Helmut Voelzkow

The study of varieties of capitalism is moving on from the analysis of static national types to embrace local and sectoral diversity and the study of systems in the process of major change. This volume addresses the issue by examining four localised sectors, comparing a German case with one in another European country. The general changes taking place in Germany itself and the other countries (Hungary, Sweden, and the UK) form the context of the studies. The case studies concern: * Furniture making in North-Rhine Westphalia and southern Sweden, * Automotive manufacture in east Germany and northern Hungary, * Biotechnology around Munich and Cambridge, * TV programme and film-making in Cologne and central London. The studies find a complex pattern of conformity with, and deviation from, national types, but only occasional examples of where divergence takes the form of a direct confrontation with a national model. This is partly because national models are themselves changing; partly because they are often capable of accommodating more diversity than is often assumed by national studies; and partly because firms are increasingly able to reach outside their national boundaries for institutional resources.

This book examines patterns of economic governance in three specific, contrasting, contexts: machinery-producing districts; declining steel cities; and clusters of high-technology activities. Building on the work of their previous book (Local Production Systems in Europe: Rise or Demise? OUP 2001), which charted the recent development of local clusters of specialized manufacturing among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, the authors find patterns of economic governance far more complex and dynamic than usually described in a literature which insists on identifying simple national approaches. The machinery industries were often identified in the literature of the 1980s as prominent cases of industrial district formation, which were then considerably weakened by the crises of the mid-1990s. Did clustering help these industries and their associated districts to respond to challenge, or only weaken them further? The case studies focus on the Bologna and Modena area of Emilia-Romagna, Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Birmingham and Coventry in the English west midlands, but generally in France where there are very few local concentrations. Even while some thought local production systems were in crisis, national governments and the European Commission continued to recommend their approach to areas experiencing economic decline. This was particularly the case for cities that had been dependent on a small number of large corporations in industries that would no longer be major employers. Political and business leaders in these areas were encouraged to diversify, in particular through SMEs. Could this be done in response to external pressure, given that successful local production systems depend on endogenous vitality? The authors ask these questions of former steel-producing cities St. Etienne, Duisburg, Piombino, and Sheffield. The idea that local production systems had had their day was challenged by clear evidence of clustering among SMEs in a number of flourishing high-tech industries in parts of the USA and western Europe. Why do scientists, other specialists and firms actively embedded in global networks, bother with geographical proximity? This question is addressed by examining the software firms at Grenoble, the mass media cluster in Cologne, the information technology sector around Pisa, and the Oxfordshire biotechnology region.

A systematic analysis of specialized clusters of small manufacturing enterprises in the main European economies. Combining case-study literature with analyses of statistical data enables the authors to show the role of these "clusters" and the considerable diversity of forms they take.

Das Forschungsprojekt, dessen Ergebnisse in diesem Buch präsentiert werden, ist bereits Ende 1988 abgeschlossen worden. Da nun zwischen dem Ende des Projekts und der Drucklegung des Berichts einige Zeit vergangen ist, erscheint es vorab angebracht, vor dem Hintergrund der seither eingetretenen Entwicklungen in der Regionalpolitik einige generelle Aussagen der Untersuchung, insbesondere das Plädoyer für eine Regionalisierung von Politik, vorwegzunehmen und im Lichte der neueren Erfahrungen, die in dem vorliegenden Text nicht mehr berücksichtigt werden konnten, zu beleuchten. In der Regionalpolitik der letzten Jahre hat sich ein neues Politikmuster durchgesetzt, das sich in der Grundstruktur mit den hier vorgelegten Vorschlägen einer Regionalisie­ rung der Regionalpolitik deckt. Von verschiedenen politischen Handlungsebenen, insbesondere von der nordrhein-westfälischen Landesregierung und von der Euro­ päischen Gemeinschaft, gehen mittlerweile Impulse aus, die das Gestaltungspotential der Förderregionen erhöhen sollen. Diese "von oben" vorgegebene Politik der dezentra­ len Eigenentwicklung will "unten", also in den Förderregionen, neue Kooperationsfor­ men erzeugen, die nicht nur eine Verbesserung der inner-administrativen Abstimmung, sondern auch eine mehr oder minder formalisierte Einbeziehung organisierter Inter­ essen in Gremien funktionaler Repräsentation, ganz im Sinne einer 'konzertierten Aktion' für die regionale Entwicklung, vorsehen. Die vertikale Einbindung dieser Politik legt die Vermutung nahe, daß dabei ein lokaler oder regionaler Korporatismus anvisiert wird, so daß es gerechtfertigt wäre, von einem "inszenierten Korporatismus" zu sprechen.

Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Universiteat-Gesamthochschule Paderborn, 1988.