Innovative regional milieux,small firms,and regional development: Evidence from Mediterranean France

The purpose of this article is to critically examine key factors that have been involved in the remarkable economic turnaround of Mediterranean France, which until recently was always considered to be a peripheral zone within the national economy. Particular attention is given to the role of noneconomic factors that condition the location choices of households and firms and to the roles of technological innovation, service activities, and small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in the regional development process. With increasing vertical disintegration, Mediterranean France has been realizing external economies from the expansion of the entire system of production. SMEs, which are especially prevalent in this region — and which have behavior patterns that follow a logic that is more spatial than sectoral in nature — have contributed significantly to endogenous regional development through their growth as an ensemble. The new regional organizational paradigm transcends older forms of industrialization.     

Project risk management methodology for small firms

We present a project management methodology designed for small businesses (SMEs), who need to run projects beyond their normal operations. These projects are critical to the survival of these organisations, such as the development of new products to adapt to the market or new legislation, management system implementations, etc. Very frequently, the managers of these projects are not project management professionals, so they need guidance to have autonomy, using minimal time and documentation resources. The risk management method outlined in this paper is based on extensive research with a large number (72) of Spanish companies. This new methodology considers the factors that are usually neglected by SMEs; i.e., project alignment with the company's strategy and results management. The methodology, based on project risk management, includes simple tools, templates and risk checklists with recommended actions and indicators. For validation it was tested in five different types of real projects (innovation, management systems and ICT implementation) of industrial and service companies with different characteristics.     

The role of official heritage in regional spaces

Following the argument that increasing mobility has scattered consumption throughout Sweden’s regions, this study investigates how individuals’ consumption choices are influenced by official heritage. It argues that individuals’ everyday routines highlight the role played by heritage in socio-economic regional change, challenging traditional planning systems and altering individuals’ relationships with their environments, leading to new values being placed on official heritage. This argument was tested using interviews and questionnaires in Mariefred, Sweden, and demonstrates that official heritage plays multiple and contrasting roles, including the use of heritage as an attempt to reconcile opposing principles such as progress/development and tradition/conservation.     

Resource provision ego-networks in small Greek construction firms

The prominence of small professional service providers in a fragmented construction sector in part relates to the ability to provide competitive advantage through the provision of a personalized service in a context where diseconomies of scale prevail. The Greek construction industry is particularly representative of this trend towards the dominance of small businesses. The small business owner relies upon their ability to secure critical resources through personal networks which provide information, advice, funding and brokerage. Resource provision ego-networks are investigated structurally using social network analysis. A multiple case study approach is employed with comparative social network analysis, focusing on the density of ego-networks and the prominence of resource providers and associated subgroups. Findings show that commercial development activity is promoted through high-density networks, which infers that higher levels of connectivity characterize networks operating in environments of uncertainty. As these critical resource networks mature, they appear to rely less on strong ties and temporary formal project networks. Contractual relationships appear to co-exist with reciprocal flows of resources outside the contract's scope.

L'importance des petits prestataires de services professionnels dans un secteur du bâtiment qui est fragmenté tient pour partie à la capacité à assurer un avantage concurrentiel par la fourniture d'un service personnalisé dans un contexte où les déséconomies d'échelle prévalent. L'industrie grecque du bâtiment est particulièrement représentative de cette tendance à la dominance des petites entreprises. Le propriétaire d'une petite entreprise s'appuie sur sa capacité à garantir des ressources critiques par des réseaux personnels qui fournissent des informations, des conseils, du financement et des services de courtage. Les ego-réseaux prestataires de ressources sont examinés d'un point de vue structurel en utilisant une analyse des réseaux sociaux. Il est employé une approche basée sur une étude de cas multiples s'accompagnant d'une analyse comparative des réseaux sociaux, centrée sur la densité des ego-réseaux et sur l'importance des prestataires de ressources et des sous-groupes associés. Les résultats constatés montrent que la promotion des activités de développement commercial se fait par les réseaux haute densité, ce qui induit que des niveaux supérieurs de connectivité caractérisent les réseaux fonctionnant dans des contextes marqués par l'incertitude. Au fur et à mesure que ces réseaux de ressources critiques mûrissent, ils semblent moins s'appuyer sur des liens forts et des réseaux temporaires en rapport avec des projets formels. Il apparaît que les relations contractuelles coexistent avec des flux de ressources réciproques en dehors du champ du contrat.

