Regional Cooperative and Competitive Forces Driving Industry Cluster Development and Renewal in the Swedish Periphery

Abstract

This research paper assembles regional industry clusters cooperative and competitive relations into a conceptual framework and reports upon an empirical study that captured initial developments of a regional biorefinery industry cluster in a peripheral region of Sweden. Key findings from the research illustrate how forces of intra-regional cooperation and inter-regional competition drove the new biorefinery industry clusters development, which in turn aided the peripheral region?s renewal. For the development and renewal of regional industry, the role of not-for-profit collaborative organisations is evident. As a result, this single case-study provides new implications for research and practice in specific relation to regional renewal and industry cluster development within peripheral regions.