Institutional Context and Cluster Emergence: The Biogas Industry in Southern Sweden

Abstract

According to some scholars in evolutionary economic geography (EEG), the role of (territory-specific) institutions is relatively small for explaining where a new industry emerges and grows as firms develop routines in a path-dependent and idiosyncratic manner. This article evaluates this assertion by studying the evolution of the biogas industry in the region of Scania in Southern Sweden. The biogas is predominantly used as a fuel in the regional transport system and is considered as a crucial means to achieve environmental goals in the region. Recently, regional public policy has been actively promoting this biogas industry, aiming for cluster development. Drawing on literature from EEG and technological innovation systems, this article seeks to unpack the evolutionary process that has led to the emergence of this industry. In particular, it studies to what extent territory-specific institutions have been crucial in that respect. The analysis is case-based, drawing predominantly on in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and firms in the industry. By doing so, the paper seeks to make a contribution to our understanding of cluster development, considering the interplay between technology, industry dynamics and institutions.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank two anonymous referees and the guest editors for their helpful comments. Special thanks also go to all interviewees for their commitment as well as to Per Wretlind for providing additional interview material. The paper has received constructive feedback at the Association of American Geographers’ Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, the Annual European Conference of the Regional Studies Association in Tampere, the fourth International Sustainability Transitions Conference in Zurich and the Eu-SPRI Early Career Researcher Conference in Lund, 2013. Particularly, the authors are grateful for the valuable comments of Pål Börjesson, Koen Frenken, Marko Hekkert, Hans Hellsmark, Lars J. Nilsson and Andrés Rodríguez-Pose on earlier drafts of this paper.

Funding

Financial support is gratefully acknowledged from the Cluster Life Cycles project funded by the European Science Foundation, the KIBIOS project funded by the Swedish Energy Agency and the TOP-NEST project funded by Nordic Energy Research. Moreover, this work was supported by VINNOVA [core funding grant 2013-05115] and by the Swedish Research Council [Linnaeus grant 349-2006-80].

Notes

1. Private companies and municipal actors in the region that were identified in Ericsson et al. (2013) are VASYD, NSV A, Kristianstad municipality (municipal waste water treatment); VASYD, Kristianstad renhållning, NSR, Sysav Biotec 2012, Kristianstad biogas (municipal waste management); Findus, Scan, Örtofta, Procordia, Örtofta Nordic Sugar (food industry/food processors); Lunds Energi, E.ON, Öresundskraft (energy companies); OKQ8, Preem, Shell (oil companies); Skånetrafiken, Veolia (public transport); WTM AB (waste collection equipment); Norups Gård, Purac, Purac Läckeby, Flinga Gårdsgas, Götene Gårdsgas (plant engineering companies); BioPreplant; MSI Teknik AB, Xylem, Spirac; Läckeby Products (pre-treatment equipment); Malmbergs Water, Terracastus Technologies, Cryo, Purac Puregas (biogas upgrading equipment); Compower (gas engines and gas turbines).

2. As the TIS framework has a weakness in explaining regional differences in technology development and evolution (Coenen et al., 2012), the paper contributes by this means also to the literature on socio-technical transitions. In the majority of studies, TIS are set national boundaries that neglect local/regional specificities of TIS characteristics (for an exception, see, e.g. Binz & Truffer, 2012).

3. In particular we should acknowledge that many of the patterns found in this study may be specific for clean-tech industries and clusters.