Clustering in Dresden

Abstract

Several years after reunification, the situation of economic instability and social dissatisfaction demanded an ambitious plan to develop regions in East Germany. The key idea was to attract investment and business to the region. The peripheral situation of Saxony, and Dresden especially, has led to a focus on the non-traditional economic activities and sectors. Confronted with the challenge, policy-makers were able to find an imaginative solution: drawing on the inventive history of Dresden and the reputed Technische Universität Dresden. The public leaders chose the high-tech path the moment the information technology business was booming. A cluster was created as a driver of prosperity in Dresden. A cluster means co-location of producers, service providers, educational and research institutions and other private and government institutions related through linkages of different types. The model of cluster can be understood as an analytical method of planning as well as a regional economic development policy. Dresden would be an interesting case study to identify the main operative elements of the term economic cluster.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank both referees for their very helpful and constructive comments on the earlier draft of this paper.

Notes

See, for example, Porter (1990, 1998), Jacobs and De Man (1996), Rosenfeld (1997), Van den Berg et al. (2001), Pontes (2003) and Sternberg and Litzenberger (2004).

See, for example, Fingleton et al. (2005).

See, for example, Lambooy (2004), Pfüger and Südekum (2008) and Fornahl and Brenner (2009).

There are also clusters in many other European countries. For Italy and Poland, see, for example, Morrison and Rabellotti (2009) and Gorynia et al. (2007).

See, for example, Baldwin and Wypolsz (2009).

See statement by Prime Minister Georg Milbradt (2005), Brussels, Conference on cohesion and the Lisbon agenda.

See SMWA (2010) and Eurostat (2009).

Deutsche Grossstädte im Vergleich, Studie der IW Consult GmbH im Auftrag der Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft (INSM) und der Wirtschaftswoche, Köln, 2006.

See European Commission (2004, 2006).

About 18,000 new students begin their studies at Saxony's universities and colleges every year.

Wirtschafts- und Wissenschaftsstandort Dresden 2006/2007, CD-Rom, Landeshauptstadt Dresden, Amt für Wirtschaftsförderung, 2008.

The TU Dresden has more than 35,000 students and 7,500 employees, including 440 full-time professors.

The Dresden International University (DIU) offers graduate and postgraduate studies in logistics, health-care management and business management. The founder and Honoured President of the DIU is the former President of Saxony, Professor Dr Kurt Biedenkopf. The Dresden Chip Academy is also active in the same field. It is an education centre for high-technology-founded Infineon Technologies AG.

The network includes 220 businesses, public institutions and research centres. They exchange information and knowledge, share resources and coordinate activities. The network is supported with a special software for exclusive use developed by Arbeitskreis Software, a joint venture of the main software companies in the region (Landeshaupstadt Dresden). It is the vision and mission of the association to develop the Saxon region to become one of the leading European microelectronic clusters and to focus and coordinate information and expertise in this sector, see Kompetenznetze.

Advanced Mask Technology Center GmbH & Co KG (AMTC) is a joint venture of AMD (Globalfoundries) and Toppan Photomasks; Research Center Nanoelectronic Technologies (CNT) is a joint project with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and Qimonda with an initial investment of 170 million euros.

There are 400 companies in and around Dresden.

Other institutes, like the Leibniz Institut or the Max Bergmann Institut, already mentioned above, cooperate also with the TU Dresden developing biodegradable fibres to be used as implants that help the body to regenerate tissues and then degrade themselves.

Like the Chairman of Audi AG, Prof. Winterkorn gives lectures at the TU Dresden or scientific employees of the Fraunhofer Institut who give lessons both at the TU Dresden and at HTW Dresden.

Deutsche Grosssädte im Vergleich, IW Consult, 2007.

For a similar question discussed in a spatial economy with multi-unit, multi-plant firms, see Fujita and Gokan (2005).

See, for example, Fingleton et al. (2005), LaFountain (2005), Otsuka (2006) and Yehoue (2009).

For example, see Entrepreneur Club and Dresden International Friends. Both institutions organize several events spanning from seminars to concerts in order to maintain and to promote communication among the main figures in Dresden.

For a discussion in asymmetrically sized regions and for different frameworks, see Pontes (2005).

For the Dresden cluster, history was of relative importance. In this case, we claim that history matters.