HUGGINS R. (2003) Creating a UK competitiveness index: regional and local benchmarking, Reg. Studies 37 , 89-96. This article assesses the relative economic competitiveness of regions and localities in the UK by constructing a single index that reflects, as fully as possible, the measurable criteria constituting "area competitiveness'. Other studies and research on competitiveness within the UK have measured relevant factors in isolation, and have not sought to produce an overall composite index at either a regional or local level. This article aims to go some way to filling this gap. The UK Index of Competitiveness highlights the unevenness of economic fortunes in the UK and the strong possibility of the gaps widening even further.Competitiveness, Knowledge, Index, Regions, Localities, Benchmarking,
The leveraging of inter-firm networks is increasingly considered to be a strategic resource that can potentially be shaped by managerial action. In recent years, scholars have turned to the concept of social capital to understand how the transfer of knowledge occurs within and across firms. However, this has resulted in an overstretching of the social capital concept. The aim of this paper is to refine and add specificity to the current broad application of the social capital concept. It is argued that although the social capital concept explains investments in networks based on a network logic relating to sociability and socialization, it does not explain investments in networks based on a logic relating to economic expectations. These expectations result in network participation that is more calculative than networks containing social capital. The paper introduces the notion of 'network capital' to explain the resources contained within inter-firm networks that do not necessarily equate with the type of trust and obligations associated with social capital. Network capital is defined as an investment in calculative relations through which firms gain access to knowledge to enhance expected economic returns. It is argued that while network capital can be strategically managed, particularly to influence knowledge flow, the nature of social capital is such that it is very difficult to manage. It is concluded that the network capital-social capital framework opens a number of avenues in terms of future research, especially in relation to the extended resource-based view of the firm and theories of open innovation.
Despite the growing acknowledgement that entrepreneurship is an important driver of regional innovation and growth, the role of the networks in these processes has been less formally examined. In order to address this gap, this paper proposes that the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and regional growth is governed by a series of network dynamics. Drawing upon aspects of endogenous growth theory and the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship, it is proposed that the nature of the networks formed by entrepreneurial firms is a key determinant of regional growth differentials. In particular, network capital, in the form of investments in strategic relations to gain access to knowledge, is considered to mediate the relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation-based regional growth. It is suggested that network dynamics should be further incorporated into theories concerning the link between knowledge spillovers, entrepreneurship and regional growth. The paper concludes with a series of theoretical, entrepreneurial and policy implications emerging from the study.
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