bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Konsumenten im Netz der Möglichkeiten
Authors: Tegeder Gudrun
Published: January 2016

Consumers caught in the net of possibilities. The influence of the internet on urban retail. Leaving behind the disillusionment that followed the internet hype, it recently becomes apparent that the internet has already opened a new chapter within the urban retail: “online-shopping” and “local retail” become slowly a synthesis. The reason for this is not only an advanced implementation of technical application within the retail business, but also a changing behaviour of the consumer: The internet modifies the consuming culture by essential characteristics such as dialogical qualities, immediacy and an extended range of information. By this the local retailing is effected intensively.
Urbane Ökonomien in Deutschland
Authors: Krätke Stefan
Published: January 2016

Urban economies in Germany. Cluster potential and global interconnections. Urban economies are the leading locational centres of corporate headquarters, advanced producer services, the media sector, research and development, particular “knowledge-intensive” activity branches of the economy and innovative industrial growth sectors. The urban regions might be characterized as heterogenous agglomerations of economic activities, which include a number of sub-economies with different functions and forms of organisation.The urban regions’ economic potential reveils specific differences with regard to the large urban economic centres in West- and East-Germany. The different positions of particular urban economic centres in Germany and Europe as ancoring points of global firms’ organizational networks are being indicated with regard to global service providers and global media firms, emphasizing the global interconnections as an important development factor particularly in the metropoles of the urban system.
Liechtenstein, an inland offshore center
Authors: Laulajainen Risto
Published: January 2016

Liechtenstein’s financial industry is described during the past 90 years and analyzed against widely accepted offshore criteria. Its competitiveness and survival under hardening external pressure are evaluated. The discussion offers a wealth of detail which often makes or breaks an offshore center.
Urbane Ökonomien und ethnische Ökologien im Karakorum-Gebirge Nordpakistans
Authors: Dittmann Andreas , Ehlers Eckart
Published: January 2016

Urban economies and ethnic ecologies in the Karakorum Mountains, Northern Pakistan.The article examines different social and economic patterns of cooperation and confrontation in urban settlements of the Karakorum Mountains in Northern Pakistan, which were manifested since the partition of British-lndia. The focus is put on the question, to what extent ethno-linguistic factors influence or even determine economic constellations. In this regard. the comparable short history of urban development in the Northern Areas of Pakistan and the very dynamic expansion of larger settlements in this area during the last two decades present a precious opportunity for a closer look at ethno-economic determination at initial stages of urban development.
Regionale Innovationspotenziale und innovative Netzwerke in Ost- und Südostasien
Authors: Diez Javier Revilla , Schätzl Ludwig
Published: January 2016

Regional innovation potential and innovative networks in East and Southeast Asia - theoretical and methodological remarks. In the past three decades the East and Southeast Asian economies have undertaken a historically unique economic catching-up process. Although technological change is considered to be one of the decisive determinants for judging the future economic perspectives, so far no representative empirical surveys are available on the patterns and scales of innovation and co-operation activities at the microlevel in Asia. This paper gives a theoretical and methodological introduction to this volume, presenting representative results from surveys in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and China.
Barrieren für den Wissenstransfer zwischen Universitäten und Unternehmen in Schwellenländern
Authors: Mildahn Björn , Schiller Daniel
Published: January 2016

Barriers for the university-industry knowledge transfer in newly industrialised countries - an empirical analysis of the regional innovation system of Bangkok. This paper presents empirical evidence on university-industry relations (UIR) and knowledge transfer in the regional innovation system of Bangkok and broaches the issue of adapting well-established concepts for the analysis of innovation processes in newly industrialising countries. The potential for UIR is restricted due to 1) a weak and fragmented innovation system, 2) low technological and absorptive capacities in the industrial sector, and 3) slowly improving research capabilities in the scientific sector. Hence the level of UIR in the regional innovation system of Bangkok is mainly limited to occasional and personal modes. It is suggested to strengthen the knowledge transfer capabilities within both actors and to establish effective mechanisms for bridging institutional barriers between academia and industry
Innovationsverflechtungen zwischen lokaler Einbettung und globalen Wertschöpfungsketten
Authors: Stracke Simeon
Published: January 2016

