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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Lundequist, Per, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Promoting localized excellence in research and innovation : mapping contemporary policy trends in Sweden
- 2008
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- High-tech and science-based industries have been hyped as a key part of the knowledge economy and governments have acknowledged research and innovation as a top priority for promoting competitive advantage. A prominent trend in recent years in many European countries and beyond has been to direct research funding towards so-called Centres of Excellences (CoE): micro-concentrations of high-skilled workers and socially networked knowledge workers. By exploring recent trends in innovation policies in the case of Sweden, and setting up a comprehensive database including data from 110 granted CoE-initiative applications, a detailed picture is presented focusing on key policy actors, program design, prioritised sectors, and characteristics of leading researchers. Drawing on a theoretical model of localised excellence, we suggest that the initiatives can be mapped and further analysed along three dimensions: research; innovation; and value creation. We conclude by briefly discussing methodological issues concerning the possibilities and challenges of using this kind of empirical material for analysing localized knowledge production in the knowledge-based economy. Finally, the current policy rhetoric emphasising the importance of cluster- and CoE-initiatives for promoting economic growth is critically discussed.
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| 4. |
- Lundequist, Per, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Regionalizing 'Mode 2'? : The adoption of Centres of Excellence in Swedish resarch policy
- 2010
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Ingår i: Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0435-3684 .- 1468-0467. ; 92B:3, s. 263-279
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the role of university research for innovation and economic growth, a debate highly influenced by concepts such as Mode 2 and regional innovation systems and clusters. A prominent trend in many EU and OECD countries is to direct research funding towards so-called Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in order to stimulate the industrial output of scientific research. The implementation of the CoE approach is viewed as an attempt to bridge research and innovation policy. By using Sweden as an example and providing an overview and critical discussion concerning Swedish research policy during the period 2001 to 2007 we show that the rhetoric within research policy has changed and become increasingly intertwined with innovation policy. In practice, however, this is not as evident. The study draws on (a) an analysis of policy literature pointing out regulatory and organizational changes concerning the increasing emphasis on linking research to competitive industrial milieus, and (b) a comprehensive database including 110 CoEs, presenting a detailed picture of university-industry collaboration, cross-disciplinarity, and prioritized sectors. We fiind that the CoEs account for a relatively small share of government funding, but may however have a strengthening impact on particular research milieus and industries, especially in the life sciences. Additionally, although contemporary policy rhetoric appears to highlight steering funding to geographically-concentrated milieus, thereby linking leading university research to regional industrial clusters, this has only been manifested in a few cases – notably in the Vinnväxt programme run by Vinnova, the national agency promoting innovation systems.
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| 5. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Conditions for conducting high-quality research : Results from a research evaluation survey at Uppsala University
- 2019
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In light of a recent research evaluation exercise carried out at Uppsala Universityin 2016 and 2017 (Quality and Renewal 2017), this study investigates the preconditionsand processes perceived to contribute to an enhanced embedded researchquality culture. The study draws on the results from a survey answered bynearly 3 700 research-active staff, including doctoral students. A mixed-methodsapproach is adopted based on both a quantitative binary logistic regression modelcombining significant factors from three survey-related themes and a qualitativeanalysis based on answers to open-ended questions. The results from the binarylogistic regression show that respondents who receive constructive feedback, haveaccess to good support and infrastructure, have a good social environment at thedepartment, and have a reliable funding situation have the highest odds ratios forperceiving the conditions for conducting high-quality research as good or verygood. These results are also supported by the analysis of the open-ended questions,lending validity to the conclusions.
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| 6. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Conditions for Conducting High‐Quality Research : Results from a Research Evaluation Survey at Uppsala University
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In light of a recently undertaken research evaluation exercise carried out at Uppsala University in2016 and 2017 (Q&R17), this study aims to investigate the preconditions and processes perceived tocontribute to an enhanced embedded research quality culture. The study draws on the results from asurvey answered by nearly 3,700 research active staff, including doctoral students. A mixed‐methodsapproach is used based on logistic regressions and text analyses of open‐ended questions. The resultsshow that constructive feedback, access to good support and infrastructure, a good socialenvironment, and a reliable funding situation are important for conducting high‐quality research.
