A fundamental research question in regional economic development, is why some regions are able to diversify into new products and industries, while others continue to face challenges in diversification? This doctorate research explores the different pathways to diversification. It follows the three-stage modular structure of DBA for Cranfield School of Management. This thesis consists of a systematic literature review, a single qualitative case study on UAE, and a research synthesis of published cases on Singapore, Norway and UAE. The linking document provides a summary of the three projects and consolidates findings and contributions into a path creation model that provides new understanding on the pathways to regional diversifications. This research integrates existing theoretical foundations of evolutionary economic geography, institutional economic geography, path dependence, industry relatedness, economic complexity, and path creation into a unified conceptual path creation model. It generates propositions, builds a framework and develops a matrix for path creation that integrate context, actors, factors, mechanisms and outcomes shaping regional diversification. It finds that in the context of path dependence and existing conditions of a region, economic actors undertake strategic measures to influence the institutional capabilities to accumulate knowledge and trigger indigenous creation, anchoring, branching, and clustering diversification mechanisms to create complex varieties of related and unrelated diversification outcomes. The institutional collaboration capabilities are found to be instrumental in accumulating knowledge and determining the relatedness and complexity of diversification outcomes. This research further provides a set of integrated platform strategies to guide policy-makers on setting up the pathways to regional diversification.

The purpose of this thesis is to shed new light on the theorizations discussing the economic benefits of geographical clustering in a space economy increasingly characterized by globalization processes. This is made possible through the employment of a plant-perspective and a focus on how the relative fixity and mobility of labour influence plant performance throughout the entire Swedish economy.  By means of the longitudinal micro database ASTRID, connecting attributes of individuals to features of plants and localities for the whole Swedish economy, the empirical findings indicate that both localization and urbanization economies produce significant labour market externalities and that such inter-plant linkages positively affect plant performance as compared to the partial effects of relative regional specialization and diversification. Moreover, it is also demonstrated that it is necessary both to distinguish how well the external skills retrieved via labour mobility match the existing knowledge base of plants and to determine the geographical dimension of such flows to verify the relative effect of labour market-induced externalities. Finally, it is demonstrated that whereas general urbanization is beneficial within close distance to the plant, the composition of economic activities is more influential at greater distances. In such cases the geographical dimension influences whether plants benefit from being located in similar or different local settings.  In conclusion, it is argued that the circulation of labour skills, created and reproduced through the place-specific industrial setup, is crucial for understanding the mechanisms creating geographical variations in plant performance as compared to other regional conditions often proxied as relative specialization or diversification. This is because the relative fixity of labour tends to create place- and sector-specific skills which by means of their mobility in space are likely to facilitate the recombination of local skills, make the acquirement of non-local skills possible and secure sufficient affinity between economic actors by strengthening other dimensions of proximity – all aspects regarded as crucial to facilitate interactive learning processes and contribute to sustained regional growth.

A fundamental research question in regional economic development, is why some regions are able to diversify into new products and industries, while others continue to face challenges in diversification? This doctorate research explores the different pathways to diversification. It follows the three-stage modular structure of DBA for Cranfield School of Management. This thesis consists of a systematic literature review, a single qualitative case study on UAE, and a research synthesis of published cases on Singapore, Norway and UAE. The linking document provides a summary of the three projects and consolidates findings and contributions into a path creation model that provides new understanding on the pathways to regional diversifications. This research integrates existing theoretical foundations of evolutionary economic geography, institutional economic geography, path dependence, industry relatedness, economic complexity, and path creation into a unified conceptual path creation model. It generates propositions, builds a framework and develops a matrix for path creation that integrate context, actors, factors, mechanisms and outcomes shaping regional diversification. It finds that in the context of path dependence and existing conditions of a region, economic actors undertake strategic measures to influence the institutional capabilities to accumulate knowledge and trigger indigenous creation, anchoring, branching, and clustering diversification mechanisms to create complex varieties of related and unrelated diversification outcomes. The institutional collaboration capabilities are found to be instrumental in accumulating knowledge and determining the relatedness and complexity of diversification outcomes. This research further provides a set of integrated platform strategies to guide policy-makers on setting up the pathways to regional diversification.

L'écologie industrielle comprend un ensemble de pratiques visant à réduire les rejets industriels polluants et se présente aujourd'hui comme une voie possible à la transition du système industriel vers un mode de fonctionnement plus durable, inspiré par des écosystèmes naturels. Sa mise en oeuvre peut aussi être à l'origine de dynamiques d'innovation favorables au développement et à la diversification des territoires, en particulier industriels. L'écologie industrielle est en effet généralement étudiée sous l'angle de son organisation industrielle (organisation des flux d'intrants et de produits, cadre institutionnel et organisation de la coopération entre entreprises) et des impacts environnementaux qu'elle entraîne (économie des matériaux, recyclage, etc.). Nous étudions dans cette thèse son potentiel en termes de développement économique territorial. Pour cela nous construisons un cadre théorique et conceptuel permettant de mettre en avant le rôle de l'écologie industrielle comme un moteur de développement et de diversification des territoires. Nous proposons un nouveau modèle d'analyse s'articulant autour du concept de milieu éco-innovateur. Ce concept, construit en croisant la littérature sur l'écologie industrielle et les théories de l'économie territoriale et de l'innovation, permet d'expliquer les mécanismes par lesquels l'écologie industrielle peut favoriser les dynamiques d'éco-innovation et d'attractivité. Il constitue le socle sur lequel reposent nos hypothèses. Ce modèle d'analyse est appliqué au cas du complexe industrialo-portuaire de Dunkerque, un territoire à forte spécialisation industrielle à la recherche de nouvelles voies de diversification des activités économiques. Nous cherchons à comprendre les atouts de l'écolodie industrielle pour la construction d'un milieu "éco-innovateur", au sein duquel les effets d'agglomération favorisent la génération et l'attractivité d'activités nouvelles contribuant ainsi à une diversification de l'économie territoriale. Pour cela, nous adoptons une méthodologie mixte basée sur l'analyse descriptive de deux bases de données d'entreprises et sur un ensemble d'entretiens semi-directifs auprès de 30 entreprises et institutions. L'étude empirique permet de constater que l'écologie industrielle contribue au développement des caractéristiques d'un milieu éco-innnovateur à Dunkerque. Pour autant, les dynamiques d'apprentissage collectif et d'éco-innovations restent modestes. De plus, une nouvelle dynamique de création d'entreprises s'est développée à Dunkerque depuis 2014. Ces entreprises sont reliées aux entreprises constitutives de la symbiose, soit par le secteur d'activitén soit par des synergies éco-industrielles. Cette dynamique ne concerne toutefois que quelques unités, mais tend à conforter notre schéma d'analyse. La dynamique de diversification fondée sur une variété reliée ici mise en évidence se heurte toutefois à de nombreuses difficultés. Celles-ci sont liées aux aspects opérationnels et organisationnels des synergies mais elles sont aussi spécifiques au territoire (fragilité économique et dépendance de sentier). La contribution de l'écologie industrielle à la diversification des territoires industriels dépend selon nous de la résolution de ces difficultés. Le développement d'activités de service et d'une gouvernance territoriale adaptée peut contribuer à la réduction de ces limites. Nous étudions les caractéristiques du secteur des services et de la gouvernance de la symbiose industrielle de Dunkerque. Nous aboutissons à un ensemble de recommandations qui peuvent être utiles tant aux politiques publiques qu'aux entreprises et institutions, afin de renforcer le milieu éco-innovateur et de favoriser les dynamiques d'innovation qu'il promet. / Industrial ecology includes a set of practices aimed at reducing polluting industrial discharges and stands today as a possible way for the transition of industrial system towards a more sustainable operating mode, inspired by natural ecosystems. Its implementation can also be at the origin of innovation dynamics favorable to the development and diversification of territories, especially industrial ones. Industrial ecology is generally studied from the view of its industrial organization (organization of input and output flows, institutional framework and organization of cooperation between companies) and the environmental impacts it entails (economy of materials, recycling, etc.). In this thesis, we study its potential in terms of territorial economic development. For this purpose, we build a theoretical and conceptual framework to highlight the role of industrial ecology as a driver for development and diversification of territories. We propose a new analytical model based on the concept of eco-innovative milieu. This concept, built by crossing the literature on industrial ecology and theories of territorial economy and innovation, explains the mechanisms by which