Helmut Voelzkow - Böcker

This is the first book to present a systematic analysis of specialized clusters of small manufacturing enterprises in the main European economies. Combining knowledge from case-study literature with original analyses of statistical data enables the authors to present full accounts of the role of these clusters in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, showing the considerable diversity of forms they take.Local production systems (as these clusters are termed) are seen to exist where there are either particular competitive advantages for participation by clusters of small and medium-sized, as opposed to large, firms, or where such clusters at least stand as good a chance as large firms. Small firms may work through a diversity of forms of governance: certain forms of market; cooperation among themselves; through associations; with larger firms located in the same area; or by making use of local facilities provided by governmental or other external agencies - or a combination of all five.The introduction shows how previous literature has been divided into two strands. First came optimistic, mainly 1980s, writings, which assumed that the search for flexibility and quality, typical of post-Fordist models of economic organization, would enhance the role of SMEs. In the ensuing decade, a more pessimistic analysis was put forward. It was argued that the increasing globalization of the economy would bring about a demise of local production systems, under pressure from new global large firms. The authors discuss the possibility of more nuanced findings, and propose a combination of the literature on local production systems with theories of economic governance to assist this process.There follows a chapter which surveys overall economic development in the four countries, concentrating on local economies. Then four national surveys take up the theme of the governance of local production systems in Italy, Germany, France, and Britain. A concluding chapter identifies a diversity of forms of clusters of small firms, and on that basis develops a sociological critique of current neo-institutionalist theories of markets.Local production systems are found to be growing, not declining, in importance, as they facilitate the circulation of tacit knowledge - a precious resource in all sectors which depend on both constant innovation and the flexibility of small enterprises. However, the most rapidly growing form of these systems is that where groups of small suppliers depend on a major customer firm - a form that in the long run might undermine the autonomous capacities of local small-firm systems.

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.

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.

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.

Angesichts der Defizite traditioneller Politikmuster versuchen derzeit verschiedene Bundeslander, ihre Strukturpolitik durch eine "Regionalisierung" zu reorganisieren. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit findet dabei insbesondere das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, das mit der "Zukunftsinitiative Montanregionen", der "Zukunftsinitiative fur die Regionen Nordrhein-Westfalens" und mit der Aufforderung an die Regionen, mittelfristige Entwicklungskonzepte aufzustellen, in der Regionalisierung von Strukturpolitik wichtige Erfahrungen sammeln konnte. Die Studie prasentiert die Ergebnisse einer prozessualen Begleitforschung dieser Regionalisierungspolitik des Landes. Die Umsetzung der neuen Regional- und Strukturpolitik des Landes wird anhand von funf ausgewahlten Regionen (Bergisches Land, Dortmund/Unna/Hamm, Emscher-Lippe, Niederrhein und Ostwestfalen-Lippe) analysiert und vergleichend ausgewertet.

Der Sammelband thematisiert die Gestaltungsspielraume und -restriktionen der Europaischen Union. Es geht dabei um die Frage, in welchem Masse es der supranationalen Ebene gelingt, eigenstandige politische Handlungsalternativen im europaischen Mehrebenensystem zu formulieren und durchzusetzen. Drei Bereiche europaischer Politik werden hier unterschieden: Strukturen (polity) auf der supranationalen Ebene, die mitgliedstaatliche und regionale Politik uberformen; Interaktionsprozesse zwischen europaischer, nationaler und regionaler Ebene in einzelnen inneren Politikfeldern (policies) der Europaischen Union; Handlungsmoglichkeiten und -grenzen der Europaischen Union als internationaler Akteur.