Uppsalas biotekniska industriella system : En ekonomisk-geografisk studie av interaktion, kunskapsspridning och arbetsmarknadsrörlighet

• 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.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Social och ekonomisk geografi -- Kulturgeografi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Social and Economic Geography -- Human Geography (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Social and economic geography

Economic geography

biotechnology

industrial clusters

labor market mobility

Uppsala

Sweden

Kulturgeografi

Human geography

Kulturgeografi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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