The environmental technology industry is considered generally as a growing industry driven by urging climate-, energy- and waste problems, regulations and increasing environmental consciousness, among others. Upper Austria often referred to as an industrial region features a heterogeneous group of environmental technology firms that are outperforming other regions in Austria in terms of firm numbers and employees in this sector. Following the main theoretical approaches on cluster life cycles and cluster evolution this paper examines factors on firm and cluster level on different spatial scales that have affected the emergence and evolution of individual environmental technology enterprises and its cluster in Upper Austria. The aim of the paper is to get a profound understanding of the relevance of these factors and to evaluate their development over time. The paper uses primary data from 30 face-to-face firm interviews with managerial staff. Preliminary results suggest that factors relevant for the development of Upper Austrian environmental technology firms geographically shift and change over. Location factors that caused firms to settle in Upper Austria show a rather strong connectivity of the company founder to the region. Hence, personal factors and partners in the region are more relevant compared to other factors. At a later stage, factors such as skilled labour and networks become more important on regional level whereas other factors such as demand, regulations and public support initiatives are more relevant on national and international levels. From an evolutionary perspective factors such as demand and corporate partners become nationally and internationally more important over time, others that are mostly associated with knowledge transfer remain on the regional scale. Overall, we find tendencies of growth and geographically enlarged interaction scales of the Upper Austrian environmental technology cluster as well as a certain persistence of related ties to the regional and national innovation system. (authors' abstract) / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

Calif., Univ. of California, Diss.--San Diego, 2004. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich. - Enth.3 Beitr.

Business School, Diss.--Jönköping, 2007. / Die Vorlage enth. insgesamt 7 Werke.

Univ., Diss.--Louvain-la-Neuve, 2006.

The environmental technology industry is considered to be a growing industry driven by urging climate-, energy- and waste problems and environmental regulation, among others. It seems, however, that not all locations and regions have the same preconditions for its emergence and growth. Based on regional economic, geographic and cluster theories it may be argued that particular factor- and demand conditions, regional industry structures and institutional configurations should play a role, but so far little is known on these aspects. This paper focuses on a region in Austria that appears to have a highly developed environmental technology industry and studies its characteristics and growth. We investigate the region of Upper Austria, where the environmental technology industry has evolved since the beginning of 1970s with roots in engineering, machinery, and instruments firms. The aim is to improve our understanding of the development of the environmental industry in the region and the factors and conditions affecting it. Characteristic changes of the cluster in relation to national level industry are addressed. The paper uses findings from national survey data (1993-2007) and exploratory interviews with local industry experts and stakeholders. The preliminary findings from our analyses suggest that Upper Austria´s environmental technology industry is characterized by higher growth relative to the national level. The region is also the dominant location in Austria in terms of number of firms and employees in this sector. The sector seems to benefit from existing industries and engineering competences in the region and is also supported by a number of organizations. Possible factors and conditions for understanding localized changes are explored underpinning these cluster life cycle changes. (author's abstract) / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

Norges Handelshøyskole, Diss.--Bergen, 2006. / Enth. 3 Beitr.

Kath. Universiẗat, Diss.--Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, 2007.

Handelshøgskolen, Diss.--Bodø, 2006. / Enth. 4 Beitr.

Pa., Univ. of Pennsylvania, Diss.--Philadelphia, 2003. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich. - Enth. 2 Beitr.

Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Diss.--Los Angeles, 2002. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich. - Enth. 3 Beitr.