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Communicating Proximity?: A case study on the dynamics of place for innovation
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Human Geography.
2021 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

The connection between clusters of innovation and economic growth has been in the interest ofresearchers and policy makers for decades. Economic distribution has been proven highlyconcentrated, and clusters are frequently studied for their dynamics to be understood. However, thereis less qualitative research focusing on agglomeration, and proximity, the distance between twoobjects, is often treated as a stable factor. Here lies the contribution of this thesis. By studying the lifescience cluster Hagastaden in Stockholm, Sweden, this case study sheds light on how dynamics ofproximity affect innovation and the importance of the communicative aspect of proximity. The Covid19 pandemic has forced many companies to work remotely and it created a unique opportunity tostudy the importance of place for innovation when the physical presence in it decreased. Throughqualitative interviews and thematic analysis, the author reveals that proximity might not be stable but,on the contrary, created. The result confirms earlier research regarding the positive effect oninnovation by being proximate but also adds to it by highlighting the aspect of communication ininnovative processes. The result implies that earlier studies on the location of analytical knowledgeclusters might need further research to be fully understood, as the result of the Hagastaden casecontradicts these to some extent by pointing to the urban environment as a factor of location choice.The results also call for further qualitative research in trying to understand the dynamics of clustercreation in general and planned clusters in particular, which could give important insights for researchand policy.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2021. , p. 32
Keywords [en]
Cluster, proximity, innovation, place, local buzz, global pipelines.
National Category
Human Geography
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-189115OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-189115DiVA, id: diva2:1518902
Available from: 2021-02-10 Created: 2021-01-17 Last updated: 2021-02-10Bibliographically approved

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