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| 7. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Results from the Q&R17 research environment survey
- 2017
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Ingår i: Quality andRenewal 2017 (Kvalitet och förnyelse 2017). - Uppsala : Uppsala University. ; , s. 39-63, 651-662
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 8. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-
(författare)
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Uppsalas biotekniska industriella system : En ekonomisk-geografisk studie av interaktion, kunskapsspridning och arbetsmarknadsrörlighet
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The main purpose of the thesis is to study industrial transformation and growth within a local cluster of biotech activities in Uppsala, Sweden. A combination of theoretical approaches is used to address questions of why certain regions become more competitive: the cluster approach, innovation systems theory, and the technological systems approach. First, the industrial system is mapped in order to identify important local actors and structures. Secondly, by using interviews, a questionnaire, and a longitudinal database, key relations are studied from a spatial point of view. Four different fields of interaction are studied: business and market interaction; interaction with investors; collaborative and overall social interaction; and labor market interaction. The importance of the local milieu varies depending on the types of interaction in focus. Business interaction is predominantly global. Relations with investors are mainly regional and focused to the broader Stockholm region. The local milieu in Uppsala is more significant with respect to formal cooperation and collaboration, especially between local academy and industry actors, as well as informal interaction and social networks. The local milieu also seems to be important for knowledge transfer on the labor market. The creation of innovations and competitiveness is not just an outcome of buyer-supplier linkages, but is also a result of both formal and informal interaction occurring between industry and actors in the institutional and environmental setting, where knowledge, skills and information can be traded and/or transferred. Thus, the presence of knowledge intensive local actors and the quality of the relations is an important factor for the creation of industrial transformation and growth.
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| 9. |
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Jansson, Johan, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Quality and regional competitiveness
- 2011
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Ingår i: Environment and planning A. - : SAGE Publications. - 0308-518X .- 1472-3409. ; 43:9, s. 2237-2252
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent literature on competitiveness has focused on innovation and industrial dynamics.In this paper it is argued that innovation is not enough when competing on global markets, at least incertain types of industries where performance, standards, and perceptions of the product are at theforefront. In addition to existing theory,we focus on the role of `quality' in creating and sustaining regionalcompetitive advantage. A theoretical framework for identifying and analyzing processes creating andrecreating understandings, perceptions, and experiences of quality, that is, a quality promise, is presented.In the framework, the quality process is divided into three dimensions, labelled performance, projection,and protection. Regional competitiveness is arguably achieved when: (a) a good or a service is wellrepresented in one or more of the quality dimensions; (b) quality perception and knowledge permeateall actors and their activities and are inherent throughout the value chain; and (c) space is an integralpart of these processes in that it facilitates (i) localized learning/localization economies, and(ii) place-based branding. It is argued that `quality' should be viewed as deeply embedded in spaceand that quality processes have both homogeneous and heterogeneous characteristics.
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-
(författare)
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Geography and the retail industry : A literature review with a special focus on Sweden
- 2014
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The changing nature of the retail industry is something that has been widely studied during the last few decades. On a more general level, these changes have involved, on the one hand, despite recent economic crises, a rapid expansion and growth of the retail industry, increased market entries and representation of transnational retail chain stores, and a growing interest in consumer behaviour and awareness. On the other hand, these changes also show clear spatial characteristics pointing to the importance of not only location, but also a wider geographical understanding of what, how and where these changes are taking place. This has come not least to involve numerous studies trying to understand the complex spatial nature of production/commodity chains of goods and services as well as the embeddedness of local and global networks of stores and retailers, but it has also generated inputs to a seemingly never-ending debate concerning the relocation of retail activities – foremost from inner-city, or high-street, locations to external retail establishments. In the Swedish media, this debate has come to focus on the availability of, and accessibility to, retail and services. This would typically involve discussions concerning the demise or impoverishment of the inner city, the closing down of rural or country stores, or an overall diminishing supply of necessary services. Besides a few governmental reports, the geography of changing retail conditions concerning the above is not a widely studied topic however. As Sweden is a sparsely populated country, it is not farfetched as to assume that these are important questions, especially when and if the availability of and accessibility of retail opportunities are being jeopardized. Thus, the purpose of the literature review at hand is to provide a general overview of the characteristics of and recent progress in the retail industry, and to give a short account of developments in Sweden.
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| 16. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-
(författare)
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Guilty by association : a cross-industrial approach to sourcing complementary knowledge in the Uppsala biotechnology cluster
- 2009
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Ingår i: European Planning Studies. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0965-4313 .- 1469-5944. ; 17:11, s. 1605-1624
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A wide range of industrial studies recognize the tendency of similar and related economic activities to co-locate in so-called industrial systems or clusters. While a cluster is defined by its cross-industrial relations the supporting and complementary role of cluster actors is seldom fully explored. This study will focus on the dynamics of cluster relations and give an account for the complementary nature of clusters by analysing anchor firms and complementary agents (such as specialized service providers and institutions for collaboration) in the Uppsala biotechnology cluster in Sweden. The empirical data used involves a triangulation of interview, survey and individual-based register data based upon a mapping of cluster actors active in 2002 and 2003. It is shown that both the formerly dominant pharmaceutical company and the local university have actively taken the role as anchor firms/organizations creating a local and dynamic milieu for biotechnology activities. Furthermore, it is shown that the local cluster consists of a variety of complementary agents contributing to knowledge spillovers and cluster competitiveness.
