Search

A vital ingredient for the success of interorganizational collaboration projects is strong personal relationships among the partners. Their formation is structured by geographical distances between partners. In the corresponding research, it is assumed that geographic distance inhibits face-to-face interactions, which are highly effective for tie-formation. However, findings from adjacent fields of research suggest that greater distances can also be conducive to the development of personal relations. In this paper, we unravel these contradictions. Empirically, we examine the development of 2132 personal ties between individuals from 20 government-funded interorganizational innovation projects using a mixed-method design. Statistical analysis of the data reveals a U-shaped correlation between geographical and social proximity. Contrary to common assumptions, large geographical distances are found to be particularly conducive to forming relationships. The qualitative data explains this finding by identifying and systematically relating five practices which are associated with specific distances and which are (differently) effective for tie-formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both place-specific context conditions and the interplay of a variety of actors influence regional energy transitions. Yet, the role of regional lead companies and how they are embedded in regional transitions has not been systematically analysed, even though a lack of embeddedness in their geographical context could possibly impede transitions. In our contribution, we expand transition studies with insights from economic geography and sociology to grasp the embeddedness of regional lead companies in regional transitions along ten indicators. We analyse how intra-organizational and regional factors influence these indicators and the overall degree of embeddedness. Finally, we reflect on how the (dis)embeddedness of companies affects regional energy transitions. Empirically, our analysis is based on a most different case study design, comparing a wind turbine manufacturer and its detached relation to the energy transition around a city in Central Germany with a wind project developer deeply embedded in a rural Northern German district. These findings are mirrored not only in different embeddedness degrees, but also in different types of embeddedness that we term 'transactional' and 'transformational'. By systematically describing the interrelation between organizations and regions, our contribution shows how multifaceted embeddedness is and how closely inner-organizational factors are intertwined with regional transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive perspective of transformative regional development is pertinent considering complex present and future challenges such as the climate crisis. Particularly in face of ecological boundaries which manifest themselves in limited resources and result in social disputes, a realistic grip on transformative regional development is of utmost importance. To advance this field, we propose a research agenda that draws on the debates on regional industrial path development and sustainability transitions. We define two core dimensions: interrelations between several industrial paths and interrelations between regions and between spatial scales. We argue that both dimensions need to be considered against ecological boundaries and as embedded in social dynamics. We combine specific questions on these interrelations into a research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multinational companies (MNC) face a constant tension between a regional orientation which entails regional embeddedness and their world-spanning activities. The relationship between MNCs and their regional surroundings is here analysed at two levels, the institutional level of the ‘fit’ between the regional environment and the MNC's activities, and the project-specific level in which direct, innovation-related interaction between the company and regional players takes place. It can be shown that these two levels may show very different characteristics with regard to one and the same company, and that selective and dynamic forms of regional embeddedness occur. Furthermore, regional embeddedness of innovation projects does not necessarily take place even if the region offers ample possibilities for cooperation and regional links of the MNC at the institutional level may be strong. A thorough understanding of an MNC's relationship to its region is hence dependent upon a process-oriented two-level analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]