Innovation cooperation between local embeddedness and global supply chains. The example of the regional innovation system in Penang, Malaysia. While locational competition in Asia is increasing, regional innovation systems within developing countries like Penang are facing the challenge to increase their technological capability. This question can be framed in innovation systems’ theoretical components like the role of innovation cooperation within spatial proximity, while the local embeddedness of multinational firms or at least of parts of their supply chains can foster technological capability development of local small and medium sized enterprises (SME) potentially. The technological capability in Penang turns out to be relatively low. The main activities among Penangs multinational firms are still focussed on assembly. The innovation system is dominated by multinationals and is externally controlled. Horizontal cooperation is the exception, while vertical and proprietary regimes are still dominant and so the scope for technological learning for local firms is limited.
Schrumpfung im Ruhrgebiet – Wachstum im Saarland
Authors: Bauer Frank , Otto Anne
Published: January 2016

Decline in the Ruhr area - growth in the Saar region. A comparison of two former coal, iron and steel regions. The Saar region and the Ruhr area - two old-industrialized regions in Western Germany - have both experienced long-term regional restructuring since the 1960s. Although, both areas share similar economic-historical backgrounds, the Ruhr area suffers significant job losses while the Saar region experiences an increase in the number of employees. The article analyses the reasons for the different developments with special regard to sector and firm size structure, qualification and wage structure as well as location related determinants.
Der regionale Immobilienmarkt – Indikator für den Strukturwandel im Ruhrgebiet
Authors: Schulten Andreas
Published: January 2016

The regional real estate market as an indicator for structural change in the Ruhr area. The regional real estate markets are robust indicators for the structural shift within the Metropole Ruhr. Growth in service sector industry as well as demographic changes are accompanied or sometimes enhanced by real estate developments and investments. New stock either in the commercial or residential market reflects new demand - or the lack of it - in a very precise way. Especially in the local office markets the cyclical change of rent-, price- and yield levels offers a tool to measure the structural shift in detail. Most of the new and sustainable anchors in regional development of the Ruhr within the past two decades could not have been realized without private real estate investment on the one hand and improved skills of the local business development agencies on the other hand. The warehouse and the residential markets however show much less significant patterns in comparison among the Ruhr cities as well as compared to other German cities.
RheinRuhr als polyzentrischer „Raum der Orte“ im „Raum der Ströme“
Authors: Schmitt Peter , Knapp Wolfgang
Published: January 2016

RheinRuhr as a polycentric ”space of places“ in a ”space of flows“. Concepts of polycentricity and networks take a central place in current thinking about the restructuring and revaluation of urban structures. This academic discourse will be sketched in view of the search for synergies within polycentric urban regions such as RhineRuhr. This notion of synergy, which suggests to make the whole network of cities more than the sum of its parts, will be discussed in the light of the urban region’s role as a node in the space of flows. This will be followed by some empirical results of the recently finished research project POLYNET. In an internationally comparative perspective, the functional polycentricity of RhineRuhr will be explored by taking on board some findings from social network analysis in order to measure the connectivity of some main cities at different spatial scales. At the end we will argue that the activation of the latent synergetic potentials within RhineRuhr should gain much more weight in strategic regional development debates than it is currently the case.
Strukturwandel im Ruhrgebiet unter Schrumpfungsbedingungen
Authors: Butzin Bernhard , Franz Martin , Noll Hans-Peter
Published: January 2016

Structural change under conditions of shrinking in the Ruhr area. The challenge of patchwork- management. Structural change in the Ruhr area is taking place under conditions of economic and demographic shrinking as well as suburbanization. This dynamic trend tends to result in a perforated urban structure with “holes” like brownfield sites, unused housing space and empty shops. Yet, the instruments that are used to manage the change were designed in times of economic growth. The paper argues that a new kind of patchwork management is needed, which aims to connect and integrate the more and more unconnected structures and functions of the urban mosaic. This challenge emerges at interregional, regional and local level, with the latter being at focus here. New phenomena, whether flagship projects or brownfields, have to be functionally linked to the local level and integrated in the nearby quarters. Similar challenges appear at regional and interregional level, where networking strategies rather than local competition are needed.
Messeveranstaltungen als fokale Schnittstellen der globalen Ökonomie
Authors: Bathelt Harald , Zakrzewski Guido
Published: January 2016

Trade fairs as focal intersections in the global economy. Trade fairs have long been the focus of studies in business administration, investigating the importance of such events as marketing and sales instruments. In contrast, only few studies have analysed the nature of information and communication flows during these gatherings and studied them as platforms for processes of learning and knowledge creation. This paper argues, that the roles of trade fairs in these processes differ according to sector, market focus and spatial reach. Particularly international flagship fairs have become central nodes which connect the global economy and provide participating firms with access to new technologies, market trends and potential business partners. They bring together agents from all over the world and create temporary spaces of presentation and interaction, or temporary clusters. This paper develops a typology of trade fairs regarding their potential to support processes of knowledge creation and innovation. Further, it analyses the interaction patterns during seven such events in Germany.
Logistischer Wandel in der Region
Authors: Hesse Markus
Published: January 2016

