abstract: The jobless recovery of the Great Recession has led policymakers and citizens alike to ask what can be done to better protect regions from the cascading effects of an economic downturn. Economic growth strategies that aim to redevelop a waterfront for tourism or attract high growth companies to the area, for example, have left regions vulnerable by consolidating resources in just a few industry sectors or parts of town. A promising answer that coincided with growing interest in regional innovation policy has been to promote entrepreneurship for bottom-up, individual-led regional development. However, these policies have also failed to maximize the potential for bottom-up development by focusing on high skill entrepreneurs and high tech industry sectors, such as green energy and nanotechnology. This dissertation uses the extended case method to determine whether industry cluster theory can be usefully extended from networks of high skill innovators to entrepreneurs in traditional trades. It uses U.S. Census data and in-person interviews in cluster and non-cluster neighborhoods in Dayton, Ohio to assess whether traditional entrepreneurs cluster and whether social networks explain high rates of neighborhood self-employment. Entrepreneur interviews are also conducted in Raleigh, North Carolina to explore regional resilience by comparing the behavior of traditional entrepreneurs in the ascendant tech-hub region of Raleigh and stagnant Rustbelt region of Dayton. The quantitative analysis documents, for the first time, a minor degree of neighborhood-level entrepreneur clustering. In interviews, entrepreneurs offered clear examples of social networks that resemble those shown to make regional clusters successful, and they helped clarify that a slightly larger geography may reveal more clustering. Comparing Raleigh and Dayton entrepreneurs, the study found few differences in their behavior to explain the regions' differing long-term economic trends. However, charitable profit-seeking and trial and error learning are consistent behaviors that may distinguish traditional, small scale entrepreneurs from larger export-oriented business owners and contribute to a region's ability to withstand recessions and other shocks. The research informs growing policy interest in bottom-up urban development by offering qualitative evidence for how local mechanics, seamstresses, lawn care businesses and many others can be regional assets. Future research should use larger entrepreneur samples to systematically test the relationship between entrepreneur resilience behaviors to regional economic outcomes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Public Administration 2013

This research explores an alternative path for economic development via local connections to regional economies. It presents new analysis of the potential and circumstances under which county level industry clusters can be strengthened by connecting to regional clusters – networks of businesses, labor pools, etc., whose linkages cross local and even state jurisdictional boundaries. Specifically, this analysis examines how different types of industry clusters and types of urban and rural communities within regions respond to intra-regional connectivity. Independent-samples t-tests are conducted to assess whether significant differences in the annualized county-cluster employment growth rate (2010-2016) exist between connected and not-connected county-clusters overall, in different types of communities (metropolitan, micropolitan, rural adjacent and rural remote) and across types of industry clusters. The results suggest that intra-regional economic connectivity has a strong, positive association with county-cluster employment growth. These results are particularly pronounced for more rural communities but are present across county types, including metropolitan. The magnitude of the economic impact derived from connectivity with the regional economy varies by industry cluster. The results suggest an alternative approach to cluster-based economic development strategies that more strategically accounts for and bolsters connectivity. Policy recommendations for how to apply an intra-regional connectivity framework to narrow the urban-rural divide, as well as several regional profiles, are offered. / Doctor of Philosophy / This research explores an alternative path for economic development via local connections to regional economies. It presents new analysis of the potential and circumstances under which county level employment can be strengthened by connecting to regional industry clusters – networks of businesses, labor pools, etc., whose linkages cross local and even state jurisdictional boundaries. Specifically, this analysis examines how different types of industry clusters and types of urban and rural communities respond to economic connectivity within their regions. Statistical tests are conducted to compare differences in county employment growth (2010-2016) between counties that are economically connected and those that are not. The results suggest that connectivity to regional industry clusters has a strong, positive relationship with local employment growth. These results are particularly pronounced for more rural communities but are present across county types, including metropolitan. The magnitude of the economic impact derived from connectivity with the regional economy varies by the type of industry cluster present. The results suggest an alternative approach to cluster-based economic development strategies that more strategically accounts for and bolsters connectivity. Policy recommendations for how to apply an intra-regional connectivity framework to narrow the urban-rural divide, as well as several regional profiles, are offered.

