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This paper surveys some of the current methodologies employed to analyse cluster development, as well as some of the key themes emerging from both the analytical and prescriptive literature noted above. It uses this survey as the context in which to present a synthesis of the initial findings of the current national study of industrial clusters in Canada, conducted by the Innovation Systems Research Network. The national study comprises 26 cases which aim to identify the presence of significant concentrations of firms in the local economy and to understand the process by which these regional-industrial concentrations of economic activity are managing the transition to more knowledge-intensive forms of production. The central questions in each case are: What role do local institutions and actors play in fostering this transition? How important is interaction with non-local actors in this process? How dependent are local firms on unique local knowledge assets and what is the relative importance of local versus non-local knowledge flows between economic actors? How did each local industrial concentration evolve over time to reach its present state and what key events and decisions shaped its path? And, finally, to what extent do these processes, relationships and local capabilities constitute a true cluster? Ultimately, what are the key relationships, linkages and processes that ground the cluster in its existing location?

The literature on innovation and interactive learning has tended to emphasize the importance of local networks, inter-firm collaboration and knowledge flows as the principal source of technological dynamism. More recently, however, this view has come to be challenged by other perspectives that argue for the importance of non-local knowledge flows. According to this alternative approach, truly dynamic economic regions are characterized both by dense local social interaction and knowledge circulation, as well as strong inter-regional and international connections to outside knowledge sources and partners. This paper offers an empirical examination of these issues by examining the geography of knowledge flows associated with innovation in biotechnology. We begin by reviewing the growing literature on the nature and geography of innovation in biotechnology research and the commercialization process. Then, focusing on the Canadian biotech industry, we examine the determinants of innovation (measured through patenting activity), paying particular attention to internal resources and capabilities of the firm, as well as local and global flows of knowledge and capital. Our study is based on the analysis of Statistics Canada's 1999 Survey of Biotechnology Use and Development, which covers 358 core biotechnology firms. Our findings highlight the importance of in-house technological capability and absorptive capacity as determinants of successful innovation in biotechnology firms. Furthermore, our results document the precise ways in which knowledge circulates, in both embodied and disembodied forms, both locally and globally. We also highlight the role of formal intellectual property transactions (domestic and international) in promoting knowledge flows. Although we document the importance of global networks in our findings, our results also reveal the value of local networks and specific forms of embedding. Local relational linkages are especially important when raising capital-and the expertise that comes with it-to support innovation. Nevertheless, our empirical results raise some troubling questions about the alleged pre-eminence of the local in fostering innovation. ABSTRACT The literature on innovation and interactive learning has tended to emphasize the importance of local networks, inter-firm collaboration and knowledge flows as the principal source of technological dynamism. More recently, however, this view has come to be challenged by other perspectives that argue for the importance of non-local knowledge flows. According to this alternative approach, truly dynamic economic regions are characterized both by dense local social interaction and knowledge circulation, as well as strong inter-regional and international connections to outside knowledge sources and partners. This paper offers an empirical examination of these issues by examining the geography of knowledge flows associated with innovation in biotechnology. We begin by reviewing the growing literature on the nature and geography of innovation in ...

Gertler M. S. Rules of the game: the place of institutions in regional economic change, Regional Studies. Institutions exert a pervasive influence on the evolution and character of regional economies. Yet, this role is poorly understood within recent debates on neoliberalism, varieties of capitalism, and other approaches to the study of economic change. A reconstituted institutional economic geography must accommodate individual agency, institutional evolution, interscalar relations, and comparative methodologies. Examining recent work on universities in local economies, as well as on creativity-based strategies and social inclusion/polarization, it is shown how locally distinctive institutional architectures shape evolutionary trajectories, leading to differentiated social and economic outcomes. The paper then enunciates some important principles of methodology and theory-building in institutional analysis. [image omitted] Gertler M. S. Les regles du jeu: le role des institutions dans le developpement economique, Regional Studies. Les institutions ont une influence omnipresente sur le developpement et les caracteristiques des economies regionales. Neanmoins, ce role s'avere mal-entendu dans les debats recents sur le neo-liberalisme, les tendances capitalistes, et d'autres facons d'etudier le developpement economique. Une geographie economique institutionnelle repensee doit comporter des methodologies specifiques aux agences individuelles, a l'evolution institutionnelle, aux relations interscalaires, ainsi que des methodologies comparatives. A partir des recherches recentes sur les universites situees dans des economies locales, aussi bien que sur des strategies basees sur l'innovation et sur l'inclusion/la polarisation sociale, on montre comment l'architecture institutionnelle, qui se distingue sur le plan local, influe sur les trajectoires futures, ce qui entraine des resultats sociaux et economiques distincts. L'article expose d'importants principes quant a la construction de methodologies et de theories dans le domaine de l'analyse institutionnelle. Institutions Capitalismes comparatifs Developpement futur Universites et economies locales Economies innovatrices Methodologies institutionnalistes Gertler M. S. Die Spielregeln: der Platz der Institutionen in der regionalen wirtschaftlichen Veranderung, Regional Studies. Institutionen uben einen umfassenden Einfluss auf die Evolution und das Wesen von Regionalwirtschaften aus. In den aktuellen Debatten uber Neoliberalismus, Spielarten des Kapitalismus und weitere Ansatze zum Studium wirtschaftlicher Veranderungen wird diese Rolle jedoch nicht ausreichend verstanden. In einer rekonstitutierten institutionellen Wirtschaftsgeografie mussen die individuellen Handlungen ebenso berucksichtigt werden wie die institutionelle Evolution, die interskalaren Beziehungen und die Vergleichsmethodologien. Bei einer Untersuchung der aktuellen Arbeiten von Universitaten in Lokalwirtschaften sowie der kreativitatsbasierten Strategien und der sozialen Eingliederung bzw. Polarisierun...