Regional logistics changes. Locational dynamics and strategies in physical distribution - a transatlantic comparison. The paper discusses locational dynamics of freight distribution firms at the regional level, as a consequence of changes in logistics network configuration and related requirements for placing distribution centres. The empirical basis is provided by two case studies, carried out in Germany and in Northern California (USA). Both cases are subject to comparative analysis, regarding location choice and context, corporate strategy and regional policy and planning.
Beyond greed and grievance in Sierra Leone
Authors: Maconachie Roy , Binns Tony
Published: January 2016

African countries with significant natural wealth have often reaped limited rewards and have experienced underdevelopment, corruption, political instability, and in some cases, violent conflict. As a result, the so-called ‘resource curse’ hypothesis has received much attention in recent years. It has been suggested that diamonds played a key role in fuelling the brutal civil war in Sierra Leone during the 1990s, an issue that has given rise to a significant literature on ‘blood diamonds’. However, as Sierra Leone emerges from a decade of destruction, field-based research undertaken in the Eastern Province suggests that diamonds could actually provide an important impetus for post-war reconstruction. Following a review of the ‘resource curse’ literature and its relevance to Sierra Leone, two important initiatives in the country’s diamond economy are then examined: the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and the Diamond Area Community Development Fund (DACDF). The paper argues that whilst such initiatives are undoubtedly significant steps in addressing a number of key issues, such strategies need to be managed carefully and future policies must be based on a detailed understanding of relationships between diamond mining and broader development strategies and priorities.
Gewalt und Staatsversagen in Fidschi
Authors: Weber Eberhard
Published: January 2016

Political violence and state failure in Fiji. Between 1987 and 2006 Fiji experienced four coups in which governments were overthrown by their own military forces. Many observers attribute political violence in Fiji to ethnic tensions between indigenous ethnic Fijians and descendants of persons of Indian origin, who immigrated to Fiji mainly between 1880 and 1920. While ethnicity contributes to political instability in Fiji, the existence of additional cleavages based on class, kinship and centre-periphery dichotomy creates a rather complex picture. The coups are also offsprings of conflicts within the Fijian society, conflicts about the loss of political and economic power in the course of modernization, experienced by traditional chiefs of tribal confederacies, as well as conflicts caused by marginalization of indigenous people living in peripheral areas. External actors like Australia, New Zealand and the USA add another layer to the conflicts. During the socalled Cold War the Pacific islands were nuclear testing grounds for the USA, France and Great Britain as well as a strategic region for the US-American Pacific fleet. Since 9/11 the USA as well as Australia and New Zealand consider political instability in the Pacific island region as a breeding ground for international terrorism and thus a threat to their national security.
India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) – a new geography of trade and technology cooperation?
Authors: Chevallier Romy , Drachenfels Christian von , Stamm Andreas
Published: January 2016

The India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum, was established in 2003, as a political alliance of three likeminded, democratic, developing countries in order to counterbalance the traditional North-South power asymmetry. The vision of the political leaders, however, goes beyond a lose political union, and aspires South-South cooperation in trade, science and technology. The paper explores what the available evidence suggests regarding the possible depth and outreach of the project.
China – growth engine or obstacle for Asian developing economies?
Authors: Humphrey John , Schmitz Hubert
Published: January 2016

Over the last 30 years, changes in the East and Southeast Asian region have been fast and deep. China is the growth engine of a new regional production system which in turn has provoked changes in many other parts of the world. For its own fast growth, China has relied heavily on importing intermediate products from neighbouring countries, but this is changing with China now producing more of its own inputs and occupying also the more skill intensive parts of the value chain. Some countries in the region trade relatively little with China, but the trade itself may undermine long-term growth prospects. The paper analyses these trade impacts, distinguishing between groups of countries and products. It shows that China’s growth augments opportunities for some but pulls others into a race to the bottom.
Formierung und Wirkungsgefüge regionaler Technologiecluster
Authors: Henn Sebastian
Published: January 2016

Formation and interactive structure of regional technology clusters. The example of nanotechnology in Saarland and Berlin-Brandenburg. The article shows that the structure and the dynamics of spatial business concentrations are determined by the way they emerge. In detail, two types of spatial concentrations will be distinguished: Start-up-clusters that can be traced back to spin-offs out of one incubator and unrelated spatial concentrations owing their existence to learning processes, relocations and independent firm foundations. In its empirical part the study is focused on emerging spatial concentrations in the field of nanotechnology in the Saarland and in Berlin-Brandenburg.
Competencies in subsidiaries of multinational companies
Authors: Fuchs Martina , Winter Johannes
Published: January 2016

