The Geographical Dimension in the Interactive World – The Importance of Place

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors discuss how the features of the business landscape affect policies aiming to promote regional development. Regional development policies have been central in the European Union and at the single-country level. Measures taken to promote development in a geographical area, based on the concept of clusters and (national or regional) innovation systems, often fall short of their objectives. That is discussed against the findings on features of the business landscape that emphasise its heterogeneity and the importance of specific couplings within and across geographical areas. Prior Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) research emphasised the importance of firm-specific linkages to places and across places. One consequence is the relatedness of one place with other places, which implies that crossing the (imaginary) boundaries of a place appears to be the essence of business activity. The chapter concludes by highlighting how regional policies can benefit from acknowledging and taking into account firm-specific interdependences.

Citation

Eklinder-Frick, J. and Linné, Å. (2017), "The Geographical Dimension in the Interactive World – The Importance of Place", Håkansson, H. and Snehota, I. (Ed.) No Business is an Island, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 123-139. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78714-549-820171007