This monthly selection of articles has been carried out by Philippe Gugler and Damiano Lepori, the Center for Competitiveness, University of Fribourg. The entire selection, carried out since 2013, can be consulted on the academic articles page of our web.

Оpen innovation and  network dynamics. An analysis of openness of co-patenting collaborations in  Florence, Italy

By: F. Capone, N. Innocenti. Competitiveness Review, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 379-396, 2020.

Abstract: “The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relational dynamics for innovation and, in particular, the impact of the openness of innovation process on the innovation capacity of organisations in restricted geographical contexts. Through a negative binomial regression, the work analyses how the characteristics of the openness of the organisation’s innovation process in the period 2004-2010 influence the firm’s patent productivity in the following period (2011-2016). The breadth of the open innovation (OI) process, here measured by the number of external network ties that an organisation realises for the realisation of its patents, has a positive effect on patent productivity. The depth of the openness, that is, the intensity of external network ties, has an equally positive influence on the innovative performance. However, after a tipping point, the patent productivity tends to decrease, underlining the costs and problems of OI practices. This study considers only patent collaborations in the city of Florence. Therefore, it focusses on codified innovations and on a single territorial case study. The results underline the importance of the adoption of OI practices in restricted geographical contexts (such as cities, clusters or industrial districts) but with several limitations. Only collaborating more with others does not foster the organisation’s invention productivity, but different types of evidence are found here. An original database has been created, containing all the information on patents realised in the area of Florence from 2004 until 2016, and a social networks analysis was applied to identify the local innovation networks.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Clusters in formation in a deindustrialized area: urban regeneration and  structural change in Porto Marghera (Venice)

By: V. Bonello, C. Faraone, F. Gambarotto, L. Nicoletto, G. Pedrini. Competitiveness Review, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 417-436, 2020.

Abstract: “This paper aims to provide a comprehensive vision of the formation of intra-metropolitan clusters triggered by the deindustrialization of an urban area, namely, the district of Porto Marghera in the metropolitan area of Venice and propose possible regeneration scenarios based on intra-metropolitan clustering. This paper adopts a multi-disciplinary approach and relies on both descriptive and qualitative evidence to show the economic transition occurred in the area of Porto Marghera in recent years. Evidence shows the rise of two potential clusters in the KIBS and the creative industries in a well-delimited fringe area placed at the boundary between the urban centre and the core of the deindustrialized zone. Such clustering processes have been, however, characterized by two different and in some way alternative paths. The former stems from the combination of two autonomous entrepreneurial ideas that complemented one to each other. The latter relies on university-industry collaboration and on the presence of places of informal exchanges that proved to support personal networking, knowledge exchange and business opportunities. This paper suggests that local development policies could leverage on the presence of social entrepreneurs to substitute the creation of amenities and the provision of public goods in fragile territories. This paper shows that, in presence of specific spatial conditions, deindustrialization can stimulate the formation of new intra-metropolitan through both top-down and bottom-up agglomeration process.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Approaching multinationals in clusters from different perspectives. An  integration of literatures

By: J.-L. Hervas-Oliver, F. Belussi, S. R. Sedita, A. Caloffi, G. Gonzalez-Alcaide. Competitiveness Review, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 437-456, 2020.

Abstract: “For the specific topic of multinationals in clusters, both regional strands and international business and management literatures address the topic from different yet intertwined perspectives. This study aims to facilitate the integration of the conversations and the distinct literatures to produce a clear understanding and conceptualization of the existent knowledge on the topic, with the aim to foster an integration of those different lines of inquiry on the topic that can advance scholarly research and improve policymaking. Mixing a robust and longitudinal bibliometric analysis (1992-2018) and a qualitative critical review, the study disentangles sub-conversations on the topic in each literature. The study encounters commonalities that foster cross-fertilization and blind spots that prevent integration of findings from each literature. Both literatures need to cross-fertilize and integrate each other’s knowledge. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to integrate literatures using bibliometrics, mapping the existing knowledge on two key areas of competitiveness: clusters and multinationals.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Manufacturing and value-added dynamics in global value chains: the case  of Italy

By: C. Burlina, E. Di Maria. Competitiveness Review, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 457-470, 2020.

Abstract: “This paper aims to provide a snapshot of various countries’ contributions to value produced along global value chains (GVCs). It focusses on manufacturing activities and their evolution over time, in the context of GVC regionalisation. The Trade in Value Added (TiVA) and World Integrated Trade Solution databases for the period of 2005-2015 were used to explore the case of Italy and its industries’ specialisations (Made in Italy): fashion, furniture, automotive and machinery traditionally organised into clusters. Various analyses were used to show the dynamics of gross import–export and imported–exported value-added. Moreover, the revealed comparative advantage index was computed to test whether the Made in Italy sector remains a source of competitive advantage for Italy within GVCs. The results highlight how the geography of value-added is changing over time, with growing importance placed on the countries close to Italy and with a different pace according to each considered GVC. The paper applied new methods to compare trade and analyse value-added dynamics through a recent database released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development within the TiVA initiative that is useful for scholars and policymakers.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

The integration of the Basque machine tool cluster into GVCs

By: A. Zubiaurre, E. Sisti, J. Retegi. Competitiveness Review, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 471-484, 2020.