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| 17. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-
(författare)
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Jobless growth? : Investigating the structure and geography of the labor force in the Swedish life science industry
- 2009
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Policy-makers, as well as scholars, are often positing the life science industry in general, and biotechnology in specific, as a future engine of economic growth. It is stipulated that growth in the industry ultimately will result in a major boost in national employment numbers. However, in the paper we primarily find that the Swedish life science industry (encompassing pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technology firms) only stands for a small share of the total employment in Sweden. In the paper we argue that a focus on employment is not necessarily the most appropriate policy approach to assess the impacts of the life science industry on the overall economy. In the paper, the scope, structure and geography of the life science industry and its labour force in Sweden is mapped and analysed by using a unique set of data of about 1 200 firms and 54 000 employees. We find that the labour force in the industry have significantly higher education and income levels compared to national averages, as well as being heavily concentrated to larger metropolitan areas and major university cities. Although employing relatively few people and being more or less dependant on the inclusion and success of a small number of major pharmaceutical firms, we find that the industry may still have an important impact on the national economy. This is manifested by high levels of education, income, and export revenues, particularly in specific regions. As such, this paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on ‘jobless growth’.
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| 18. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-
(författare)
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Life science och humankapitalet : 'Jobless growth' på specialiserade och lokala arbetsmarknader?
- 2009
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Life science - framför allt bioteknik, läkemedel och medicinsk teknik - har under senare år lyfts fram som en framtids- eller tillväxtbransch inom både policy och forskning. Det har antagits att tillväxt inom branschen också kommer att stimulera och generera ökad sysselsättning. Denna studie ställer sig frågande till om en sysselsättningsbaserad syn på tillväxt är rätt sätt att betrakta branschens framtidspotential. Genom en utförlig kartläggning av företag med life science-inriktning framgår att branschen, även brett definierad, endast står för en liten andel av den totala sysselsättningen i Sverige. Med hjälp av ett unikt individbaserat databasmaterial innehållande cirka 1 200 företag och 54 000 individer i Sverige diskuteras istället branschens betydelse i termer av humankapital och geografisk specialisering. Av studien framgår att arbetskraften i life science-branschen är bättre utbildad och har en högre inkomstnivå jämfört med övriga Sverige samtidigt som företagen är starkt koncentrerade till storstadsområden och större universitetsstäder. Trots att branschen endast sysselsätter ett fåtal personer och till stora delar är beroende av ett fåtal multinationella företag utgör life science-företagen viktiga aktörer i den nationella ekonomin - framför allt genom höga utbildnings-, inkomst- och exportnivåer - och företrädesvis i vissa regioner. Denna studie utgör, som sådant, ett inlägg i debatten om ’jobless growth’ (det vill säga ekonomisk tillväxt utan sysselsättningsökning).
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| 19. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-
(författare)
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Life sciences and human capital : Jobless growth on specialised and local labour markets?
- 2011
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Ingår i: Growth and Change. - : Wiley. - 0017-4815 .- 1468-2257. ; 42:3, s. 231-260
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Policy makers and scholars often regard the life science industry in general, and bio-technology in particular, as an engine of future economic growth. The expectation is that growth in the industry will ultimately provide a major boost to national employment numbers. However, in this paper, I find that the Swedish life science industry (encompassing pharmaceutical, bio-technology, and medical technology firms) accounts for only a small proportion of total employment in Sweden. Given the recent discussion on jobless growth (i.e., economic growth without employment growth), it is here argued that focusing on employment is not necessarily the best policy approach to assessing the impacts of the life science industry on the overall economy. This paper maps and analyses the scope, structure, and geography of the life science industry and its workforce in Sweden using a unique set of data covering approximately 1,200 firms and 53,000 employees. The industry’s workforce has education and income levels significantly higher than national averages, and is heavily concentrated in larger metropolitan areas and major university cities. Despite employing relatively few people and being more or less dependent on the existence and success of a few major pharmaceutical firms, the industry may still have a significant impact on the national economy by engendering high levels of education, income, and export revenues, particularly in specific regions.
