Localised Low-tech Learning in the Furniture Industry

It is by now an established fact, that the so-called high technology industries have experienced growth rates way above average through most years. High technology industries share of the world manufacturers export has risen from 12 per cent in 1970 to 25 per cent in 1995. More than one-third of Japan's manufacturing export and more than 40 per cent of America's manufacturing export are products from high technology industries, and this development has increasingly led to an international obsession with high technology industries. In a number of countries R&D indicators have by now become the object of intense discussions. Great efforts are devoted to improve a bad relative standing. The aim of this paper is to questioned whether a national specialisation towards high technology industries is the only way by which the mature, developed countries can hope to sustain and augment their economic position. I claim that in contrast to much of the assumptions in contemporary politics and in the majority of the contemporary academic literature on the subject the countries without a specialisation in high technology industries are not left in the backwaters of economic development. Quite the contrary seems to be the case as many advanced, high-cost countries experience an above average economic performance even when specialising in the bottom end of the low-tech industries. The argument is illustrated with empirical material from the wooden furniture industry in general - and the rather successful Danish wooden furniture industry in particular. The possible reasons behind this apparent paradox are discussed.International competitiveness, industrial clusters, wooden furniture industry, level of technology

Learning in the Village Economy of Denmark. The role of Institutions and Policy in Sustaining Competitiveness.

The benefits of an international division of labour is never illustrated more clearly than in small developed nations like Denmark. Without many natural resources such countries can never be self sufficient and they need access to foreign markets in order for their firms to specialise and utilize economics of scale. The specialisation chosen is mainly in low-tech goods, where the risk of sudden domestically damaging changes in technology or demand are relatively small. Besides such general features of small developed nations, the Danish case has some special characteristics, which distinguishes it from many other nations and regions. One important feature is the century-old, deep-rooted egalitarian beliefs of the society which during the last century has intermixed with the growth of the public sector in shaping not only the welfare state, but also a strongly consensus-seeking political system - the negotiated economy - incorporating all major groups in the economy. Recently, the development towards a knowledge based world economy has increased the importance of another feature with an small egalitarian country: the kind of trust-relations, that come into existence, when everyone in an industry has known everybody else through many years. The international industrial competitiveness of the country's vast majority of small, export oriented firms are not only favoured by a reasonable adequate macro-economic policy but further enhanced by the ease in the exchange of information resulting from established trust-relations.International competitiveness, small nations, economic development, learning economy, informal institutions

Uncertainty in Widmark calculations:ABV variation in packaged versions of the most popular beers in the UK

Forensic practitioners regularly use the Widmark equation to determine theoretical blood alcohol concentrations for use in cases involving alcohol. It is important in these calculations to determine the uncertainty associated with any result. Previous work has investigated the uncertainty in %ABV from beers produced by small independent breweries in the UK but did not study the top selling beers. The top selling lagers and ales/bitters in the UK were identified by sales volume and the alcohol by volume determined. This data was then used to determine the percent coefficient of variation (%CV) that should be used by forensic practitioners when constructing alcohol technical defence reports for use in forensic cases. These samples, from what may be described as ‘big’ brewers, were determined to have a smaller root mean square error (RMSE) (±0.1%v/v, n = 35), and %CV than those previously reported for beers produced by small, independent breweries in the UK. The results from this study shows that different RMSE's should be used for %ABV when determining the uncertainty of results from Widmark calculations when drinks have been consumed from either ‘big’ brewers or small, independent breweries

Improving uncertainty in Widmark equation calculations:alcohol volume, strength and density

The Widmark equation is probably the most commonly used calculation for medicolegal purposes. Recently the National Research Council (USA) and the Forensic Science Regulator (UK) have called for the uncertainty of all results to be given with all forensic measurements and calculations. To improve the uncertainty of measurement of results from Widmark calculations we have concentrated on the uncertainties of measurement involved in the calculation of alcohol, that of the volume of alcohol, the concentration of alcohol and the density of alcohol as previous studies have investigated some of the other factors involved . Using experimental studies, the scientific literature and legal statutes, we have determined revised and improved uncertainties of the concentration of ethanol for Widmark calculations for both the USA and UK. Based on the calculations that we have performed we recommend the use of Monte Carlo Simulation for the determination of uncertainty of measurement for Widmark Calculations