In order to better understand the competitiveness of companies and with this their surrounding regions, economic geographers focus on competencies in manufacturing companies. This paper discusses the major and minor driving forces, preconditions and constraints for transferring tasks from headquarters to the foreign plant. Subsidiaries of international automotive supply companies in Poland are used as case studies, offering insights into different types of competencies assigned from headquarters to the subsidiary
Das Finanzzentrum – ein Cluster?
Authors: Schamp Eike W.
Published: January 2016

The financial centre - a cluster? A multiscalar approach and evidence from a case study of Frankfurt/Main: The cluster approach has recently been applied in various studies of financial centres, for example of London or Frankfurt. Its current use in financial geography, however, seems to be more metaphorical than analytical. This paper firstly discusses specific sectoral characteristics which make it difficult to simply apply a concept which was developed for the industrial sector to the financial economy. Secondly, value networks in the production processes of financial products indicate that only certain parts of the production process, i.e. knowledge-based, non-repetitive transactions in the network, require local proximities. Following Gordon/McCann in their reasoning on industrial clusters, it is argued that the cluster approach to financial centres calls for a multi-scalar perspective combining the juridical national territory, the advantages of a large urban agglomeration, and, finally, the network externalities of a district within the urban agglomeration, i.e. the “financial district”. This is demonstrated using the example of the financial centre of Frankfurt/RhineMain, a term which stands for the larger urban agglomeration.
Intermediäre und Standards in der Immobilienwirtschaft
Authors: Dörry Sabine , Heeg Susanne
Published: January 2016

Intermediaries and standards in the real estate industry. The aim of the paper at hand is to examine the significance of the integration of financial and real estate markets for urban property markets. It is argued that the integration of both markets has increased the volatility of urban property markets and in particular of the office market of financial cities as London and Frankfurt am Main. International property consultants play a key role in it as knowledge brokers. Through their global office networks they produce and offer information about the outlook of investment possibilities, i.e. urban property markets. In that sense they channel capital which contributes to increased volatility of capital flows into and out of the built environment. Thus, the liberalisation and globalisation of the financial markets as well as modern investment products transformed the urban real estate markets to a great extent.
Reflexive Zeit- und Raumkonstruktionen und die Rolle des Global Buzz auf Messeveranstaltungen
Authors: Schuldt Nina , Bathelt Harald
Published: January 2016

Reflexive time-space constructions and the role of global buzz at trade fairs. International trade fairs bring together agents from all over the world and create temporary spaces for presentation and interaction. Within specific institutional settings, participants not only acquire knowledge through face-to-face communication with other agents, they also obtain information by observing and systematically monitoring other participants. This paper analyzes trade fairs from the perspective of time-geography as reflexive time-space constructions which enable economic interaction within well-defined, spatially and temporally bounded places. Temporary face-to-face contact and the physical co-presence of global communities at these events establish a particular information and communication ecology, referred to as global buzz. This paper aims to analyze the constituting components of global buzz and to dismantle the complexity of this phenomenon in a multi-dimensional way. Participants at international trade fairs benefit from intensified decentralized knowledge flows in the form of learning by interacting and learning by observation. As such, these events establish central nodes in the global political economy through which knowledge is created and exchanged at a distance.
Entgrenzte Zeitregime und wirtschaftsräumliche Konzentrationen
Authors: Oßenbrügge Jürgen , Pohl Thomas , Vogelpohl Anne
Published: January 2016

Disenclosed time regimes and spatial concentrations of economies. The creative sector in Hamburg’s Schanzenviertel from a time-geographical perspective. In recent years the spatial and temporal organization of everyday life has been transformed by the flexibilisation of economic relations and a growing variety of the ways how individuals coordinate their professional and private spheres and activities. Central elements of this transformation are (1) disenclosures of fixed socio-structural, temporal and spatial boundaries, (2) technical, social and cultural accelerations and (3) a growing subject-orientation within work and life conditions. Cities offer places where these transformations are well observable. These places provide both diverse infrastructures and images as material and symbolic frames for local socioeconomic processes: multiple encounters, mutual learning processes and work-life-combinations. The analysis of Hamburg’s Schanzenviertel shows the explanatory power of a broadened time geographical concept in elucidating those new socioeconomic spaces. We add the concept of coupling opportunities to the traditional constraints-approach in order to show why “the urban” under the label of the creative city should be understood as a specific form of organizing the everyday as well as the work life. Interrelations of subjective and structural conditions clarify the subject-orientation within spatial economies as both system-related constraints and chances for individual self-determination. This analysis opens up a critical perspective on the selectivity and spatial inequalities within the creative city debate.
Zur Diskussion.
Authors: Scheuplein Christoph
Published: January 2016

