No abstract

Only since the early 1990s, when unemployment rates in Switzerland soared to unprecedented levels, has federal technology and innovation policy begun to design their activities with regard to employment and the establishment of new ® rms. Now, all across the country, private as well as public incubator facilities, technology and innovation centres have begun to spring up. This paper starts by describing the theoretical and methodological background of a survey of incubator, technology and innovation (ITI) centres. In a ® rst step, all cantonal oÝ ces for economic promotion were asked to report and to describe incubator facilities, technology and innovation centres within their realm. In a second step a selection of centres were analysed in depth. The key ® ndings are that: (1) ITI centres are most commonly established by a combination of public and private initiatives; (2) the main motive for the creation of ITI centres is to promote startups and the innovative potential; (3) most ITI centres oÚ er space to rent and make available joint amenities; (4) ITI centres are predominantly in manufacturing, services, and development activities; their level of technology input is high or very high; and (5) the spatial reach of most of the ITI centre is on the region. Together with selected foreign experiences, some conclusions and recommendations for the operation of such centres are formulated.

Thierstein A., Luthi S., Kruse C., Gabi S. and Glanzmann L. Changing value chain of the Swiss knowledge economy: spatial impact of intra-firm and inter-firm networks within the emerging Mega-City Region of Northern Switzerland, Regional Studies. Based on an empirical analysis of intra-firm and inter-firm connectivities, this paper focuses on the spatial behaviour of advanced producer services (APS) firms and their relevance for polycentricity in the emerging Mega-City Region of Northern Switzerland. APS firms are found to be the main drivers of the emerging Mega-City Region. Although Zurich seems to be the central node in national APS networks, it is the complementary combination of Zurich and Basel, together with some secondary centres, that raises the emerging Mega-City Region to a competitive level in the context of the global economy. [image omitted] Thierstein A., Luthi S., Kruse C., Gabi S. et Glanzmann L. L'evolution de la chaine des valeurs dans l'economie de la connaissance suisse - l'impact geographique des reseaux intra et interentreprises au sein de la naissante mega-cite-region de la Suisse du Nord, Regional Studies. A partir d'une analyse empirique de la connectivite intra et interentreprises, cet article cherche a focaliser le comportment geographique des services a la production avances (advanced producer services, APS) et leur importance pour ce qui est du maillage polycentrique de la naissante mega-cite-region de la Suisse du Nord. Il s'avere que les entreprises APS sont les principales forces motrices de la naissante mega-cite-region. Bien que Zurich semble etre le noyau central des reseaux APS nationaux, c'est le binome Zurich-Basel, conjointement avec quelques centres secondaires, qui elevent la naissante mega-cite-region au rang competitif dans le cadre de l'economie mondialisee. Economie de la connaissance Chaine des valeurs Maillage polycentrique Mega-cite-regions Analyse des reseaux Thierstein A., Luthi S., Kruse C., Gabi S. und Glanzmann L. Die veranderte Wertschopfungskette der Wissensokonomie in der Schweiz. Raumliche Auswirkungen von firmeninternen und firmenexternen Standortnetzen in der Metropolregion Nordschweiz, Regional Studies. Der Artikel betrachtet das raumliche Verhalten von wissensintensiven Dienstleistungsunternehmen und deren Relevanz fur die polyzentrische Raumentwicklung der Metropolregion Nordschweiz. Die Resultate basieren auf einer Analyse von firmeninternen und firmenexternen Standortverflechtungen und machen deutlich, dass die wissensintensiven Dienstleistungsunternehmen die treibenden Krafte der Metropolregion Nordschweiz sind. Zurich erweist sich zwar als zentraler Standort fur internationale Netzwerke wissensintensiver Dienstleistungsunternehmen. Erst die Komplementaritat von Zurich, Basel und weiteren nachrangigen Agglomerationen fuhrt jedoch zur notigen kritischen Masse, damit die Metropolregion Nordschweiz im internationalen Standortwettbewerb bestehen kann. Wissensokonomie Wertschopfungskette Polyzentritat Metropolregionen Netzwerkanalyse Thierstein A., Luthi...

The objective of this contribution is to set out a theoretical context and then to investigate empirically Germany's functional urban hierarchy based on the relational geography of the knowledge economy. Starting from a conceptual background that brings together the locational behaviour of multibranch, multilocation firms with a value chain approach, it looks at the extent to which this hierarchy is associated with the networking activities of advanced producer services and high-tech firms. The results provide evidence that the functional urban hierarchy in the German space economy is steeper than is claimed by the federal government. A maximum of six polycentric mega-city regions-Munich, Rhine-Main, Hamburg, Rhine-Ruhr, Stuttgart and to a lesser extent Berlin-can be regarded as strategic nodes in the global knowledge economy. A non-nested hierarchy with overlapping and transscalar urban networks challenges the traditional view of a nested hierarchy as an organising principle of space.

The growth of the knowledge economy has led to new forms of business networks linking cities and towns across different spatial scales. Various attempts have been made to analyse these networks empirically using the interlocking network model of the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) research network. Two approaches can be distinguished from a spatial perspective: a global 'topdown' approach that studies the world city network from the perspective of the largest advanced producer service firms, and a macro-regional 'bottom-up' approach that starts with the most important knowledge-intensive firms located within specific territorial boundaries. This paper compares and critically assesses the methodological implications and empirical outcomes of both approaches with reference to case studies of the German space economy. Both approaches pursue similar objectives: to investigate external relations of cities, both transnationally and on the national scale. Differences exist in the theoretical argumentation: the top-down approach is grounded in world city research; the bottom-up approach is anchored in debates in regional science and economic geography. In this paper, we argue for the need of scale-sensitive interpretations of connectivity patterns resulting from different approaches to the interlocking network model and conclude with some tentative recommendations for the methodological direction of future research in world city network studies.