EMPIRICS OF THE METROPOLITAN PRODUCTIVITY PATTERNS IN EUROPE

This paper focuses on the main European metropolitan areas and builds empirics on their evolution over the process of economic integration these last twenty years. These metropolitan areas are acknowledged to be the main engines of economic development in Europe, and to concentrate larger and larger shares of population, activities, R&D resources… Different theoretical frameworks have grounded these cumulative dynamics. Recently, regional and development policies have also based their action on these areas, through the concept of polycentricity for instance. The paper rests thus on a database of the forty main European cities over the period 1975-2000, disaggregated in twenty sectors of activity. First of all, the paper analyses the processes of convergence in terms of productivity or sectoral similarities at work between the different metropolitan areas as well as the evolution of their specialization in terms of value added or employment. An analytical framework is outlined thereafter, based on the rates of growth of productivity and employment, which allows us to define a dynamic view of this convergence process, and to map the dynamic comparative advantages of sectors in our metropolitan areas. In addition to the in-depth analysis of the cities, the results of these different steps show that the metropolitan areas are the main vectors of the process of European integration; a standard model of the metropolitan area seems to emerge as a result of this process.METROPOLITAN AREAS, EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, URBAN GROWTH DYNAMICS, CONVERGENCE, SPECIALIZATION

Usages of the internet and e-tourism. Towards a new economy of tourism

This paper analyses the impact of internet on the organization of industry and the marketdynamics in the tourism activities, focusing in the European scene. Tourism incorporates many features ofthe contemporaneous information and communication economy. Even if e-tourism still stands for a smallshare of the whole tourism activity, the paper establishes that the internet basically explains theorganization of the activities and markets that emerge today. A relevant analytical framework able toapprehend these dynamics is first defined. The concept of sectoral system of production and innovation isshown to provide a relevant analytical framework to grasp the basic changes of the tourism industry. Thepaper enlightens on this basis the evolution resulting from the emergence of e-tourism and the uses ofinternet, their impacts on the coordination of the activities and the markets, with a special focus on theEuropean caseTourism; Sectoral Systems of Production and Innovation;ICT; Virtual Communities; GDS

Temporary Clusters and Knowledge Creation: The Case of Tourism@

With respect to the knowledge-based-view and management science, innovations contribute to a company's competitiveness. And for successful innovation process, companies need to share, create and combine their internal knowledge as well as managing their external relationships and opportunities. Consequently, it is widely accepted that clusters - systemic and local configurations - by supporting horizontal and vertical knowledge exchange could be a fundamental mean for innovation. However, the prolific literature on clusters analyse them only as durable and permanent entities. Yet, interestingly, some forms of temporary organizations as trade fairs, conventions and other professional gatherings, are similar to permanent clusters, but in a temporary, repeated and intensified form. Maskell, Bathelt and Malmberg (2004) even call them “temporary cluster” using the concept to define a short-lived hotspot of intense knowledge exchange, network building and idea generation. It gathers heterogeneous participants in the same spot enabling them to bring together their specific knowledge through intensive interactions. Nevertheless, to date, we observed that the literature focusing on temporary clusters is limited. Notwithstanding, it requires growing attention for management science. In fact, the literature existing on temporary clusters, had asserted that these transient events are important for companies to access markets and knowledge pools in different part of the world. Therefore we consider temporary clusters as a significant vector for the building of trans-local business relations in common situations of incomplete knowledge and uncertainty. Besides, temporary clusters help developing global knowledge pipelines to benefit from outside knowledge.In this context, the paper will analyze a specific empirical case of temporary organization related to the tourism industry. Two arguments support this choice. On the one hand, as stated by Maskell et al. (2005), ‘identifying, selecting, approaching and interacting with new partners is a tricky and costly process' and, we think, even more in the tourism industry. Indeed, the tourism industry is structured by dispersed activities in nature, time and space that need to be combined and assembled dynamically. On the other hand, the tourism industry has been one of the most innovative activities related to the development of ICT, almost 50% of the innovations in the e-commerce activity come from e-tourism or m-tourism. Therefore, the analysis of a temporary cluster dedicated to this ‘dispersed' activity is particularly relevant.The paper will thus focus on such an event called Tourism@. This major event gathers the main actors of e-tourism and is dedicated to the usages of ICT in the tourism industry. It appears as a unique international trade fair in Europe dedicated to start up innovative companies, high tech SMEs, academic research, as well as large multinationals. Tourism@' specificity lies in the fact that each year, since 2001, the event includes the organization of a competition rewarding projects for their creativity and commitment in developing and implementing either new technologies or new uses for the tourism industry. The projects involved in this competition (175 since 2001) will be the basic elements of the temporal database we have build, in which the nature of the projects is extensively described (nature of the firm, of the technology, of the team, capabilities implemented, level of innovation...). In order to analyze the evolution of innovative activities in e-tourism, the initial step will be to characterize the projects through three main features: the market they address, nature of the technology and their innovative intensity. The study reveals that, each year, a main technology or a main innovation in terms of uses emerges showing some kind of self organization. Then, two points of the case study will be examined: first, the evolution of the dominant technology over time, and secondly, the diffusion of the emerging technology. Therefrom, the empirical study will aim at analyzing if temporary proximity allows the different actors from tourism industry to set up or mobilize knowledge and social links without requiring durable co-location. Furthermore, it will aim at identifying if, in a dynamic context of annual event, the repeated face to face temporary relations can result in trust and durable cooperation between different organizations. It might be expected that Tourism@ trade fair, in the role of a temporary cluster, enables to develop or implement innovative solutions, supports technology transfers and backs the creation of new markets as well as the fostering of horizontal and vertical relations between stakeholders.The paper is structured as follows. First section will investigate the theory field of temporary clusters and question in what extent a temporary cluster can be considered as a specific temporary organization regarding the interactions it support that lead to knowledge creation. Section two will present the Tourism@ case study; the methodology used and will develop the statistical analysis of the database. Lastly, the third section will be dedicated to the discussion of temporary clusters as a specific form of inter-firm organization that allows intensive exchange of knowledge.Knowledge creation; Temporary cluster; Tourism; Technological innovation

The micro processes underlying small firms'integration into territorial innovation dynamics - a knowledge based perspective

The paper is concerned with the process of SMEs' insertion into innovation projects within regional clusters. The objective is to contribute to a better understanding of this process by examining the underlying mechanisms of territorial innovation dynamics. A particular attention is given to the interplay between the features of territorial dynamics of innovation identified, and SMEs' capacity to participate to collaborative innovation projects. In this perspective, the article analyse the front-end process of territorial inter-organizational innovation, the early stage during which partners negotiate and establish collaborative innovation projects. Rather than investigating how clusters facilitate the access to new resources and knowledge, the crucial question here is how clusters allow the combination of different component of knowledge among heterogeneous actors. First, our findings reveal the key underlying role of architectural knowledge in local innovation processes. Second, they suggest that the nature of architectural knowledge inside the cluster influences the capacity and the motivation of SMEs to participate to local innovation projects. These findings contribute to theory by developing a grounded model of territorial dynamics of innovation and of SMEs integration into localised innovation projectsclusters; SMEs; architectural innovation; knowledge; local innovation projects

The French defence industry in the knowledge management era: A historical overview and evidence from empirical data

In the defence industry the recent development of ‘market for technology', the creation of new European high-technology companies as well as transformations in government agencies have conducted firms to reposition their technological and organisational skills. Our objective is to show that the transformations that have occurred in the past ten years have not only redefined skills and the organisation of production but have also given a more strategic place to knowledge management practices. Thus, we provide a contextual and historical overview with qualitative interviews in order to better understand the relation between KM and innovative behaviour in this industry. We have also built an original industrial and technological database with various samples that provides quantitative information concerning KM and innovative practices. The results of the statistical analysis reveal the specificity of firms in the defence industry. Taking into account the size of the firms and their technological intensity, we show that the behaviour of firms in the defence industry in terms of KM practices is different to that of other firms. The technological performances, the innovation intensity and the patent intensity also show the specificity of this industry. This structural tendency is explained as an innovative behaviour of the French NIS rather than as a mere “trend”Defence industry, Knowledge management practices, R&D, innovation, technological performance.

