1. REGIONAL CASE STUDY: AUTOMOTIVE CRASH-SAFETY IN VÄSTRA GÖTALAND Anders Larsson Department of Human and Economic Geography University of Göteborg Linking in to global knowledge flows Dissemination Workshop, 22 April 2010, Malmö

2. A CHANGING TERRITORIAL KNOWLEDGE DYNAMIC FromTowards Innovation processesKnowledge dynamics Mono-sectoral trajectoriesMulti-sectoral dynamics Specialised production systems Complex production-consumption systems Spatial division (fixes) of activitiesMulti-location dynamics Temporal discontinuity (project)Continous knowledge mobilisation Based on: Jeannerat H. and O. Crevoiser (2008): From proximity to multi-location Territorial Knowledge Dynamics: The case of the Swiss watch industry. GRET Working Paper 3/2008-E. Groupe de recherge en économie territoriale: Université de Neuchâtel.

3. THE CRASH-SAFETY REGIONAL KNOWLEDGE DYNAMIC A long-term regional trajectory - 40 years Three car/truck manufacturing plants Local university with long-term research in traffic safety World-leading regional supplier Active state policies promote traffic safety

4. A SHIFT IN TECHNOLOGICAL FOCUS PASSIVE SAFETY ACTIVE SAFETY

6. CASE 1: Passive safety-Integrated Child Seat

7. CASE 1: Knowledge characteristics Specialized regional knowledge system Cumulative engineering-based knowledge generation Dominated by the large car-maker(s) Regional outsourcing of strategic knowledge Prototyping & testing Project management

8. CASE 2: Active Safety - Establishing National Research Centre

9. A research unit using competence from 22 partners from the academy, society and the industry. Vision: to enable Sweden to reach world leading competitiveness, and to provide new countermeasures to considerably reduce both the number of traffic accidents and the number of fatalities and serious injuries.

10. CRASH-SAFETY KNOWLEDE DYNAMIC MAIN ACTORS AND RELATIONS

11. COMPLEMENTARITIES Sectors incresingly less important as an analythical tool New products and services require new players to be involved Large-firm controlled configurations can be potential problems

12. PROXIMITIES Proximities (physical, social, temporal) has been crucial for the generation and use of knowledge in the TKD. Continuous competitiveness of the TKD is based on the combination of proximity and distant relations with an increasing importance of the later

13. INTEGRATING COMPLEMENTARY KNOWLEDGE FIELDS THROUGH PROXIMITY? Sensor-technology ICT Human-Machine interaction GPS Crash effects on the human body Long-term accident data follow-up Driving behaviour Traffic-safety policy Infrastructure planning Resque Services Car design Product development Marketing CAR MAKERS TRAD. SUPPLIERS KIBS UNIVERSITY PUBLIC SPHERE UNIVERSITY CAR MAKERS REGIONAL KNOWLEDGE ANCHORING CAPACITY

14. POLICY COMMENTS… The large car-makers have been (and still are) in the drivers seat. What about the future? Constructive participation for change or complacent guardians of ”their own” knowledge? Global technological competitiveness for an automotive region is a result of a 40 year trajectory. Is there a policy time- frame to match this?