ego-réseaux ou réseaux personnels, activité entrepreneuriale, réseaux prestataires de ressources, PME du bâtiment, analyse des réseaux sociaux     

The role of advertising in marketing civil/structural engineering consultancy firms

This paper examines the results of an investigation into the role of advertising in civil/structural consulting engineering service firms in the UK. A questionnaire survey of clients and engineering consultants was undertaken to ascertain the current advertising practices and preferences in the methods and media used. From the survey, the results show that clients and consultants agree on the use of advertising consultants and media to achieve enhanced communication with clients. However, more advertising should be directed towards architects because the majority of clients approach architects first when launching a construction project. The results demonstrate that advertising is necessary, but is not a major factor in the selection mechanism of consulting firms by clients; further market research must be carried out to measure advertising effectiveness.     

The role of organizational climate in socially embedding construction firms’ sustainability goals

Despite the growing interest in sustainability research, little scholarly attention, both conceptual and empirical, has been given to assessing the individual-level behavioural issues that affect sustainability outcomes. Still less research is undertaken to examine the mechanisms by which construction firms enable their sustainability goals to be socially embedded within their organizations to shape the behaviour and attitudes of employees. In an attempt to fill this gap, this paper draws from the extensive literature on organizational climate perspective to explain how organizational-level characteristics and processes can result in a strong, conducive climate that fosters shared perceptions and guide behaviours that are fundamental to the attainment of sustainability goals in organizations. From the critical review of this literature, this paper offers three research propositions and avenues in which they could be tested. The paper concludes with a broadened discussion of the theoretical and practical implications this framework has on advancing the sustainability discourse within CM discipline beyond the current largely technical, policy and institutional foci.     

The construction labour market skills crisis: the perspective of small–medium‐sized firms

Reports abound of the detrimental effect of the construction skills crisis on the performance and future development of the UK construction industry. The industry's continued growth in output, coupled with its unpopularity as a career choice, has led to extreme pressure on its labour market capacity. There remains, however, a paucity of empirical research into the nature of its highly complex labour market. In particular, very little attention has been paid to the impacts being felt by the smaller firms who account for the vast majority of the industry's economic output and employment. This paper reports on research that has explored the perspectives of smaller employers with respect to the skills crisis. Using an inductive methodology, this research canvassed the opinions of representatives of small‐ and medium‐sized (SME) firms in order to establish the impact of skills shortages on the operational efficiency of the industry. The paper reveals the complex interplay of factors which have combined to shape the industry's skills crisis in recent years and uncovers the practical implications for firms attempting to operate in increasingly tight labour market conditions.     

The effect of first aid training on objective safety behaviour in Australian small business construction firms

A 24 week experiment was conducted to determine the effect of first aid training on the occupational health and safety behaviour of participants in small business construction firms in Australia. A purposeful sample of 22 small business construction industry participants was identified. A simplified multiple baseline across workplace settings experimental design was used to introduce first aid training to workplace settings on a staggered basis. Objective measurement of occupational health and safety behaviour was conducted, by a researcher directly observing the workplace, before and after participants received first aid training. Individual performance was measured using a 14-item ‘individual safety measure’ (ISM) and global safety performance was measured using a 21-item ‘global site safety measure’ (GSSM). Pre-training and post-training performance scores for each category of safety performance were analysed using paired samples t-tests. The results were mixed. Performance improved in three of the four categories of safety performance measured by both the GSSM and ISM. The statistical significance of these improvements varied between performance categories. The results suggest that first aid training has a positive effect on occupational health and safety behaviour in Australian construction industry small businesses in the categories of personal protective equipment and housekeeping.     

The effects of scientific regional opportunities in science-technology flows: Evidence from scientific literature in firms patent data

Relevant scientific literature has demonstrated that in spaces of smaller scale than the national, the availability of scientific knowledge is also relevant for generating spillover effects that benefit the industrial sector. The proliferation of such literature consistently stressing the importance of physical proximity for the two-way flow of knowledge and for the development and fostering of innovation, together with the high degree of self-government of the Spanish regions (which have the competence to develop their own R&D policies), all suggest that the relationships between the scientific community and the industrial sector may be closer and more productive in the regions where the scientific potential is more relevant, in comparison with other regions. The basic objective of this article is to test for the possible differential effects of a favourable scientific environment on science-technology relationships, and more specifically, to determine if the considerable regional resources directed towards scientific research in local universities are being translated into economic results for industry, by way of better utilisation of scientific knowledge to enable companies to generate more and better innovations in processes and products. The methodology that we employ relates the scientific citations in patent documents - as a basic indicator of these science-technology flows- with various indicators of resources and results of academic research that reflect the scientific research environment. With caution, and recognising the limitations inherent in the NPC (non patent citation) methodology, different econometric specifications permit the conclusion to be drawn that companies of those regions with a more favourable scientific environment make greater use of scientific knowledge. Received: September 2003/Accepted: October 2004 The authors are members of Eco-21 Research Project. Centra Foundation (Junta de Andalucía). We are grateful for the useful comments on an earlier draft of this paper that were provided by three anonymous referees. This research has been granted by the Ministry of Science and Technology (SEC 2001–3030).     

Social capital and profits of small firms in the French construction industry

The profitability of small businesses in the French construction industry depends partly on their social capital. However, social capital yields advantages as well as constraints. How and under what conditions do social networks improve a company's profit margins? From a socio‐technical perspective and strategic analysis, we defend the idea that return on social capital is conditioned by the nature of the tasks performed and by the interdependencies among firms. Comparing about 160 businesses from four various crafts, we show that loose networks profit relatively specialized businesses working independently on construction sites, while cohesive networks benefit those businesses that are most affected by socio‐technical uncertainties.     

小城镇在区域交通系统中的功能和定位

对小城镇性质和规模的确定方法进行讨论，针对小城镇自身的具体特点和比较优势来明确小城镇的自身定位，突出特色，根据小城镇在区域中所处的交通位置及在城镇体系中的重要度，正确对其定位，使其自身与在城镇群中的定位互动起来。     

The locations of firms on intersecting roadways

With Bertrand-Nash mill-price competition, travel costs proportional to distance squared, and three firms on an interval, the equilibrium locations of the peripheral firms are further from the center than is socially optimal. If there is a central intersection, with four (or more) finite roadway segments radiating outward from the center (a small city spread along two intersecting roadways), and with one firm at the center and one on each radial segment, then the equilibrium locations of the peripheral firms are closer to the center than is socially optimal. Extensions include competition with spatial price discrimination, a more complicated system of intersecting roadways, and more than one firm on each roadway segment.     

议校企一体化合作办学对区域经济发展的作用

以沙洲职业工学院建筑工程技术专业与江苏德丰建设集团的深度合作为例,介绍了双方的合作模式以及取得的成果,并结合自身的经验给出了校企一体化合作办学的发展方向。     

The spatial distribution of new technology-based firms: Empirical results for West-Germany

The focus of the article is to shed some more light on the spatial distribution of new technology-based firms (NTBF) and to discuss location factors which may contribute to the explanation of the variation in the incidence of NTBF between the West-German districts (“Kreise”). Based on theoretical models explaining the location decisions of new firms, hypotheses are derived and tested in an empirical model. The regression results indicate strong correlations between the occurrence of NTBF and the proximity to Research and Development (R&D) facilities comprising universities, technical colleges and non-university institutes as well as private R&D. As expected, the impact of the various facilities varies with respect to their field of specialization, showing major positive correlations with respect to technical disciplines. Moreover, the estimates reveal out differences due to spatial characteristics such as infrastructure and other structural factors. Received: 26 April 1999 / Accepted: 28 November 1999