Territorial innovation dynamics: a knowledge based perspective

A great deal of studies has focused on the role played by geographical location on the emergence and the building of localised learning capacities (Maskell, Malmberg, 1999). In this perspective, empirical studies have demonstrated that innovation dynamics of clusters results from the quality of interactions and coordination inside the cluster as well as interactions with external, often global, networks. In this context, knowledge exchange between firms and institutions are claimed to be the main drivers of spatial agglomeration (Canals et al, 2008). Hence, cluster policies have followed the main idea that geographic proximity facilitates collective innovation in so far as firms can capture knowledge externalities more easily. This idea is in fact very attractive but contains some limits (Suire et Vicente, 2007): if some clusters are successful others seem to decline. Therefore, in order to understand the territorial dynamics of clusters, the analysis of the specific nature of knowledge and information flows within a cluster is crucial. The objective of the paper is to enhance the analysis of the role of cognitive and relational dimensions of interactions on territorial dynamics of innovation. We focus on the key sub process of innovation: knowledge creation, which is above all a social process based on two key complex social mechanisms: the exchange and the combination of knowledge (Nahapiet and Goshal, 1996). We suggest building a theoretical framework that hinges on these two key mechanisms. In this perspective, we mobilise Boisot's I-Space model (Boisot, 1998) for the diffusion and exchange of knowledge and suggest completing the model by introducing the concept of architectural knowledge (Henderson and Clark, 1990) so as to take the complexity of the combination process into consideration. This analysis is conducted through the illustrative analysis of three different case studies. We will draw upon the case of Aerospace Valley Pole of Competitiveness (PoC), The Secured Communicating Solutions PoC, and Fabelor Competence Cluster. The cases show that the existence of architectural knowledge is pivotal to territorial innovation.Architectural Knowledge, I-Space Model, Territorial Innovation, Geographical Clusters, Knowledge Management

Solving the "selective intervention" puzzle

This paper discusses the way in which the economic literature has solved Williamson’s selective intervention puzzle: why is that vertical integration, which gives the purchasing firm more control over its trading partner, not always more profitable than vertical separation? I argue that all the models which tackle this problem share a common feature: in the contracts which describe the relations between agents, the principal still makes decisions and acts after the contract is signed. As a consequence, the greater control provided by vertical integration can affect the principal’s ex-post behavior in ways which are ex-ante point of view detrimental to its profits.L’objet de l’article est de survoler la façon dont la littérature économique a résolu le « puzzle » de l’intervention sélective, posé par Williamson: comment se fait-il que l’intégration verticale ne soit pas toujours plus profitable que la séparation, alors qu’elle donne à l’entreprise qui a acheté l’autre plus de moyens de contrôle? Je défends la thèse suivant laquelle tous les modèles qui ont essayé d’illuminer le problème partagent un trait commun: dans les contrats qui décrivent les relations entre les différents agents, le principal prend des décisions et agit après que le contrat soit signé. En conséquence, le plus grand contrôle que lui donne l’intégration verticale peut changer son comportement ex post, d’une façon qui peut ex-ante être contraire à ses intérêts

CLUSTER STRATEGIES IN RUSSIA AND FRANCE: COMMON OBJECTIVES, SPECIFIC PATHS

Clusters and cluster strategies are considered as pivotal elements of our global knowledgebased economies. The paper focuses on the Russian and French cases. The two countries have a lot of similarities, important resources in research and development, in technology, a top-down tradition on public policy. They face the same challenges; the necessity to deepen knowledge-based processes to foster innovation, to improve the relations between research and industries, between research institutions, large firms and SMEs. The paper analyses the cluster strategies implemented in the two countries, which display common objectives but specific paths

