JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Steyrergasse 17, A-8010 Graz, Austria, web: ISO 9001 zert Stand: ISO 9001 zertifiziert 1 INNOVATION aus TRADITION STRUCTURE AND STRATEGY WITHIN HETEROGENEITY: MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF REGIONAL NETWORKING IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT Michael Steiner Michael Ploder TCI 2008 TCI 2008 Clusters meeting the challenge of globalisation Cape Town, October

JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Steyrergasse 17, A-8010 Graz, Austria, web: ISO 9001 zert Stand: ISO 9001 zertifiziert 2 INNOVATION aus TRADITION  clusters and networks as important elements of the knowledge economy + knowledge management  innovation favoured by regionally concentrated interaction of (mostly) small firms mutually exchanging information in formal and informal ways  concept of clusters and their networks as condensed forms of economic activities combine theoretical elements of knowledge proximity institutional character

JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Steyrergasse 17, A-8010 Graz, Austria, web: ISO 9001 zert Stand: ISO 9001 zertifiziert 3 INNOVATION aus TRADITION  open questions motives and incentives of firms for cooperation form and content of interaction division of labour vs. knowledge sharing forms of (organizational) learning and knowledge exchange regional versus global dimensions of interaction diffusion of knowledge – collective or selective / structured

JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Steyrergasse 17, A-8010 Graz, Austria, web: ISO 9001 zert Stand: ISO 9001 zertifiziert 4 INNOVATION aus TRADITION KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE – COLLECTIVE OR SELECTIVE?  collective ► “collective learning processes tied to a given territory“ (Camagni 2002) ► “local interactions not just unstructured and unplanned, but also relatively broad and diffuse“ (Malmberg 2003)  selective ► “structure of interaction influences extent of knowledge diffusion” (Gay/Dousset 2005) ► “knowledge diffusion... structured by the relative distance of firms’ knowledge bases“ (Giuliani/Bell 2005) ► “strongly dependent on the position of firms within networks and their absorptive capacity“ (Steiner 2005)  in addition: how regional, how global are different forms of interactions  case study of network structures in the mechanical industry (NACE 25, 27, 28, 33, 34) in Styria/Austria

JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Steyrergasse 17, A-8010 Graz, Austria, web: ISO 9001 zert Stand: ISO 9001 zertifiziert 5 INNOVATION aus TRADITION The Empirical Analysis in Styrian Automotive and Mechanical Engineering Sector  Multidimensional approach: snowball sampling extensive qualitative interviews survey with quantitative indicators SNA (network-structure, measuring of the relationships)  Graphical presentation, Density of the network  Centralities of the actors (degree-, closeness-, betweenness-centrality)  Database in depth interviews and surveys with 32 agents 18 production firms (system suppliers, component suppliers, toll manufacturers), 5 technical business services, 9 research institutions concentration on 3 forms of interaction  deliveries of goods and services (DELIV)  interaction in the context of competitive R+D (COMP)  interaction in the context of pre-competitive R+D (PRE-COMP) relations measured by frequency of interaction (sporadic; frequent; permanent)

JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Steyrergasse 17, A-8010 Graz, Austria, web: ISO 9001 zert Stand: ISO 9001 zertifiziert 6 INNOVATION aus TRADITION The observed network of firms and knowledge generating institutions  Characteristics of the total network and the observed network dimensions (deliv, pre-comp, comp) Densities Average centrality-measures  Position of the Actors In-degree centrality (direct ‘reception’) Out-degree centrality (direct ‘emission’) Closeness centralities (indirect relations) Betweenness centrality (intermediary role of actors; gatekeepers) Concept of k-core (each actor is adjacent to k others) Density of the Total Network: 0,23

JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Steyrergasse 17, A-8010 Graz, Austria, web: ISO 9001 zert Stand: ISO 9001 zertifiziert 7 INNOVATION aus TRADITION Comparative presentation of the three observed dimensions of networking: (DELIV) (PRE-COMP)(COMP) Network Density PRE-COMP: 0,14 Network Density DELIV: 0,07 Network Density COMP: 0,07

JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Steyrergasse 17, A-8010 Graz, Austria, web: ISO 9001 zert Stand: ISO 9001 zertifiziert 8 INNOVATION aus TRADITION Results  leading actors in the network as a whole are both receiving and emitting more flows than others  position of actors is mainly dependent on size, export orientation, but also on the respective position in the value chain.  the positions of actors differ according to the type of interaction.  Especially in pre-competitive research local universities and cooperative R&D institutions assume gate keeper functions  Firms with higher R&D capacities also take up such a role  The more firms are acting in market niches the more they demand highly specialized cooperation partners and the more they tend to long-term cooperation involving rather specialized partners.  In general firms engaging in cooperative pre-competitive R&D and in knowledge generation seemed to be seeking equal partners  As far as natural spillovers are high and competitive conflicts are manageable (e.g. in the case of material sciences) larger firms accept weaker partners - respectively smaller firms - and are willing to integrate them.  Low spillovers and higher market orientation favour a conservative sometimes excluding behaviour of the stronger side

JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Steyrergasse 17, A-8010 Graz, Austria, web: ISO 9001 zert Stand: ISO 9001 zertifiziert 9 INNOVATION aus TRADITION  spotting a leading firm in the network highly specialized manufacturer of measuring and analysis instruments vertically highly integrated, embedded in smaller networks for each dimension of interaction different partners degree centralities for COMP and PRE-COMP higher than for the average for leading firms in the network high value for betweenness centrality – at the interface of different sectors

JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Steyrergasse 17, A-8010 Graz, Austria, web: ISO 9001 zert Stand: ISO 9001 zertifiziert 10 INNOVATION aus TRADITION  form and content of interaction can be differentiated, learning and knowledge exchange no “black box“  network in its regional dimension dominated by knowledge intensive interactions  “material“ interactions more global, “immaterial“ more regional  network is strongly structured  intentional strategic decision of agents in networks how and with whom to cooperate  regional networks not so much material input-output- relations, but interpretable rather as “scientific community“ (Loasby 1998), “social technologies“ (Nelson 2001), as “institutions for knowledge exchange“  knowledge as the relevant resource for regional development - rather “selective“ than “collective“  global networks of knowledge – a challenge for the future CONCLUSIONS