Small models and the methodology of economic geography. Almost twenty years after the beginning of Geographical Economics established by Paul Krugman, its role in economic geography is still controversial. Supporters of Geographical Economics consider their mathematical formalism as a conceptual proposal that creates an authoritative context for the development of a theory of economic geography. In contrast, in this paper, it is shown that with the methodological innovations, more convincing explanations are made and relevant formulation of the questions is indeed taken up. However, it limits the logical consistency and extent of validity considerably. The claim of an exact science, as it still prevailed in the old neoclassical regional economic theory, is omitted in the practice of the Geographical Economics. The results of mathematical modelling can be, however, meaningfully classified in today’s mainstream economic geography, the methodology of which aims at the explanation of dynamic, socially integrated and historically developing capitalism.
Im Schatten der Esskultur – Das Beispiel der Garnele
Authors: Hasse Jürgen
Published: January 2016

In the shadow of nutrition culture. The example of shrimps. Nutrition usually is not an issue of economic geography. The article focuses on relations of proximity and distance with situations of nutrition. It focuses on ethical and aesthetic questions of the relationship to food. Updating the theses of Norbert Elias the article tackles the relationship between food-industry, economics of desires, diets, lifestyle and several types of consumption. The subject is exemplified by the global trade in shrimps. The article is based on its positioning in economic geography and ends with an outline of a holistic ethic of food and nature.
Stabilisierung der Regionalentwicklung durch Rückwanderung?
Authors: Matuschewski Anke
Published: January 2016

Stabilising regional development through re-migration? A theoretical concept and an empirical case study in East Germany. Migration is an important channel for the transfer of human capital. A growing emphasis has been placed on re-migration as a possibility of re-gaining human capital. The paper aims to critically review theoretical approaches to re-migration and introduces a multi level research concept. This concept has been implemented in an exploratory case study on the effects of re-migration in East Germany. The paper presents selected results with respect to human capital transfer and gives an outlook on the possibilities to apply the concept on a quantitative level.
Die „Große Rezession“ und ihre Auswirkungen auf regionale Arbeitslosenquoten
Authors: Reiner Christian
Published: January 2016

Effects of the “Great Recession” on regional unemployment rates. The case of Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Contrary to the already encompassing literature on the differentiated effects of the “Great Recession” on states, this paper takes a regional economic perspective. To answer the research question which factors might explain the spatially unequal development of unemployment rates at the regional level, a cross-section data-set is used. Percentage point increase of regional unemployment rates between 2008 and 2009 is used as the dependent variable and a set of regional and national variables as independent variables; a multiple linear regression model is estimated. After detecting spatial autocorrelation for the OLS-estimators, the model is re-estimated and a spatial error model with ML-estimators is computed. It turns out that the share of low-skilled employees has a significant positive effect on the change of regional unemployment rates. Furthermore, financial centres showed a significantly better resilience than other regional economies. Because of the strong influence of national variables in these models, separate models are estimated for France and the UK. It is shown that the same variables have quite different effects. This questions the existence of a common explanation for regional unemployment dynamics in Europe.
Entwicklungspotenziale und Netzwerkbeziehungen maritimer Cluster in Deutschland
Authors: Brandt Arno , Dickow Marie Christin , Drangmeister Claudia
Published: January 2016

Development potentials and networks of maritme clusters in Germany. The maritime economy in Germany is concentrated in the coastal regions and can be described as a cluster alliance with five integrated sub-clusters. The network analysis reveals an interconnection of the individual regions and segments with in part positive feedback effects. The maritime industry should therefore be strategically viewed as a whole. A maritime cooperation among the North German federal states is also a natural and obvious option. In the future the economic crisis could reinforce the transformation of the maritime economy into more knowledge-intensive areas.
Optimale Regulierung bleibt eine Herausforderung!
Authors: Thelen-Pischke Hiltrud
Published: January 2016