The Cluster as Market Organization

The many competing schools of thought concerning themselves with industrial clusters have at least one thing in common: they all agree that clusters are real life phenomena characterized by the co-localization of separate economic entities, which are in some sense related, but not joined together by any common ownership or management. So hierarchies they are certainly not. Yet, it is usually taken for granted that clusters, almost regardless of how they are defined, all expatriate the 'swollen middle' of various hybrid 'forms of long-term contracting, reciprocal trading, regulation, franchising and the like' residing somewhere between hierarchies and markets. This fundamental (but usually implicit) assumption would, perhaps, be justified if markets could be reduced to events of exchange of property rights, between large numbers of price-taking anonymous buyers and sellers supplied with perfect information as they are commonly conceived in mainstream economics. One of the original attractions of Neoclassical price theory was precisely that it promised a way of analysing the economy in general and market exchange in particular independently of specific institutional settings. However, introducing transaction costs as more than fees paid to intermediaries leads inevitably to comparative institutional analysis and, not to be forgotten, to the perception of markets as institutions with specific characteristics of their own. Some sets of characteristics are so common that they represent a specific market organization or market form. The cluster is one such specific market organization that is structured along territorial lines because this enables the building of a set of institutions that are helpful in conducting certain kinds of economic activities. Supported by empirical illustrations the paper argues that clusters are markets where commodities, services and knowledge are traded in a notably efficient way among the insiders without restricting their abilities to build pipelines and to interact with suppliers and customers residing elsewhere. The institutions characterizing this market form help creating an environment among insiders that reduces the barriers to acquiring and utilising knowledge produced or used locally.Clusters, organisation, knowledge transfer, transaction costs

What qualifies as a cluster theory?

This paper investigates the theoretical backgrounds of the “cluster” and proposes a framework aiming at drawing the contour of cluster theory. The profundity of the notion of ‘clusters’ is arguably conditional on the coherence of three fundamental issues associated with the concept: 1) the economic and social benefits that may accrue to firms when clustering or co-locating (the existence argument); 2) the diseconomies encountered when clustering exceeds certain geographical and sectoral thresholds (the extension argument); and, finally, 3) the possible erosion of economies and onset of diseconomies over the lifecycle of the cluster (the exhaustion argument). Each of these three issues is examined in terms of three relevant major theoretical frameworks that can be brought to bear on the cluster concept. The paper considers approaches based on the idea of externalities (illustrated by the Marshall's work on ‘Industrial district’); on competitiveness issue (illustrated by Michael Porter’s theory of cluster growth); on a territorial perspective (illustrated by the GREMI approach). The paper acknowledges the general shift in explanatory emphasis from considerations of static cost efficiency towards more dynamic interpretations that highlight the creation and use of knowledge as their pivotal theoretical element. By placing these changes within a common conceptual framework the paper shows how different theoretical solutions provide distinct points of departure for subsequent policy recommendations. Three distinctive groups of solutions are identified focusing respectively on local spillovers, on competitiveness and on the region and its development. The paper concludes by identifying areas of particular ambiguity where further theoretical work is most urgently needed.Cluster, cluster theory, industrial district, innovative milieu, regional policy

Clusters and Knowledge Local Buzz, Global Pipelines and the Process of Knowledge Creation

The paper is concerned with spatial clustering of economic activity and its relation to the spatiality of knowledge creation in various sorts of interactive learning processes. It questions the merit of the prevailing explanatory model where the realm of tacit knowledge transfer is confined to local milieus whereas codified knowledge may roam the globe almost frictionless. When doing so the paper highlights the conditions under which both tacit and codified knowledge can be exchanged locally and globally. A distinction is made between, on the one hand, the learning processes taking place among actors embedded in a community by just being there - dubbed buzz - and, on the other, the knowledge attained by investing in building channels of communication - called pipelines - to selected providers located outside the local milieu. It is argued, that the co-existence of high levels of buzz and many pipelines may provide firms located in outward looking and lively clusters with a string of particular advantages not available to outsiders. Finally, some prescriptive elements, stemming from the argument, are identified.knowledge creation, clusters, buzz, pipelines, absorptive capacity

Building Global Knowledge Pipelines The Role of Temporary Clusters

Business people and professionals come together regularly at trade fairs, exhibitions, conventions, congresses, and conferences. Here, their latest and most advanced findings, inventions and products are on display to be evaluated by customers and suppliers, as well as by peers and competitors. Participation in events like these helps firms to identify the current market frontier, take stock of relative competitive positions and form future plans. Such events exhibit many of the characteristics ascribed to permanent spatial clusters, albeit in a temporary and intensified form. These short-lived hotspots of intense knowledge exchange, network building and idea generation can thus be seen as temporary clusters. The present paper compares temporary clusters with permanent clusters and other types of inter-firm interactions. If regular participation in temporary clusters can satisfy a firm’s need to learn through interaction with suppliers, customers, peers and rivals, why is the phenomenon of permanent spatial clustering of similar and related economic activity so pervasive? The answer, it is claimed, lies in the restrictions imposed upon economic activity when knowledge and ideas are transformed into valuable products and services. The paper sheds new light on how interaction among firms in current clusters coincides with knowledge-intensive pipelines between firms in different regions or clusters. In doing so, it offers a novel way of understanding how interfirm knowledge relationships are organized spatially and temporally.Economic geography, knowledge, clusters, temporary clusters, trade fairs, conventions, pipelines