Abstract: “This paper aims to analyze how integration into global value chains has impacted the evolution of the Basque machine tool cluster from the 1990s to the present day. The study was carried out in three steps. First, a comparative analysis was made of the renewal process of the 1990s and the current situation. Next, a quantitative analysis was undertaken to test whether the cluster has entered a new maturity period, and finally, qualitative data was gathered about the past and present challenges facing the companies in the cluster. The empirical evidence of the present study shows that integration into global value chains has led to a hierarchization of the strategic trajectories and performances of the companies in the cluster. Additionally, evidence of a sustained period of new maturity and decline has been observed. The period of maturity and foreseeable challenges of the coming years were mentioned repeatedly during the interviews. Although the participants in the interviews were relevant individuals with a broad view of the cluster’s situation, their limited number and the lack of representation of companies that closed down during the renewal process, despite the efforts made by the authors, could be considered a limitation. This paper sheds some light on the renewal/transformation period facing the cluster. Several of the main challenges and two extreme, hypothetical scenarios are discussed. The companies in the cluster will have to establish a position somewhere between those two scenarios. This paper presents two possible cluster transformation scenarios. The authors offer suggestions as to how to go about transforming the cluster with a view to secure a better position for dealing with future challenges. Using quantitative and qualitative data, the paper reflects on the hierarchization and decline of the Basque machine tool cluster and provides new insight into the transformation and renewal needs of the cluster in a globally competitive environment.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

‘To be or not to be’ located in a cluster? – A descriptive meta-analysis  of the firm-specific cluster effect

By: N. Grashof, D. Fornahl. University of Bremen, Center for Regional and Innovation Economics, Working Papers on Innovation and Space No. 01.20, 2020.

Abstract: “In the 21st century clusters can be observed in most developed economies. However, the scientific results regarding the effect of clusters on firm performance are highly contradictive. This inconsistency in the empirical results makes it difficult to infer general conclusions about the firm-specific cluster effect, referring to the effect from being located in a cluster on firm performance, e.g. derived through the externalities within clusters. Therefore, this paper aims to reconcile the contradictory empirical findings. It investigates whether the still prevalent assumption that clusters are a beneficial location for firms is unconditionally true or whether doubts about the alleged positive effect of clusters on firm performance are justified. By conducting a descriptive meta-analysis of the empirical literature, based on four different performance variables from four separate publication databases, the study investigates the actual effect direction as well as possible moderating influences. We find evidence for a rather positive firm-specific cluster effect. However, we identify several variables from the micro-, meso- and macro-level that directly or interactively moderate the relationship between clusters and firm success. The corresponding results demonstrate, for example, that a negative firm-specific cluster effect occurs more frequently in low-tech industries than in high-tech industries. ‘To be or not to be’ located in a cluster is therefore not the question, but it rather depends on the specific conditions.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Foreign direct investment and industrial agglomeration: Evidence from  China

By: W.-T. Hsu, Y. Lu, X. Luo, L. Zhu. Research Collection School of Economics, 1-57, 2020.

Abstract: “This paper studies the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on industrial ag- glomeration. Using the differential effects of FDI deregulation in 2002 in China on different industries, we find that FDI actually affects industrial agglomeration negatively. As FDI brings technological spillovers and various agglomeration benefits, other forces must be at work to drive our empirical finding. We propose a simple theory that FDI may discourage industrial agglomeration due to fiercer competition pressure. We find various evidence on this competition mechanism. We also examine an alternative theory based on spatial political competition, but find no evidence sup- porting it. On industrial growth, we find that FDI deregulation is conducive, but the dispersion induced by FDI deregulation reduces the positive effect of FDI on growth rate by 16 to 19%.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Entrepreneurs and cluster evolution: the transformation of Toronto’s ICT  cluster

By: S. Denney, T. Southin, D. A. Wolfe. Regional Studies, DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2020.1762854, 2020.

Abstract: “Interest in information and communication technology (ICT) clusters has long been sustained by the power of emerging technologies to reinvent regional or local economies. Prior research has identified the structural conditions under which clusters form, decline or evolve, but much less is known about the agents responsible for cluster change. This paper examines the evolution of the Toronto ICT cluster from a location for foreign multinational firms in hardware and telecommunications into a more dynamic ecosystem for service-based domestic start-ups and emerging scale-ups. It contributes to the literature on clusters by showing how entrepreneurs have driven cluster evolution in Toronto.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]

Global networks, local specialization and regional patterns of  innovation

By: A. Ascan, L. Bettarelli, L. Resmini, P.-A. Balland. Research Policy, Vol. 49, Iss. 8, 2020.

Abstract: “A large academic consensus exists on the idea that successful innovative processes are geographically bounded within regions. Nevertheless, the ability of regions to capture and re-use external knowledge is also regarded as a fundamental element to sustain and refine the local profile of specialisation and competitiveness. The present article combines these views to investigate the sources of the regional innovation process, by analysing data on Italian regions over the period 2007–2012. We define global networks based on all the local firms identifiable as global ultimate owners and their foreign subsidiaries. Our main results suggest that both the internal specialisation and the regional external linkages can generate indigenous innovation, but the role of the networks varies substantially according to its density, its degree of complementarity with the specialisation profile, its geographical spread and the specific location of the foreign subsidiaries. Our results, then, support a view of the regional innovation as an interactive process whereby valuable knowledge resources are not only generated within the reach of the local economy, but they are also integrated with external inputs. This contrasts with recent anti-globalisation views according to which the increase in the foreign operations of national companies impoverishes the local economy.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORS]