The role of powerful incumbent firms: shaping regional industrial path development through change and maintenance agency
This article seeks to advance perspectives on powerful incumbent firms in (new) regional industrial path development. Drawing on recent insights from transition studies, it is argued that this actor group – hitherto often portrayed in a rather one-sided manner – plays a crucial role in shaping the p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Regional Studies, Regional Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681376.2022.2081597 |
| _version_ | 1818212708989796352 |
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| author | Simon Baumgartinger-Seiringer |
| author_facet | Simon Baumgartinger-Seiringer |
| author_sort | Simon Baumgartinger-Seiringer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article seeks to advance perspectives on powerful incumbent firms in (new) regional industrial path development. Drawing on recent insights from transition studies, it is argued that this actor group – hitherto often portrayed in a rather one-sided manner – plays a crucial role in shaping the pace and direction of regional path development through agency oriented towards both change and maintenance. Building on systemic perspectives at the intersection of evolutionary economic geography and innovation studies, a particular emphasis is placed on incumbent firms’ interventions to reconfigure or stabilize their surrounding regional innovation system to support their intentions. To this end, this article examines how incumbents exert their influence through various forms of power as means by which they promote or hinder regional industrial change. Empirically, the role of incumbent firms in three traditional automotive regions in Austria is investigated. It is shown how they leverage their power to propel the industry’s digitalization and suppress its decarbonization. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:52:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7da97433ae18497ba972f9416ea35dfe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2168-1376 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:52:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Regional Studies, Regional Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-7da97433ae18497ba972f9416ea35dfe2022-12-22T00:35:38ZengTaylor & Francis GroupRegional Studies, Regional Science2168-13762022-12-019139040810.1080/21681376.2022.2081597The role of powerful incumbent firms: shaping regional industrial path development through change and maintenance agencySimon Baumgartinger-Seiringer0Department of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, AustriaThis article seeks to advance perspectives on powerful incumbent firms in (new) regional industrial path development. Drawing on recent insights from transition studies, it is argued that this actor group – hitherto often portrayed in a rather one-sided manner – plays a crucial role in shaping the pace and direction of regional path development through agency oriented towards both change and maintenance. Building on systemic perspectives at the intersection of evolutionary economic geography and innovation studies, a particular emphasis is placed on incumbent firms’ interventions to reconfigure or stabilize their surrounding regional innovation system to support their intentions. To this end, this article examines how incumbents exert their influence through various forms of power as means by which they promote or hinder regional industrial change. Empirically, the role of incumbent firms in three traditional automotive regions in Austria is investigated. It is shown how they leverage their power to propel the industry’s digitalization and suppress its decarbonization.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681376.2022.2081597path developmentincumbent firmsmaintenance agencychange agencyautomotive industrydigitalization |
| spellingShingle | Simon Baumgartinger-Seiringer The role of powerful incumbent firms: shaping regional industrial path development through change and maintenance agency Regional Studies, Regional Science path development incumbent firms maintenance agency change agency automotive industry digitalization |
| title | The role of powerful incumbent firms: shaping regional industrial path development through change and maintenance agency |
| title_full | The role of powerful incumbent firms: shaping regional industrial path development through change and maintenance agency |
| title_fullStr | The role of powerful incumbent firms: shaping regional industrial path development through change and maintenance agency |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of powerful incumbent firms: shaping regional industrial path development through change and maintenance agency |
| title_short | The role of powerful incumbent firms: shaping regional industrial path development through change and maintenance agency |
| title_sort | role of powerful incumbent firms shaping regional industrial path development through change and maintenance agency |
| topic | path development incumbent firms maintenance agency change agency automotive industry digitalization |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681376.2022.2081597 |
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