The challenge of perfect regulation! Comments to the debate on reforms of the financial sector. In the light of the recent financial crisis the question was raised, if there is any chance of regulation at all to help prevent future crises. As lessons learned from the financial crisis regulators have already adopted numerous measures that aim to enhance financial regulation. Most prominent is the reform of the well-known Basel II soon to be Basel III framework. The following paper takes a closer look on the most important measures against the background of the economic aspects of financial intermediation. The overall focus of this paper is the question if the reform of Basel II can improve the regulatory environment. This includes an analysis of how the changes in financial regulation will affect financial institutions. As a result the paper will show that most of the discussed and adopted measures actually lead to greater regulatory effectiveness. Nevertheless, the key factor for more effective financial regulation is a deep knowledge with regard to financial institutions and their business models. Only a thourough understanding of each individual bank and the system as a whole puts the regulator in the position to assess risks which might lead to the next financial crisis and to react appropriately.
Bedeutung und Beweggründe der Binnenverlagerungen von Betrieben in Deutschland
Authors: Brixy Udo
Published: January 2016

Significance and motives of firm relocations in Germany. The choice of a location is of fundamental importance for a firm. Usually it is associated with investments and relocation therefore linked with sunk costs. Theory and empirical studies suggest that it is especially young and expanding firms that relocate. This hypothesis is tested using a large and comprehensive database. It is shown that relocated firms are in fact more prosperous than those that do not move. They expand and employ highly qualified personnel more often and are distinctly younger than the vast majority of firms that have not relocated. Typically firms relocate over a short distance, so the relations to suppliers, customers and employees are not strongly affected. The majority of movements are from the centre to the suburban fringe, where sites are less expensive. However, centrality is often important for newly founded firms. Cities are ideal “seedbeds” for firms to be founded, but as the firms grow older and wish to expand, an attractive hinterland becomes important. The areas surrounding towns and cities benefit directly from the in-migrating of young and aspiring firms. But the cities benefit, too, if attractive jobs and purchasing power remain in their vicinity.
Zwischen Care und Career
Authors: Strüver Anke
Published: January 2016

Between care and career. Domestic and care work of transnational female migrants as strategic resources. This contribution focuses on the multiscalarity of economic and social relations taking transnational domestic and care workers as an example. As a consequence of neoliberal transformations in European welfare states, demands for personal domestic services increase and are met by Eastern European female migrants. These migrants’ activities rely on two strategies, namely rotating between places and between care and career.
Clustertypen
Authors: Jungwirth Carola , Müller Elisabeth , Ruckdäschel Susanne
Published: January 2016

Cluster types. A typology of regional networks and their characteristics. This paper develops a typology of clusters in an attempt to map the heterogeneous cluster landscape. By combining the governance structure and the goals of a cluster as constitutive elements, we develop cluster types and compare them with regard to characteristics like their financing, the process of member selection and the degree of technology. Using a mixed-method analysis for an international sample of 81 clusters, we can distinguish three types of clusters. The cluster type that pursues both public and private goals is most frequently applied and offers advantages like higher positive self-selection and a base public funding in comparison to the other types of clusters that pursue either public or private goals.
The world’s factory and informal ties – organisation of firm networks in the electronics industry in the Greater Pearl River Delta, China
Authors: Meyer Susanne
Published: January 2016

Institutional transition in countries such as China is expected to go hand in hand with the formalisation of interactional behaviour in firm networks. Recently, however, a different string of arguments has entered the academic discussion emphasising the limited extent of the formalisation of firms’ behaviour despite the institutional transition being complete. The aim of this paper is to show conceptually and empirically that a balance of formal and informal interactions is considered optimal for firms due to economic opportunities resulting from informality. The Greater Pearl River Delta (PRD), where Hong Kong (HK) firms act as cross-border intermediates between global customers and Chinese producers, serves as an example for studying the degree of informality applied when operating in two distinct institutional settings. A survey of electronics firms in HK investigates the way in which firms organise their contacting and selecting as well as their contracting processes when approaching global customers and Chinese producers. The findings show (1) that the degree of informality is greater when interacting with producers in the PRD due to the incompleteness of the institutional setting, but (2) that when acting with global customers, the behaviour of firms is only formalised to a certain extent. Informal interaction also serves as an opportunity for firms and is strategically used in an innovative organisational and management processes.
Firm characteristics and informal governance of business operations in the Pearl River Delta, China
Authors: Bickenbach Frank , Liu Wan-Hsin
Published: January 2016

This paper describes the Chinese economic and institutional reform process as a gradual transition of an informal, relation-based governance system into a more formal and rule-based governance system. The consequences of macro-level institutional reforms on the importance of personal relationships for the firm-level governance of business operations are discussed. Theoretical considerations suggest that in a transition economy such as China companies’ incentives to reduce the reliance on personal relationships should depend on firm characteristics such as the age, size and the internationalization of the firm. We confront these suppositions with empirical data obtained from a company survey performed among 222 companies in the electronics industry operating in the Pearl River Delta, China. From this we obtain some, though often weak, evidence in favor of the suppositions.
Postfordistische Energiepolitiken?
Authors: Schmitt Thomas
Published: January 2016