Temporary Clusters and Knowledge Creation: The Case of Tourism@

International audienceWith respect to the knowledge-based-view and management science, innovations contribute to a company's competitiveness. And for successful innovation process, companies need to share, create and combine their internal knowledge as well as managing their external relationships and opportunities. Consequently, it is widely accepted that clusters - systemic and local configurations - by supporting horizontal and vertical knowledge exchange could be a fundamental mean for innovation. <br />However, the prolific literature on clusters analyse them only as durable and permanent entities. Yet, interestingly, some forms of temporary organizations as trade fairs, conventions and other professional gatherings, are similar to permanent clusters, but in a temporary, repeated and intensified form. Maskell, Bathelt and Malmberg (2004) even call them “temporary cluster” using the concept to define a short-lived hotspot of intense knowledge exchange, network building and idea generation. It gathers heterogeneous participants in the same spot enabling them to bring together their specific knowledge through intensive interactions. <br />Nevertheless, to date, we observed that the literature focusing on temporary clusters is limited. Notwithstanding, it requires growing attention for management science. In fact, the literature existing on temporary clusters, had asserted that these transient events are important for companies to access markets and knowledge pools in different part of the world. Therefore we consider temporary clusters as a significant vector for the building of trans-local business relations in common situations of incomplete knowledge and uncertainty. Besides, temporary clusters help developing global knowledge pipelines to benefit from outside knowledge.<br /><br />In this context, the paper will analyze a specific empirical case of temporary organization related to the tourism industry. Two arguments support this choice. On the one hand, as stated by Maskell et al. (2005), ‘identifying, selecting, approaching and interacting with new partners is a tricky and costly process' and, we think, even more in the tourism industry. Indeed, the tourism industry is structured by dispersed activities in nature, time and space that need to be combined and assembled dynamically. On the other hand, the tourism industry has been one of the most innovative activities related to the development of ICT, almost 50% of the innovations in the e-commerce activity come from e-tourism or m-tourism. <br />Therefore, the analysis of a temporary cluster dedicated to this ‘dispersed' activity is particularly relevant.<br />The paper will thus focus on such an event called Tourism@. This major event gathers the main actors of e-tourism and is dedicated to the usages of ICT in the tourism industry. It appears as a unique international trade fair in Europe dedicated to start up innovative companies, high tech SMEs, academic research, as well as large multinationals. Tourism@' specificity lies in the fact that each year, since 2001, the event includes the organization of a competition rewarding projects for their creativity and commitment in developing and implementing either new technologies or new uses for the tourism industry. <br />The projects involved in this competition (175 since 2001) will be the basic elements of the temporal database we have build, in which the nature of the projects is extensively described (nature of the firm, of the technology, of the team, capabilities implemented, level of innovation...). In order to analyze the evolution of innovative activities in e-tourism, the initial step will be to characterize the projects through three main features: the market they address, nature of the technology and their innovative intensity. The study reveals that, each year, a main technology or a main innovation in terms of uses emerges showing some kind of self organization. Then, two points of the case study will be examined: first, the evolution of the dominant technology over time, and secondly, the diffusion of the emerging technology. <br />Therefrom, the empirical study will aim at analyzing if temporary proximity allows the different actors from tourism industry to set up or mobilize knowledge and social links without requiring durable co-location. Furthermore, it will aim at identifying if, in a dynamic context of annual event, the repeated face to face temporary relations can result in trust and durable cooperation between different organizations. It might be expected that Tourism@ trade fair, in the role of a temporary cluster, enables to develop or implement innovative solutions, supports technology transfers and backs the creation of new markets as well as the fostering of horizontal and vertical relations between stakeholders.<br /><br />The paper is structured as follows. First section will investigate the theory field of temporary clusters and question in what extent a temporary cluster can be considered as a specific temporary organization regarding the interactions it support that lead to knowledge creation. Section two will present the Tourism@ case study; the methodology used and will develop the statistical analysis of the database. Lastly, the third section will be dedicated to the discussion of temporary clusters as a specific form of inter-firm organization that allows intensive exchange of knowledge

Dix ans de politique industrielle en Russie

Les nouvelles politiques industrielles, combinant notamment politiques sectorielles et horizontales, s’efforcent aujourd’hui d’intégrer des impératifs de concurrence internationale et de croissance soutenable. Pourtant, certaines d’entre elles ont encore recours à des interventions très sélectives visant par exemple une industrialisation par substitution aux importations ou la protection d’industries clefs. C’est le cas de la politique industrielle mise en œuvre par la Fédération de Russie, q..