Building on recent work in economic geography, evolutionary economics, and international business, I examine how firms that enter from outside a region alter the knowledge and opportunity structure for potential entrepreneurial entrants and indigenous incumbents in that region. In particular, I examine the short and long run effects of both greenfield and acquisition entry on entrepreneurial entry, as well as on the exit and growth of indigenous incumbents in industry clusters. A comprehensive dataset of all firms in the Canadian biotech industry between 1976 and 2003 is used to study the dynamic effects within all regions that have experienced an external entry. The results show a complex set of processes at work. Newer greenfield and acquisition entrants have consistently opposing effects, with newer greenfields enhancing entrepreneurial entry, but dampening growth and survival of indigenous incumbents in the longer run. Older greenfields, those that have a long presence in a given region and are primarily traditional pharmaceutical firms, have a similar effect to that of acquisitions. Moreover, the level of agglomeration moderates the influence of ‘outsiders’ on the indigenous industry, especially in the case of acquisitions. The results suggest that legal constraints on labor mobility barriers have an important influence on the observed patterns. The overall patterns suggest that the search and site selection of outsiders is an important mechanism driving local industry evolution, complementary to other traditional mechanisms.

Building on recent work in economic geography, evolutionary economics, and international business, I examine how firms that enter from outside a region alter the knowledge and opportunity structure for potential entrepreneurial entrants and indigenous incumbents in that region. In particular, I examine the short and long run effects of both greenfield and acquisition entry on entrepreneurial entry, as well as on the exit and growth of indigenous incumbents in industry clusters. A comprehensive dataset of all firms in the Canadian biotech industry between 1976 and 2003 is used to study the dynamic effects within all regions that have experienced an external entry. The results show a complex set of processes at work. Newer greenfield and acquisition entrants have consistently opposing effects, with newer greenfields enhancing entrepreneurial entry, but dampening growth and survival of indigenous incumbents in the longer run. Older greenfields, those that have a long presence in a given region and are primarily traditional pharmaceutical firms, have a similar effect to that of acquisitions. Moreover, the level of agglomeration moderates the influence of ‘outsiders’ on the indigenous industry, especially in the case of acquisitions. The results suggest that legal constraints on labor mobility barriers have an important influence on the observed patterns. The overall patterns suggest that the search and site selection of outsiders is an important mechanism driving local industry evolution, complementary to other traditional mechanisms.

The thesis is submitted under the alternative format, comprising three papers. The key theoretical contribution of the thesis can be found in each of these papers. First, the thesis explores the relationship between national and sectoral systems of innovation, and emphasises the need for governmental policies at each level to be both coordinated and complementary. Second, it offers an examination of the emerging role of universities in innovation systems, which far exceeds the traditional perspective of universities as ‘knowledge suppliers’ and the more recent notion of the ‘entrepreneurial university’. Finally, it offers insight into the strategies of foreign MNEs under the context of industry clusters. The thesis discusses the development of the Brazilian petroleum innovation system following one of the largest oil and gas discoveries in the Americas for decades. The pre-salt oil reserves were discovered in 2007 and are estimated to amount to at least the 60 billion barrels of oil in the North Sea. They are located off the south-eastern coast of Brazil in ultra-deep water (i.e. depths greater than 1500m) and are named as such because they reside under a thick layer of salt (up to two kilometres in depth). The location of the reserves adds great complexity to the challenge of their extraction. It also offers opportunities for competitive advantage to those actors within the innovation system who successfully innovate in addressing this challenge. The study draws upon an empirical investigation that included forty-two in-depth interviews, conducted in 2014 and 2015, and is supplemented by documentary analysis. These interviews were largely held with governmental agencies, public universities and petroleum-focussed enterprises (both domestic SMEs and global MNEs). Each group of actors are discussed in a different empirical paper: the efforts of governmental regulatory agencies in creating innovation in Brazil’s national petroleum industry; the evolving role of public universities in pursuit of technology transfer and academic entrepreneurship; and the R&D strategies of several global oil and gas MNEs that have taken residence in the recently-established industry cluster in Rio de Janeiro. The thesis also offers much to practitioners: guidance for the enactors of innovation policy following a large natural resource discovery; a model for universities wishing to develop a portfolio of entrepreneurial support, which has been shown to greatly support a university’s own technology transfer objectives; and direction for foreign MNEs in how to adapt to changes in industry clusters. The need for and challenge of achieving cooperation between diverse actors in an innovation system are apparent throughout the thesis. This cooperation is even more important in emerging economies such of Brazil, which often suffer from a lack of coordination between actors.