Postfordist energy policies? Desertec as a scenario towards a restructuration of energy supply within the EUMENA-region. In 2009 the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) was founded by several, predominant German enterprises including the NGO “Desertec Foundation”. The objective of DII is to organize the conditions for the realisation of the Desertec idea, which aims to supply, in a large scale manner, Europe with electricity produced in solar power plants in North Africa and the Arabic peninsula. The Desertec concept is playing with and combining different myths as the desert, the large-scale, ”megatechnic” vision and the reconciliation of the North and the South. Critics of Desertec argue that the project has the intention to impede an energy transition towards decentralized energy structures in Europe and that Desertec has a neo-colonial attitude. Both the Arab spring and the disaster of Fukushima have changed the discoursive landscape and the institutional conditions around the realisation of Desertec. The paper raises and responds to the question, whether Desertec can be seen as a Fordist or a Postfordist project according to the categories of the French regulation school. Additionally, the Desertec concept is reflected from a cultural geography’s point of view.
Governance of creative industries
Authors: Lange Bastian , Streit Anne von
Published: January 2016

The increasing acceptance of creative industries as a sphere of socio-economic activity gives rise to the question how this sector can be promoted appropriately. This paper comprises a theoretical discussion and an empirical analysis of different modes of governance at two contrasting locations in Germany, taking the example of the software/games industry sector. Specifically, we shall look both at formal and informal mechanisms of coordination. We explore to what extent the existing political-administrative support structures at the two selected locations are adapted appropriately to the internal organisation and the special characteristics of these sectors. Our results point to the difficulties in designing market-specific and location-specific strategies aimed at different environments. Finally, this paper aims to contribute to the understanding of how traditional political institutions can further adapt to the demand for more flexible governance, such as is needed by the creative industries.
Global-City-Formierung, Gentrifizierung und Grundrentenbildung in Frankfurt am Main
Authors: Schipper Sebastian
Published: January 2016

Global City formation, gentrification and the appropriation of ground rent in Frankfurt am Main. Based on statistics on land values between 1984 and 2012, this paper focuses on the relations between Global City formation, gentrification and the appropriation of ground rent in the case of Frankfurt am Main. It argues that the post-fordist urban hierarchy and the power of landowners to treat their property as a pure financial asset are reflected in rising and volatile ground rent levels in Germany’s most globalized financial center compared to the national average of urban property markets. Furthermore, it interprets the increasing potential for the appropriation of monopoly rents as a driving force behind recent gentrification processes in inner-city neighborhoods.
Berufsfelder und -chancen von Wirtschaftsgeographen
Authors: Sternberg Rolf
Published: January 2016

Occupational fields and career prospects of economic geographers. Empirical evidence from a graduate follow-up study at the Leibniz Universität Hannover and conclusions for teaching at universities. The employability of the alumni has become an important aspect of university teaching in Germany since bachelor and master courses were introduced some years ago. This also applies for the university education of economic geographers. The paper demonstrates the increased and still increasing relevance of employability for economic geographers studying at German universities. Based on data for 295 economic geography graduates from the Leibniz Universität Hannover it is shown that such alumni have rather good career opportunities to achieve both high income and satisfying work conditions. Adequate specialization of the curriculum, excellence in teaching and research, and a close relationship between university teaching (and teachers) and the professional world outside the university are important conditions for successful alumni.
Prognose der Anzahl der Erwerbspersonen
Authors: Deschermeier Philipp
Published: January 2016

Labour force projection for the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Area. Demographic change and the expected higher skills shortages both induce a growing need for regional labour market forecasts as quantitative decision-making bases for regional planning. This paper uses a two-stage model for projecting the labour force by single years of age and sex that is applied to the case of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Area until 2030.
From sacred cow to cash cow: The shifting political ecologies of protected areas in Russia
Authors: Müller Martin
Published: January 2016

How have political and economic processes in Russia impacted protected areas? When first conceived in 1916, protected areas in Russia were considered as sancta of nature. In post-Soviet times, however, the fortunes of protected areas have undergone swift change: from a period of liberalisation and a conservation bonanza in the 1990s to increasing exploitation in the 2000s and commodification in the 2010s. Against the historical background of the Soviet period, this contribution traces reserves’ trajectory from sacred cows to cash cows. It concludes that the neoliberal impetus of introducing market principles into conservation is in danger of going off course in Russia: instead of making the market work for conservation, it makes conservation work for the market.
Geographies of field-configuring events
Authors: Lange Bastian , Power Dominic , Suwala Lech
Published: January 2016