Spencer G. M., Vinodrai T., Gertler M. S. and Wolfe D. A. Do clusters make a difference? Defining and assessing their economic performance, Regional Studies. This paper contributes to the literature on cluster dynamics by developing a new methodology for identifying clusters that is not dependent on United States-based definitions. This methodology is used to test if the geographical clustering of economic activities leads to superior industrial performance and regional competitiveness. The analysis produces two important findings. First, when industries locate in an urban region with a critical mass of related industries, they tend to generate both higher incomes and rates of employment growth. Second, the overall prevalence of clustering within a city-region is positively associated with income levels and employment growth. [image omitted] Spencer G. M., Vinodrai T., Gertler M. S. et Wolfe D. A. Les grappes, qu'est-ce qu'elles changent? Definir et evaluer leur performance economique, Regional Studies. Cet article cherche a contribuer a la documentation sur la dynamique des grappes en developpant une nouvelle methodologie qui identifie les grappes et qui ne depend pas des definitions americaines. On se sert de cette methodologie afin d'evaluer si, oui ou non, le regroupement geographique des activites economiques entraine une meilleure performance industrielle et une competitivite regionale accrue. Il s'avere deux conclusions importantes. Primo, au moment ou les industries s'installent dans une zone urbaine dotee d'un nombre critique d'industries qui s'y rattachent, elles ont tendance a creer a la fois des revenus et des taux de croissance de l'emploi plus eleves. Secundo, la tendance globale au regroupement au sein d'une cite-region est etroitement liee au niveau des revenus et a la croissance de l'emploi. Grappes Emplacement industriel Competitivite Performance economique Amenagement du territoire Canada Spencer G. M., Vinodrai T., Gertler M. S. und Wolfe D. A. Machen Cluster einen Unterschied? Definition und Bewertung ihrer Wirtschaftsleistung, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag zur Literatur uber Cluster-Dynamik entwickeln wir eine neue Methodologie zur Identifizierung von Clustern unabhangig von den Definitionen der USA. Anhand dieser Methodologie uberprufen wir, ob die geografische Ballung wirtschaftlicher Aktivitaten zu einer uberlegenen industriellen Leistung und regionalen Wettbewerbsfahigkeit fuhrt. Unsere Analyse fuhrt zu zwei wichtigen Ergebnissen. Erstens: Wenn sich Branchen in einer urbanen Region mit einer kritischen Masse zugehoriger Branchen ansiedeln, erzeugen sie tendenziell hohere Einkommen und Raten von Beschaftigungswachstum. Zweitens: Die generelle Pravalenz von Clustern innerhalb einer Stadtregion hangt positiv mit der Einkommenshohe und dem Beschaftigungswachstum zusammen. Cluster Industriestandort Konkurrenzfahigkeit Wirtschaftsleistung Regionale Wirtschaftsentwicklung Kanada Spencer G. M., Vinodrai T., Gertler M. S. y Wolfe D. A. �Marcan las aglomeraciones una diferencia? Definicion y...

The geographical literature on communities of practice suggests that geographical proximity should not be confused with relational proximity, and that the latter is more important in determining how easily specialized knowledge can be jointly produced and shared through distributed innovation processes. However, the existing body of work has not specified the critical determinants of relational proximity, and the conditions under which we should expect it to be achieved effectively at a distance. This chapter reviews recent findings from a number of case studies in which distributed teams participating in joint problem-solving projects have attempted to engage in long-distance learning and knowledge translation, with varying degrees of success. Effective distanciated learning is shown to depend on the degree of social affinity between economic actors, and this affinity is comprised of several different dimensions: linguistic, educational, experiential, occupational, organizational, industrial, and institutional. The frictional effects of distance are also shown to depend on the types of knowledge supporting innovation in each case, with synthetic and symbolic forms of knowledge the least amenable to distanciated learning.

According to many, we live in an age in which convergence between formerly distinct national 'models' is taking place. Central to this process is a learning dynamic in which best practices originating from within one model -Japan in the 1980s, United States in the 1990s -are supposedly adopted by firms elsewhere. This paper addresses two key questions concerning this process which have not hitherto received sufficient attention. First, what are the actual mechanisms or processes through which this learning-driven convergence might occur? Second, what role do institutions play in shaping, influencing, or constraining firms' choice of practices and their ability to 'learn'? Which institutions matter, and at what spatial scale? The paper examines eight specific channels of convergence representing a continuum of opportunities for learning-through-interacting. It then assesses critically a range of competing arguments about the role of institutional influences at three different scales: the region (the learning region hypothesis and the concept of regional embeddedness), the nation-state (national innovation systems, national business systems) and the firm (actor-network theory, corporate strategy, absorptive capacity, resource/capability/competence based theories, communities of practice).It concludes that while regional and firm-level arguments, on their own, do not provide an adequate explanatory framework for understanding how firms' practices are determined, national level theory needs to be made supple enough to accommodate a significant role for regional institutions and the agency of the firm. Nevertheless the paper argues that the prospects for strong convergence are limited at best, and will remain so as long as national institutional frameworks retain their distinctive character.