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| 20. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-
(författare)
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Regionens återhämtning? : Industriell identitet och medial uppmärksamhet rörande nedmonteringen av Pharmacia och AstraZeneca i Uppsala och Lund
- 2015
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Hur representeras geografin, och framför allt regionen, i nyhetsmedia när större industriella aktörer tillkännager att de planerar att lägga ned, omlokalisera eller omorganisera hela eller delar av verksamheten på en viss plats? Har media en intermediär funktion (som komponent i ett industriellt system eller som arena för lokala/regionala aktörer) där spridning och kommunikation av narrativ baserade på en gemensam och mer optimistisk förståelse av regionen och dess förutsättningar kan bidra till regional utveckling? Med utgångspunkt i mediaanalys, litteratur om regional identitet och regionala industriella systemansatser analyseras i denna studie den historiska utvecklingen av två dominerande aktörer förankrade i lokala/regionala industriella system (i så kallade kluster) och den mediala uppmärksamhet som de rönt före, i samband med och efter större omstruktureringar eller omlokaliseringar. Mer specifikt undersöks fusionen mellan Pharmacia och Upjohn 1995 och dess konsekvenser för Uppsala samt nedläggningen av AstraZenecas verksamheter i Lund 2010. Studien lutar sig mot en deskriptiv kvantitativ analys kompletterad av en kvalitativ analys av en stor mängd nyhetsartiklar med anknytning till ovan händelser. Av studien framkommer: a) att den geografiska representationen intensifieras och specificeras i takt med ökad medial turbulens; b) att medierapporteringen följer två specifika faser, en initial där fokus ligger vid att beskriva händelsen i termer av ”kris” och dess potentiella negativa effekter, och en efterföljande mer positiv fas som beskriver regionens ”återhämtning” eller ”pånyttfödelse”; samt c) att rapportering av händelserna bidrar till en förstärkt så kallad ’regional industriell identitet’ och ökad klustermedvetenhet samt att detta även åtföljs av ett ökat inflöde av kapital och resurser till regionen. Nyhetsmedia bidrar i detta sammanhang till att kommunicera ett ’perceived regional advantage’ (såsom upplevt och förmedlat av media) som i sin tur är viktiga för att skapa, ta tillvara på och marknadsföra regionala kompetenser och utvecklingsmöjligheter.
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| 21. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Retail relocation : Mapping changes of inner city retail and external retail locations in Sweden
- 2014
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Although being paralleled by economic recession in the last years, the developments of the retail industry has been characterized by rapid expansion and growth, both in terms of turnover and market entries, not least in Sweden. However, these changes have spatial implications pointing to not only the importance of location, but also to a need of a better geographical understanding of where these changes are taking place and what kind of retail activities they are influencing. As shown in recent studies, and despite a growing trend of concentration of retail activities in external retail locations and establishments, inner city retail is reported to handle competition from external retail locations relatively better than retail in neighborhood centers and peripheral areas. This is partly explained by its resilient, specialized and complementary nature. From a Swedish perspective, this study investigates a) where changes in the location of retail activities are taking place (between cites and within urban areas) and b) the resilience of the inner city retail by studying the distribution and relocation of specialized retail activities over time. The study uses data from the PLACE-database, a longitudinal database covering geocoded data of every individual in Sweden in working age during the time period 1998 to 2008.
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| 22. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-
(författare)
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To capture an emerging industry : using industrial standards to identify the biotech industry
- 2009
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Ingår i: International Journal of Social Research Methodology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1364-5579 .- 1464-5300. ; 12:5, s. 441-456
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Standard industrial classification systems are the cornerstone of quantitative research in several fields. Data collected and coded on the basis of such systems often provide the most complete and accessible material with which to investigate, quantify and map the industrial landscape, and understand the economy at large. However, as relatively static classifications, they present researchers attempting to capture new, emerging and growth industries with a number of problems. Our understanding of the dynamics of economic development is largely based on aggregated firm data, often categorised and identified using an intertwined system of national and international industrial classification standards. This paper uses the example of the biotech industry in testing the ongoing appropriateness of one such industrial classification system, namely the Swedish industrial classification system.
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| 23. |
- Waxell, Anders, 1972-
(författare)
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Writing up the region : anchor firm dismantling and the construction of a perceived regional advantage in Swedish news media
- 2016
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Ingår i: European Planning Studies. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0965-4313 .- 1469-5944. ; 24:4, s. 742-761
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study investigates how geographic representations and regional industrial identity in news media are used to mobilize local/regional actors and to attract inward and outward investments by mediating and narrating stories of the recovery and rebirth of a region in distress – that is, how media contribute to economic development in or of the region. The study targets media attention covering the dismantling and relocation of two regionally embedded life science and likewise anchor firms: the Pharmacia and Upjohn merger in Uppsala in 1995 and the closure of AstraZeneca’s operations in Lund in 2010. By drawing on the method of framing and content analysis of news articles derived from a public media database, the analysis show that: (a) geographic representation and associations are intensified in times of media turbulence; (b) news coverage follows two subsequent phases (an initial ‘crisis’ phase and a following more optimistic ‘recovery’ phase) and (c) news media (as intermediary actors and arenas) by communicating ideas of a shared regional industrial identity contribute to the construction of a ‘perceived regional advantage’ (as understood and communicated by news media). Thus, regional industrial identity-building and how the region is perceived by internal and external audiences are important for regional development.
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