This paper treats the concept of ‘field-configuring events’ (FCE) and relates it to economic geographical research. The FCE approach attempts to draw attention to the role of events in fields of economic and social action and suggests that events can be important to introducing, structuring, maintaining and configuring new products, industrial standards, cultural artefacts and knowledge categories. The FCE approach has primarily been used to study the actors and networks associated with events such as trade shows, professional gatherings, technology contests, cultural tournaments, industrial exhibitions and business ceremonies: events where actors assemble to reveal novel products, develop industry designs, initiate cultural trends, create social networks, and allocate meaning to previously unfamiliar circumstances. In this introductory paper, we identify the main research trajectories in FCE and link these to economic geography by identifying some common lines of thinking apparent in economic geography, management and organisational studies. The paper moves on to investigate the nature of the “field”, “configuration” and “events” from a geographic perspective, and to emphasize the role that space and power play as a structuring mechanisms in all three. We conclude that the FCE approach can function as a useful tool for geographical analysis of the increasing fluid and episodic contours of the contemporary space economy.
Beobachtung, Begegnung und Beziehung
Authors: Glückler Johannes , Panitz Robert
Published: January 2016

Observation, encounter and relationship. The acquisition of market intelligence in stock photography. The increasing global extension of the division of creative labour challenges remote firms to develop the market intelligence necessary to satisfy demand preferences of spatially distant customers. We distinguish four socio-material situations of learning where each situation implies a specific combination of three basic social communication technologies: observation (Beobachtung), encounter (Begegnung), and relationship (Beziehung). This paper assesses the empirical importance of these communication technologies for the acquisition of market intelligence in stock photography, a sector of the creative industries. Our analysis is based on a unique global survey of the stock photo market as well as interviews with picture agencies conducted at several international congresses. Our findings demonstrate that picture agencies develop market intelligence predominantly through observation and relationships over distance rather than through temporary encounter. Although congresses and trade fairs have grown in number and size over the last decades, their primary function can be defined as a social relay: During congresses, picture agencies organize innumerable appointments to rewire their global partnerships which then, after being set in practice, become sources of relational market intelligence.
Leitbild Nachhaltigkeit – radikaler Wandel in Güterverkehr und Logistik?
Authors: Neiberger Cordula
Published: January 2016

Sustainability as a general principle - radical change in the transport and logistic sector? The principle of sustainability is discussed in politics, society and companies for quite some time. Hence, the transport and logistic sector as a part of the economy has also been affected. This paper evaluates, whether, in which way and to what extent the principles of the concept of sustainability are implemented by politics and companies. Furthermore, it investigates the degree of influence of these actions on the transport of goods. It appears, neither the setting of the course of the European transport policy nor the realized measures of the companies, are a sufficient foundation to speak of a change towards a sustainable economy.
Einflussfaktoren bei der Einführung des Lastenrads im urbanen Wirtschaftsverkehr
Authors: Gruber Johannes , Rudolph Christian , Kolarova Viktoriya
Published: January 2016

Factors determining the introduction of cargo bikes in urban commercial transport. One potential approach to the challenges faced by urban commercial transport is the introduction of (electrically assisted) cargo bikes in different transport market segments, which will initially be categorized. Furthermore, this paper deals with the sparsely investigated reasons explaining the gap between cargo bikes’ large potential to substitute car trips and their marginal degree of utilization to date. Inspired by innovation diffusion theories and based on the results of 45 guided interviews with cargo bike users and industry insiders, this article presents three interrelated groups of determinants influencing stakeholders’ decisions to use cargo bikes in a positive or negative way. Firstly, environmentally specific factors consist of regulatory, socio-spatial, and economic framework conditions. Secondly, company-specific factors include the type of fleet decision-making, firms’ strategic orientation, and decision-makers’ individual attitudes. Thirdly, vehicle-specific factors can be grouped in compatibility with transport tasks, relative advantage compared to conventional vehicles, and cargo bike availability.
Understanding the Formation Mechanism of Two-Dimensional Atomic Islands on Crystal Surfaces by the Condensing Potential Model
Authors: Yin Cong , Lin Zheng-Zhe , Li Min , Tang Hao
Published: January 2016

A condensing potential (CP) model was established for predicting the geometric structure of two-dimensional (2D) atomic islands on crystal surfaces. To further verify the CP model, statistical molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the trapping adatom process of atomic island steps on Pt (111). According to the detailed analysis on the adatom trapping process, the CP model should be a universal theory to understand the shape of the 2D atomic islands on crystal surfaces.