Title: What happened to the growth? - The case of the ICT industry in Oulu, Finland

Authors: Jaakko Simonen; Timo Koivumäki; Veikko Seppänen; Sauli Sohlo; Rauli Svento

Addresses: Department of Economics, Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4600, FIN-90014, Finland ' Martti Ahtisaari Institute, Oulu Business School and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4600, FIN-90014, Finland ' Martti Ahtisaari Institute, Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4600, FIN-90014, Finland ' Martti Ahtisaari Institute, Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4600, FIN-90014, Finland ' Department of Economics, Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4600, FIN-90014, Finland

Abstract: In this paper, we attempt to shed some light on how regional high-technology industrial structures and increased globalisation in business strategies combined with structures of knowledge and innovation networks and regional innovation policy can have a significant effect on a region's ability to react to changes in the global economic and technological environment. The aim is to provide a multidisciplinary view of regional development by combining not only the various views of the traditional agglomeration and regional innovation network literature but also the views about changing business strategies. We show, based on the empirical evidence, how the very specialised industrial and highly centralised structure of the innovation network together with regional policy choices can hinder a region's ability to cope with sudden changes in the global economic and technological environment.

Keywords: ICT clusters; regional development; regional policy; knowledge networks; innovation networks; industrial structure; ICT industry; Oulu; Finland; globalisation; information and communications technology; information technology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2016.078704

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2016 Vol.29 No.2, pp.287 - 308

Received: 31 Jan 2015
Accepted: 25 Oct 2015
Published online: 01 Sep 2016 *

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