Title: Renewing industry cluster development via interregional industry-university links

Authors: Andrew Arbuthnott; Martin Hannibal; Mikael Nybacka

Addresses: Umeå School of Business, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. ' Department of Marketing and Management, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense, Denmark. ' KTH – Royal Institute of Technology, Division of Vehicle Dynamics, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: The importance of developing regional industry clusters has grown alongside the need for industries and universities to be more interlinked. A regional automotive testing industry cluster, located in the north of Sweden, is the innovative empirical setting for this research paper. Following the logic of induction, it is discovered that as the regional industry reached a certain maturity, renewal was sought via developing links to universities within other regions in Sweden. A conceptual sensemaking lens is used to theorise upon the links thus formed and to develop new insights into regional industry renewal processes and interregional industry-university links. Practical insights stemming from the case are also explained, and future research directions provided.

Keywords: interregional links; renewal processes; Sweden; industry-university links; industrial collaboration; sensemaking; sensegiving; regional industry clusters; regional development; automotive testing; peripheral; case study; university-industry cooperation; universities; automobile industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIRD.2011.043468

International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development, 2011 Vol.3 No.6, pp.604 - 631

Received: 08 Sep 2010
Accepted: 12 Sep 2011
Published online: 29 Nov 2014 *

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