The territoriality of the network economy: evidence from Flanders
Cabus, Peter Vanhaverbeke, Wim
Cabus, Peter
Vanhaverbeke, Wim
Citations
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Publication Type
Journal article with impact factor
Editor
Supervisor
Publication Year
2006
Journal
Entrepreneurship & Regional Development
Book
Publication Volume
18
Publication Issue
1
Publication Begin page
25
Publication End page
53
Publication Number of pages
Collections
Abstract
As the network economy is continuing to develop, external economies are taking over internal economies and they are increasingly determining the entrepreneurial logic. To evaluate the territorial impact of this new logic a theoretical framework is developed based on a division of external economies between agglomeration economies that play a role in the economic functioning of urban areas and network economies that result from the networking among firms. The general picture of firms located in Flanders is one of intense networking within agglomerations, especially in their networking with suppliers, together with intense short and long distance relationships, where urban areas dominate the scene. A comparison between the urban networks introduced in spatial policy and the geography of firms’ networks, which has been investigated in this paper as the outcome of a large scale questionnaire, reveals that the nature of the firms’ networked territory can in fact not be translated in terms of urban networks but in terms of relationships between firms located in territories with dynamic industrial communities, and where cities, as a contextual place, play an important role.