Firm Entry and Institutional Lock-in: An Organizational Ecology Analysis of the Global Fashion Design Industry

Few industries are more concentrated than the global fashion industry. We analyse the geography and evolution of the ready-to-wear fashion design industry by looking at the yearly entry rates following an organizational ecology approach. In contrast to earlier studies on manufacturing industries, we find that legitimation effects are local and competition effects are global. This result points to the rapid turnover of ideas in fashion on the one hand and the global demand for fashion apparel on the other hand. We attribute the decline of Paris in the post-war period to 'institutional lock-in', which prevented a ready-to-wear cluster to emerge as vested interested of haute couture designers were threatened. An extended organizational ecology model provides empirical support for this claim.Organizational ecology, fashion industry, creative industries, clusters, institutional lock-in

The spatial evolution of the British automobile industry

This paper aims to describe and explain the spatial evolution of the automobile sector in Great Britain from an evolutionary perspective. This analysis is based on a unique database of all entries and exits in this sector during the period 1895-1968, collected by the authors. Cox regressions show that spinoff dynamics, localization economies and time of entry have had a significant effect on the survival rate of automobile firms during the period 1895-1968.evolutionary economics, automobile industry, entry, exit

Urban Amenities or Agglomeration Economies? Locational Behaviour and Entrepreneurial Success of Dutch Fashion Designers

Urban economic growth and industrial clustering is traditionally explained by Marshallian agglomeration economies benefiting co-located firms. The focus on firms rather than people has been challenged by Florida arguing that urban amenities and a tolerant climate attract creative people, and the firms they work for, to certain cities. We analyse to what extent these two mechanisms affect the locational behaviour of Dutch fashion designers. On the basis of a questionnaire, we find that urban amenities are considered more important than agglomeration economies in entrepreneurs’ location decision. Designers located in the Amsterdam cluster do not profit from agglomeration economies as such, but rather from superior networking opportunities with peers both within and outside the cluster.Agglomeration economies, urban amenities, creative class, fashion design, cultural industries, social networks, cluster

Firm entry and institutional lock-in: an organizational ecology analysis of the global fashion design industry

Few industries are more concentrated than the global fashion industry. We analyse the geography and evolution of the ready-to-wear fashion design industry by looking at the yearly entry rates following an organizational ecology approach. In contrast to earlier studies on manufacturing industries, we find that legitimation effects are local and competition effects are global. This result points to the rapid turnover of ideas in fashion on the one hand and the global demand for fashion apparel on the other hand. We attribute the decline of Paris in the post-war period to 'institutional lock-in', which prevented a ready-to-wear cluster to emerge as vested interested of haute couture designers were threatened. An extended organizational ecology model provides empirical support for this claim

Spinoffs and M&A as drivers of spatial clustering: The evolution of the Dutch banking sector in the Amsterdam region in the period 1850-1993

There is little understanding of how clusters evolve, and where. While dynamic analyses of clusters hardly exist, this is especially true for spatial clustering of service industries. We take an evolutionary perspective to describe and explain why the Dutch banking cluster clustered in the Amsterdam region. This analysis is based on an unique database of all banks in the Netherlands that existed in the period 1850-1993, which were collected by the authors. We examine the extent to which spinoff dynamics, merger and acquisition activity and the location of Amsterdam had a significant effect on the survival rate of Dutch banks during the last 150 years. Doing so, we make a first step in providing an evolutionary explanation for why Amsterdam is the leading banking cluster of the Netherlands. Our analyses demonstrate, among other things, that Amsterdam banks were disproportionally active in acquiring other banks, leading to a further concentration of the banking sector in the Amsterdam region

CRISPR/Cas9 screen in human iPSC‐derived cortical neurons identifies NEK6 as a novel disease modifier of C9orf72 poly(PR) toxicity

Introduction The most common genetic cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are hexanucleotide repeats in chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72). These repeats produce dipeptide repeat proteins with poly(PR) being the most toxic one. Methods We performed a kinome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knock-out screen in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) -derived cortical neurons to identify modifiers of poly(PR) toxicity, and validated the role of candidate modifiers using in vitro, in vivo, and ex-vivo studies. Results Knock-down of NIMA-related kinase 6 (NEK6) prevented neuronal toxicity caused by poly(PR). Knock-down of nek6 also ameliorated the poly(PR)-induced axonopathy in zebrafish and NEK6 was aberrantly expressed in C9orf72 patients. Suppression of NEK6 expression and NEK6 activity inhibition rescued axonal transport defects in cortical neurons from C9orf72 patient iPSCs, at least partially by reversing p53-related DNA damage. Discussion We identified NEK6, which regulates poly(PR)-mediated p53-related DNA damage, as a novel therapeutic target for C9orf72 FTD/ALS

Firm Entry and Institutional Lock-in: An Organizational Ecology Analysis of the Global Fashion Design Industry.

Few industries are more concentrated than the global fashion industry. We analyse the geography and evolution of the ready-to-wear fashion design industry by looking at the yearly entry rates following an organizational ecology approach. In contrast to earlier studies on manufacturing industries, we find that legitimation effects are local and competition effects are global. This result points to the rapid turnover of ideas in fashion on the one hand and the global demand for fashion apparel on the other hand. We attribute the decline of Paris in the post-war period to 'institutional lock-in', which prevented a ready-to-wear cluster to emerge as vested interested of haute couture designers were threatened. An extended organizational ecology model provides empirical support for this claim.Organizational ecology, fashion industry, creative industries, clusters, institutional lock-in Length 22 pages

Path Dependence Research in Regional Economic Development: Cacophony or Knowledge Accumulation?

Henning M., Stam E. and Wenting R. Path dependence research in regional economic development: cacophony or knowledge accumulation, Regional Studies. The concept of path dependence has gained momentum in the social sciences, particularly in economic geography. This paper explores the empirical literature on path dependence and path creation in regional economic development. It offers a critical reflection on these studies and outlines commonalities and problems in research designs and empirical testing. The review suggests that the popularity of the path dependence concept in regional studies has led to a cacophony of studies rather than to a purposeful accumulation of knowledge around the concept. Gaps are identified and guidelines are suggested for future research on path creation and path dependence in regional development

The spatial evolution of the British automobile industry: Does location matter?

This article aims to describe and explain the spatial evolution of the automobile sector in Great Britain from an evolutionary perspective. This analysis is based on a unique database of all entries and exits in this sector during the period 1895–1968, collected by the authors. Cox regressions show that spinoff dynamics, agglomeration economies and time of entry have had a significant effect on the survival rate of automobile firms during the period 1895–1968. Copyright 2007 , Oxford University Press.

Urban Amenities and Agglomeration Economies? The Locational Behaviour and Economic Success of Dutch Fashion Design Entrepreneurs

The spatial clustering of industries is traditionally explained by agglomeration economies benefiting co-located firms. The focus on firms rather than people has been challenged by Florida arguing that urban amenities attract creative people to certain cities. On the basis of a questionnaire, an analysis is made of the extent to which these two mechanisms affect the locational behaviour of Dutch fashion design entrepreneurs. It is found that fashion design entrepreneurs consider urban amenities to be more important than agglomeration economies for their location decision. Designers located in the Amsterdam cluster do not profit from agglomeration economies as such, but rather from superior networking opportunities with peers both within and outside the cluster.