摘要 台灣生物科技產業，近年來在政府大力推動下，投資金額、企業營收、就業率與新創公司數逐年成長。然而台灣生物科技水準與美歐日等先進國家相比，技術層次仍有待加強，而台灣生物科技產業發展，相較於美歐日等地區生物科技產業的蓬勃發展，仍屬於播種萌芽，逐漸起飛的階段。 台灣發展新興產業的關鍵因素：如人才、資金、技術等關鍵資源極為有限，因此若能藉由地理區域的集中，來凝聚上述有限的關鍵資源，或可加速台灣生物科技產業的發展。 本研究藉由實地參訪和個案研究；再輔以次級資料（公開文件）的蒐集、整理與分析，來探討生物科技產業聚落發展的關鍵因素。研究對象包括：美國的生物科技產業聚落（Philadelphia，New Haven，Boston，RTP、North Carolina）及歐洲瑞典的生物科技產業聚落（Stockholm / Uppsala，Gothenbrug，Malmo / Lund，Linkoping，Umea）等。 由於生物科技公司是生物科技產業聚落的構成主體，因此首先就企業經營管理的觀點，探討生物科技新創公司形成的關鍵因素；另就產業聚落發展的觀點，探討生物科技產業聚落發展的關鍵因素：如生產要素條件、相關與支援性產業、產業聚落的成長與回饋等；再探討生物科技產業聚落內，使得新事業源源不斷形成，產業聚落得以永續發展的機制；最後由先進國家生物科技產業聚落發展的經驗，對台灣地區發展生物科技產業聚落的政策意涵，提出相關建議。 經由本研究可以得到下列發現：生物科技新創公司最重要的生存方式，在於如何善用環境外部資源，來突破企業內部資源的有限性。而生物科技產業聚落不是無中生有，首先必須先存在大學及研究機構等專業化生產要素，才會設立科學園區或育成中心。大學及研究機構現有的研究領域，決定科學園區或育成中心的發展特色。生物科技公司是生物科技產業聚落的構成主體，而生物科技新創公司形成的機制（如種子基金的設置等）是產業聚落永續發展的驅動力量。種子基金、科學園區或育成中心分別為產業聚落發展重要的無形及有形的連結機制。 / Abstract The amount of investment, the revenues and the employment of firms, and the number of start-ups, within Taiwan biotechnology industry, promoted by the government, increased gradually. However, the level of biotechnology, compared with other developed countries, seems still a lot to be upgraded. Moreover, the biotechnology industry developed in Taiwan is still in the early stage. Therefore, the limited key resources such as talents, capital, technology, if can be concentrated in a specific region, then the emerging industry like biotechnology industry may be developed faster. The study is, use of the field and case study, and the secondary data collected, to explore the key success factors in the development of biotechnology industry clusters. The cases studied include American biotechnology industry clusters, like Philadelphia, New Haven, Boston, RTP-North Carolina, and Sweden biotechnology industry clusters, like Stockholm-Uppsala, Gothenbrug, Malmo-Lund, Linkoping, Umea. Because the biotechnology firms are the building blocks of biotechnology industry clusters, it is first to explore the key success factors of the formations of new ventures from the perspective of business administration. From the perspective of cluster development, it is to explore the key success factors of the formations of new clusters such as the production factors, the related and supporting industry, the growth and feedback of clusters. The mechanism about new ventures growing forever to sustain the clusters development is then explored. From the experiences of these developed countries in the clusters development, the study proposes some suggestions about the policy making on the biotechnology clusters development in Taiwan. From the study, there comes the following finding：The biotechnology ventures leverage the resources from the environment to overcome the limited resources within the firms. The biotechnology clusters can be happened nowhere. First, there will be existed some professional production factors such as universities and research institutes, then come the science-park and incubator. The universities and research institutes define the characteristics of the science-park and incubator. The mechanisms about the formation of new ventures such as the seed fund become the driving forces of biotechnology clusters. The seed fund or the science-park and incubator are the intangible or tangible linkage mechanisms about the formation of biotechnology clusters.

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It is recommended that the City of Guadalupe prepare and implement a small-scale business expansion and retention program using existing service providers in the area. This type of program model seems to hold the most potential for Guadalupe. A mixed-methods approach including in-depth cases studies of existing economic development programs and an analysis of opportunities and constraints in Guadalupe informs a set recommendations for future economic development in the City. Data was collected in three phases: short interviews with a variety of economic development program staff, short interviews with Guadalupe business owners and City officials and in-depth interviews with staff from five selected case-study programs.

Thesis (M.Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / The study focused on the participation of public schools in LED. Public schools are viewed as the corner-stone of community development. They are institutions which are based within the community to cater for their needs. The South African School Act 84 of 1996 section 36, subsection (1) authorizes a governing body of public schools to take all reasonable measures within its means to supplement the resources supplied by the state in order to improve the quality of education provided by the school to all learners at the school. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of using school assets as a means to access the untapped potential of public schools to serve as basis of LED. The objective of the study was to determine activities that public schools can engage in to enhance LED opportunities. Quantitative, qualitative and explorative researches were used.