Knowledge and Industrial Organization - Tapa dura

This volume contains a selection of papers presented at an international symposium on research and development, industrial change and economic policy organized and hosted by the University of Karlstad, Viinnland, Sweden. Situated about halfway between Stockholm and Oslo, Karlstad stands on the River Klara, which reaches north into the mountains of Norway. Founded by King Charles IX of Sweden, whose statue stands in the city centre beside the river, the city celebrated its 400th anniversary in 1984. For many decades the wealth of Karlstad has been based on traditional industries such as iron, timber and paper, and throughout the province of Viinnland there are a considerable number of industrial communities which grew up around mines, ironworks, sawmills and papermills. Even the cultural structure of these communities is heavily marked by the industrial environment in which they developed. However, for over a decade now a major structural reorientation has been taking place and the old industrial structures have been disappearing. For various reasons the importance of large scale, manufacturing companies has declined and as a result of intense development work with new ideas, new entrepreneurs and new technology, we have seen the rapid rise of small companies. In this context, recent research has shown that universities playing an increasingly central role in regional development. Thus the continued development of the University of Karlstad is of significant regional and national interest. Although fairly small in an international perspective (approximately 4000 students) the university is expanding rapidly.

This volume contains a selection of papers on research and development, industrial change and economic policy. It discusses the now emerging problems generated or reinforced by research and development policies in industry and governments both at scientific and policy levels. The general aims are to present an overview of present research on R & D investments and their impact on industrial and regional restructuring in advanced economies and to specify some of the most important potentials of further theoretical and empirical research. The focus of these discussions is on patterns of innovation activities and their relation to industrial and public policy, diffusion of technology as a temporal, spatial and organisational problem, technology transfer and consequences of technological change for policy making at the regional and industrial levels.