines and specific manufacturing restrictions, like NC travelling distances, as well as availabilities of whole production processes. This article contributes a modeling approach that bridges solutions space development and modeling the portfolio of capabilities. Therefore, a knowledge-based engineering system is extended by a capability model of according production machines that allows to automatically check new product variants against the portfolio of capabilities and to estimate setup efforts and expenses of process changes

Advancing zero defect manufacturing: A state-of-the-art perspective and future research directions

Zero Defect Manufacturing is a disruptive concept that has the potential to entirely reshape the manufacturing ideology. Building on the same quality management philosophy that underpins both lean production and Six Sigma, the Zero Defect Manufacturing paradigm has in recent years developed significantly, given the onset of Industry 4.0 and the increasing maturity of its digital technologies. In this paper, we review contemporary advances in Zero Defect Manufacturing using structured literature review. We explore emergent themes and present important directions for future development in this continuously emerging field of research and practice. We highlight two specific Zero Defect Manufacturing strategy types: defect prevention, and defect compensation; as well as identify two important themes for future ZDM research, namely advancing ZDM research (particularly with a view to progressing from zero-defect processes to zero-waste value chain strategies) and overcoming the global application challenges of ZDM (with emphasis on cyber-security and the extension of defect prevention and compensation strategies to less explored manufacturing processes).publishedVersio

Innovative Model Based Systems Engineering approach for the design of hypersonic transportation systems

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

The politics of decentralization in Ghana : impacts on natural resource management, sustainability and gender relations

Decentralization has become a key component of contemporary development policy and practice. Its basic notion is simply the withdrawal of the state. As such, several programmes and projects are working on transforming these thoughts into solid practices. Nevertheless, translating theory into everyday practice poses a huge challenge. Drawing on ethnographic research in northern Ghana, I seek to question the mainstream views on decentralization that local level institutions can be intentionally fashioned to enroll the participation of marginalized and vulnerable groups, including women and people with reduced mobility in decision-making concerning natural resource management. The study uses institutional economics to complement social science discourse to analyze the impact of decentralization on NRM, sustainability and gender relation. I ask: How do decentralization reforms modify the balance of power between public administration in charge of land administration, customary authorities, and resource end-users? How is it to be explained that, paradoxically, the decentralization of the formalization of rights in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has promoted informal ASM leading to a negative impact on social, economic, and environmental sustainability? How do intersectional gendered power relations in mining communities of Ghana impact on women’s access to power and ability to transform patriarchal social structures? I used focus group discussions, expert interviews, semi-structured household interviews, participant observation and transect walk. This enabled for the collection of in-depth insights of rich data for further interpretation and analysis. I demonstrate in this dissertation that decentralization–presented by governments and many scholars–as merely organizational and technical, hides its political and ideological dimensions. Although, decentralization reforms are unlikely to unleash passions, I demonstrate that decentralization initiatives aimed at empowering local actors and improve democratic decision-making lead to the emergence of diverse and often unexpected dynamics that are quite different from the original policy intentions. These ground realities highlight that decentralization provides both opportunities and constraints leading to the emergence of few winners and many losers. The huge challenge for decentralization, therefore, is to circumnavigate the thin line between the creation of inclusive room for local citizens’ participation in decision-making, and the risk of fueling social exclusion and further marginalization by the very intention of re-distributing power

Trust In Fairtrade: The 'Feel-Good' Effect

Fairtrade is nurtured with stories aimed at making consumers feel good by buying Fairtrade products. This ‘feel-good’ factor may vary when it is found that, the proportional division of the benefits between producer and other potential gainers is biased towards the distributors. There is, therefore, an incentive to verify whether the trust accorded to Fairtrade is justified. If trust and therefore the feel-good factor are undermined or enhanced as a result of the validation of the stories, then the whole Fairtrade movement could potentially crumble or burgeon. Drawing on elements in Glaeser (2005)’s model, this paper analyses the factors behind the recent expansion of Fairtrade.Fairtrade