industrial ecology can promote territorial attractiveness and eco-innovation dynamics. It is the foundation on which our hypotheses are based. This model of analysis is applied to the industrialo-port complex of Dunkirk, a territory with strong industrial specialization in search of new ways of diversification of economic activities. We seek to understand the advantages of industrial ecology for the construction of an "eco-innovative" milieu, in which the effects of agglomeration favor the generation and the attractiveness of new activities thus contributing to a diversification of territorial economy. We adopt a mixed methodology based on the descriptive analysis of two databases of companies and a set of semi-structured interviews with 30 companies and institutions. The empirical study shows that industrial ecology contributes to the development of the characteristics of an eco-innovative milieu in Dunkirk. however, the dynamics of collective learning and eco-innovation specific to eco-innovative milieus remain modest. In addition, a nex dynamic of business creation has developed in Dunkirk since 2014. These new companies are linked to companies in the industrial symbiosis, either by the sector of activity, or by eco-industrial synergies. However, this dynamic only concerns a few units, but tends to validate our analysis. The diversification dynamic based on a related variety highlighted here faces, however, many difficulties. These are related to the operational and organizational aspects of the synergies nut they are also specific to the territory (economic fragility and path dependence). The contribution of industrial ecology to the diversification of industrial territories depends, in our opinion, on the resolution of these difficulties. The development of service activities and adapted territorial governance can contribute to the reduction of these limits. We study the characteristics of the service sector and the governance of the industrial symbiosis in Dunkirk. We end up with a set of recommendations that can be useful for public policies as well as for companies and institutions, in order to strengthen the eco-innovative milieu and foster the innovation dynamics that it promises.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-07-13T20:20:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 josewilsonaquinodebrito.pdf: 2695206 bytes, checksum: 3bde584d1a5844a4f2c9ae314c649731 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-08T15:52:53Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 josewilsonaquinodebrito.pdf: 2695206 bytes, checksum: 3bde584d1a5844a4f2c9ae314c649731 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-08T15:52:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 josewilsonaquinodebrito.pdf: 2695206 bytes, checksum: 3bde584d1a5844a4f2c9ae314c649731 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-09 / O principal objetivo desse trabalho foi estimar os impactos das externalidades do mercado de trabalho analisadas por meios de graus de especialização, variedade relacionada e não relacionada da mobilidade no crescimento regional no Brasil de 1996 até 2008. Tanto a taxa de crescimento de emprego como taxa de crescimento da produtividade do trabalho foram utilizadas como medidas de crescimento. Para realizar as estimações foi utilizado o modelo de Métodos de Momentos Generalizados (MMG) devido uma possível endogeneidade entre mobilidade e crescimento regional. Os resultados indicaram que o grau de variedade de conhecimento inter-regional é um dos principais impulsionadores do nível de emprego. O grau de especialização intrarregional impacta positivamente no emprego regional. Apenas os graus de variedade de conhecimento apresentaram resultados positivos no crescimento da produtividade do trabalho. Os resultados encontrados nesse trabalho sugerem que a variedade de conhecimento proveniente da mobilidade mão de obra qualificada é um dos principais impulsionadores do crescimento regional. / The main objective of this study was to estimate the impacts of externalities in the labor market analyzed by degrees of specialization, related and unrelated variety of mobility in regional growth in Brazil from 1996 to 2008. Both the employment growth rate and the Labor productivity growth were used as growth’s measures. To estimate the equations was used Generalized Moment Methods (GMM) due to soften a possible endogeneity between mobility and regional growth. The results indicated that the degree of variety of inter-regional knowledge is one of the main drivers of the level of employment. The degree of intraregional specialization has a positive impact on regional employment. Only the degrees of variety of knowledge presented positive results in the growth of labor productivity. The results found in this study suggest that the variety of knowledge derived from skilled labor mobility is one of the main drivers of regional growth.