Building Regional Innovation Systems: Is Endogenous Industrial Development Possible in the Global Economy?

This article aims to analyse some of the possibilities and barriers that local communities face in promoting endogenous industrial development in an increasingly globalised economy. The analysis is based on the view that regionalisation is an important aspect of the globalisation trend and, therefore, a crucial economic trend in the international economy. In the second section, some theoretical issues are introduced and some policy background and dilemmas set out. In the third section, a description is given of the 1997 decision by the large transnational corporation, Ericsson, to move one of its development departments from a small Norwegian town to the Oslo region. The reversal of this decision caused by strong opposition from employees and the local area in general is then analysed. Finally, in the concluding section, the discussion departs from the ‘Ericsson case’ and discusses, from the perspective of regional innovation systems, development policies aimed at embedding units of TNC in local areas. The section also discusses how the case study may advance our understanding of the interplay of globalisation and regional dynamics.