Currently we are witnessing the disappearance of many man-made borders and an increased international cooperation in the European Union. At the same time, the former communist countries are going through a painful process of economic transformation. Whether these developments lead to an open...

This paper addresses the issue of technogenesis and investigates in an exploratory way whether local factors are important for innovativeness of firms. Particular attention is given to the knowledge base of cities. The paper aims also to model effects of relevant local factors on innovativeness...

Much of the debate over the spatial setting of innovation has now resulted in the recognition of the region as a principle framework for knowledge creation and use. Little attention has been given to knowledge activities in the region from an integrated point of view, and to policy approaches...

This paper serves to clarify conditions that hamper the learning capability of regional (local) actors and to identify how this capability can be improved, given a number of distinct evolutionary constraints. First, we discuss policymaking in an evolutionary context. This is followed by an...

In this study we address the potential rise of innovative regions in Central and Eastern Europe by connecting the interests of foreign investors and the interests of recipient regions as learning regions. Our exploratory results give a rather pessimistic picture in that enhancing the innovative...

In the development of modern urban systems we are facing a shift from central cities as the major location of coordination functions, high-order services and innovative activities, to interconnected nodes at some distance in a larger metropolitan area. However, which cities in the emerging new...

In the past decades, the economic base of cities in advanced economies has shifted to a dominance of knowledge-based activities. Therefore, knowledge needs to be treated in urban policy as an important source of economic power and welfare. It is noteworthy that despite its importance, the urban...

Many decisions of mankind are rational only to a limited extent. This holds for individual travel behaviour, but also for long-range strategic decisions on transport systems or transport technology. In any decision problem coping with uncertainty is the most critical element. The introduction of...

The present study addresses the relevance of geographic proximity for companies in our age of advanced ICT. Many visions of, and speculations on, an increased footlooseness of companies and a concomitant dispersal of urban economic activity have been published in recent years. To identify...