The path to regional competitiveness

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This paper aims to present a case study of the Philadelphia region's efforts to implement a regional approach to economic development by relying on business-civic leadership to transcend governmental boundaries. Design/methodology/approach -The paper examines the role of leadership in organizations representing business interests, and the competing and conflicting perspectives on the "right" scale to do so -local and/or regional, drawing on participatory insights into the relevant processes. Findings -While ad-hoc partnerships and governance are often recognized as important elements of economic competitiveness for metropolitan areas by key civic and business leaders, established localist and institutional-organizational interests and strategies may counteract that. Overcoming long-established fragmentation requires a high level of attention to symbolism and the details of inclusiveness in organizational and spatial terms. Originality/value -The recognition and study of city-regional governance is very topical. The contribution of this paper is timely and offers a rare insight into the practical side of city-regional governance, thus illuminating theoretical arguments.

An Analysis of the Factors that Influence Regional Economic Development Cooperation

“…To determine the specific influence of cooperative norms on regional cooperation, it is necessary to focus on the social capital among the stakeholders involved in a cooperative transaction. Typically, the stakeholders involved in regional cooperation are public officials and the civic leaders prominent within EDOs (Hanson, 2009). …”

“…Individuals from chambers of commerce mostly provide services to members and advocate on local matters that directly impact the interests of its membership (Hanson, 2009). For this reason, membership alone in a chamber of commerce is considered an insufficient qualifier for designation as a stakeholder for this study.…”

“…These organizations and their leadership are oriented toward external developments on the economic horizon that present opportunities to increase the prosperity of the community. Hanson (2009) suggested that the leadership of EDOs have "different skills and expertise, experience, mind-set and outlook" than their chamber of commerce counterparts. The board members and executives of EDOs seemingly provide a natural pool of leadership talent to further the concept of regional cooperation.…”

“…The board members and executives of EDOs are philosophically better suited than their counterparts in chambers of commerce for the task of advancing regional economic development initiatives (Hanson, 2009). In the United States, the chambers of commerce are voluntary membership organizations formed to provide services to the members and advance the general interests of businesses within a local jurisdiction.…”