TY - BOOK

T1 - The Geography of the Knowledge Economy in Denmark:

T2 - Unpacking the Socio-Spatial Relations of Knowledge Creation in Danish Regions

AU - Skytt, Christine Benna

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - Knowledge, and its centrality in contemporary economic activities, has been thepivotal focus in academic literature in recent decades. It has been claimed that thecontemporary stage of capitalism is one of a knowledge economy characterised byintensive globalisation processes and new communication technologies producingnew international markets and enhanced competition among economic actors. In thiscontext, it has been argued that the ability continuously to create, aggregate, use andre-use knowledge has become a matter of vital importance for economic developmentin firms, cities and regions.Consequently, debates about the knowledge economy have raised questions abouthow geography affects processes and practices of knowledge creation. Two mainapproaches have been particularly influential in economic geography: the first stressesgeographical proximity between economic actors as vital for knowledge creation,whereas the second stresses social and relational proximity between actors as criticalfor knowledge creation. However, most of these studies lack detailed empiricalevidence of the processes on knowledge creation and their social and spatialimplications. The aim of this thesis is therefore to unpack the socio-spatial relationsthat facilitate regional knowledge creation in the knowledge economy. By addingempirical flesh to the bones of the often abstract theories of knowledge creation, thisthesis explores the specifics of how localities facilitate the creation of important socialrelations among actors that are vital for knowledge creation in the knowledgeeconomy, and how this may vary between different types of region and of industry.

AB - Knowledge, and its centrality in contemporary economic activities, has been thepivotal focus in academic literature in recent decades. It has been claimed that thecontemporary stage of capitalism is one of a knowledge economy characterised byintensive globalisation processes and new communication technologies producingnew international markets and enhanced competition among economic actors. In thiscontext, it has been argued that the ability continuously to create, aggregate, use andre-use knowledge has become a matter of vital importance for economic developmentin firms, cities and regions.Consequently, debates about the knowledge economy have raised questions abouthow geography affects processes and practices of knowledge creation. Two mainapproaches have been particularly influential in economic geography: the first stressesgeographical proximity between economic actors as vital for knowledge creation,whereas the second stresses social and relational proximity between actors as criticalfor knowledge creation. However, most of these studies lack detailed empiricalevidence of the processes on knowledge creation and their social and spatialimplications. The aim of this thesis is therefore to unpack the socio-spatial relationsthat facilitate regional knowledge creation in the knowledge economy. By addingempirical flesh to the bones of the often abstract theories of knowledge creation, thisthesis explores the specifics of how localities facilitate the creation of important socialrelations among actors that are vital for knowledge creation in the knowledgeeconomy, and how this may vary between different types of region and of industry.

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - Vidensøkonomien

KW - vidensskabelse

KW - sociale relationer

KW - vidensbaser

KW - vidensintensive erhverv

M3 - Ph.D. thesis

BT - The Geography of the Knowledge Economy in Denmark:

ER -