Suchergebnisse

Social trust is increasingly seen as an important determinant of economic growth and social prosperity in regions and nations. Even in a comparatively homogeneous area such as Europe, there are stark sub-national differences in levels of generalized trust. It is thus of crucial importance to identify the driving forces of regional trust and analyze the dynamics of its formation. The present paper considers these issues based on three waves of the European Values Study. Evidence is provided to demonstrate that values of regional trust remain substantially stable over an approx. 20-year period and are modified only through spatially correlated random noise processes. This finding is consistent with additional analyses identifying slow-moving factors that are responsible for the spatial distribution of trust scores and are buried deep in the cultural background of a society. Hence, in spite of its economic significance, social trust does not appear to be amenable to political intervention in the short to medium term.

Theories that emphasise the role of proximity and tacit knowledge in innovation processes highlight the importance of social interaction and networking for the diffusion of knowledge. A concept that captures the impact of human relations on economic activity is Social Capital. Using factorial analysis with data from the European Values Study we demonstrate empirically the multi-dimensionality of Social Capital. The obtained independent dimensions serve as inputs in a knowledge production function estimated for a sample of European regions. One of our major results is that the impact of Social Capital on regional innovation processes is significant and comparable to the importance of Human Capital. However, not all dimensions of Social Capital exhibit the same explanatory power. The dimension "Associational Activity" represents the strongest driving force for patenting activity. Hence, empirical evidence for the significance of weak ties in innovative processes is given.

In both academic literature and political discussions the concept of innovation is recognized as an essential ingredient in economic development and competitiveness for firms, regions, and nations. Innovation also ranks at the top of policy agendas in the field of regional policy. Therefore, the attractiveness of an appropriate innovation index for ranking regions and further developing them along a more or less objective measurement scale is evident. However, whether such rankings help convey a better understanding of innovation and its drivers, or whether they are merely a special type of 'beauty contest' with little substance is the focus of our analyses. To deny the latter, the innovation output indicators used for the composite index have to be appropriate representatives of the underlying innovation concept and each indicator has to be driven by the same impact factors. If this is not the case, interpretation of the index inevitably gives rise to partly inappropriate policy recommendations. In order to demonstrate this claim we elaborate a set of innovation indicators at the regional level based on the theoretical concept of the OECD document 'The Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities, Proposed Guidelines for Collecting and Interpreting Technological Innovation Data' known as the 'Oslo Manual' (OECD, 2005) and their empirical implementation in the Community Innovation Survey. Additionally, innovation drivers well established in the literature are collected to estimate their impact on each innovation indicator as well as on the composite index derived from the innovation indicators. The question whether 2 innovation should be measured as a multidimensional concept and investigated using various indicators or whether simplifying innovation to a one-dimensional concept is appropriate is clearly answered in favour of the multidimensional approach. Surprisingly, this is not due to the multidimensionality of the indicators themselves (all statistical measures indicate that the considered variables are sufficiently represented by one component), but to our first evidence that the innovation output indicators are driven by various impact factors and can therefore be influenced by various political strategies. According to these findings any type of innovation ranking is of very limited use.

SummaryThe purpose of these analyses is to investigate collective memory, i.e. the shared historical experiences of a community, as driving force for contemporary social capital. Three societal characteristics are considered proxies for collective memory: the current institutional framework as indicator for present common experiences; the cultural attitudes as proxy for long‐term developments; and severe shocks in the history of the regions. The primary aim is thus to understand whether collective memory permits identification of not only the effects of recent (i.e. institutional) or distant (i.e. cultural) on‐going experiences, but also of the impact of such relevant shocks. For this purpose, a comprehensive case study is conducted within a cross‐border research area with special historical development, where it is possible to discriminate between these three indicators of collective memory.The findings suggest a significant impact of collective memory on social capital endowment. Particularly striking shocks are sustained in the collective memory of a community, influencing its behavior even long after the incident occurred. As a consequence, especially the levels of social trust and networking of the affected population are significantly influenced, such that the community develops protective measures in order to secure its norms, values and traditions. As a result, the social capital of a population is heavily influenced by events that occurred outside living memory.

Jungunternehmen versprechen dynamische und prosperierende Regionalwirtschaften und werden entsprechend gefördert. Diese qualitative Studie untersucht die Handlungslogiken Politik-, Markt- und Gesellschaftsorientierter Promotoren. Auf organisationaler Ebene entstehen durchaus Spannungsfelder zwischen diesen drei Orientierungen. Aus regionaler Sicht wiederum zeigt sich, dass ein gut abgestimmtes und kommuniziertes Nebeneinander dieser drei Geschäftsmodelle optimal ist.