Coupling production networks and regional assets in manufacturing clusters

Paradoxically, the ongoing process of globalisation goes hand in hand with a surge of interest in the ‘local’ sources of firm competitiveness. In this paper, we develop a frame of analysis that helps to understand ‘coupling’ of production networks and regional development. Our aim is to reflect on the ‘spatiality’ of different types of networks, and to study the dynamic coupling process between these networks and regional assets. We apply the framework to two case studies – shipbuilding in Turku and machine building in Porto. Our analysis points towards the relevance of regional assets facilitating this coupling process and in strengthening regions as magnets for global production networks, reinforcing the long term sustainability of different types of clusters

Regional knowledge base and firms´ exploration and exploitation: a multilevel approach

How and why do firms interact with and benefit from regionally based sources of knowledge? Although firms increasingly search and source knowledge worldwide and many are inserted in global production and knowledge networks, there is a refreshed interest in the economic geography literature on the interplay between firms´ innovative efforts and regional specific assets. Combining insights from management studies and economic geography, the article presents and explores a theoretical framework linking regionally based knowledge assets with exploration and exploitation efforts of firms, which are increasingly achieved through collaborative networks. The paper argues that the potential of firms to benefit from those localized assets is dependent on the interplay between two moderator effects: firm absorptive capacity, at the firm level, and institutional and organizational infrastructure, at the regional level