Complexity and Industrial Clusters

The system of Italian industrial districts seems to have produced a "model of capitalism" that is different from those of the "Anglo-Saxon" and "Rhine Valley". However, the Italian model - which might be defined as "horizontal or network capitalism" - is not limited to Italy. Starting from a detailed look at the relations between general theories of complexity and an analysis of the economic dynamics of industrial clusters, this volume considers two different applications. Firstly, models of industrial clusters, and secondly, success cases of clusters around the world. The volume includes papers from well-known international authors. These papers were first presented at a conference organized by Fondazione Comunità e Innovazione in 2001 under the aegis of Edison (formerly Montedison) Group and of Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.

Klappentext

This volume contains the proceedings of the international conference "Complexity and Industrial Clusters: Dynamics and Models in Theory and Practice", organized by Fondazione Comunita e Innovazione and held in Milan on June 19 and 20, 2001 under the aegis of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (founded in Rome in 1604), one of the oldest and most famous national academies of science in the world. Fondazione Comunita e Innovazione encourages research and the dissemination of knowledge about social, economic, cultural and civil issues. It promotes research and innovation related to local production systems and industrial districts, with special reference to: the interactions between large companies and SMEs (small and medium-size enterprises), the effects of industrial districts on the development and welfare of their communities and of neighbouring areas, the effects of globalisation on these local systems of productions. Fondazione Comunita e Innovazione was created in Milan in 1999. It supports studies, publications, and events, both on its own and in cooperation with corporations, research institutes, foundations, associations and universities. It also grants scientific sponsorship to research that is in line with its mission, as set forth in its by-laws. The founding member of the Fondazione is Edison (formerly Monted:son). The other subscribing members, in historical order, are: Ausimont, Tecnimont, Eridania, Accenture, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Inhalt

Introduction: From Specific Industrial Cases to a General Economic Model?.- I. Complexity and Economic Dynamics.- What Is Complexity?.- Complex Adaptive Systems and Spontaneous Emergence.- The Industrial Cluster as a Complex Adaptive System.- II. General Models of Industrial Cluster Dynamics.- Complexity and Local Interactions: Towards a Theory of Industrial Districts.- From Marshall's to the Italian "Industrial Districts". A Brief Critical Reconstruction.- Diversity, Not Specialization: The Ties That Bind the (New) Industrial District.- Competitive and Synergic Behaviours in the Development of Industrial Clusters: Ecological Modelling and Empirical Evidence.- On the Ubiquitous Nature of Agglomeration Economies and Their Diverse Determinants: Some Notes.- III. Success Cases Around the World.- The Entrepreneurial Spark: Individual Agents and the Formation of Innovative Clusters.- From Exogenous to Endogenous Local Development: The Cases of the Toulouse and Sophia Antipolis Technopoles.- Biotechnology Development in Germany: The Case of Nordrhein-Westfalen.- Support for Technology-Based Firms: The Role Played by Property-Based Science Parks.- High-Tech Industrial Clusters in the Asian Countries: The Case of the Electronics Industry in the Hsinchu-Taipei Region.- Financial Markets, Industrial Clusters and Small and Medium-Size Enterprises.- List of Authors.