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Opto-Electronics/ Photonics

Work in this area has particular relevance for policy makers at the regional and national level, being focused on the themes of clusters, innovation and skills.

Opto-electronics in Wales and Thuringia

‘Sustainable Development through Regional Technology Systems or Global Networks?’ (£43,325 + DM11,500) - Anglo-German Foundation (1998-1999). Researchers: Chris Hendry, James Brown, Hans-Dieter Ganter and Susanne Hilland (Fachhochschule Heilbronn, Germany).

This project assesses the relevance and impact of contrasting regional development policies towards the opto-electronics industry in Wales and Thuringia, and derives lessons for regional policy implementation from the success of these two regions in

A key output is a series of case studies on technology transfer and innovation, and from this an evaluation of the effectiveness of regional and national support systems for innovation and its commercialisation. This will be of particular interest to the new Regional Development Agencies in England, as well as for the established agencies in Wales and Scotland, and in Germany.

Hendry, C., Brown, J., Ganter, H-D. and Hilland, S. (2002, forthcoming). Understanding Innovation: How Firms Innovate and What Governments Can Do to Help. London and Berlin: Anglo-German Foundation for the Study of Industrial Society.

Hendry, C., Brown, J., Ganter, H-D and Hilland, S. (2001), ‘Industry Clusters as a Location for Technology Transfer and Innovation: The Case of Opto-Electronics’, Industry and Higher Education, February, 15, 1, pp. 33-41.

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The Development and Performance of Opto-electronics in the UK, Germany and USA

(£74,000 + £9,760) - Leverhulme Trust and the Welsh Development Agency (1995-97). Researchers: Chris Hendry, James Brown, Robert DeFillippi (Suffolk University, Boston, USA) and Robert Hassink (University of Dortmund, Germany).

This is a comparative study of a major high-tech sector in three countries that are, with Japan, the most important locations for the industry. The industry is characterised by regional clusters of firms, and therefore provides an opportunity to investigate the factors that contribute to successful clusters. Six regions were studied - Massachusetts and Arizona, Cambridge and Wales, Thuringia and Munich - and case histories compiled on one hundred companies. An important finding for the theory of clusters (or ‘industrial districts’) in high-tech sectors is that firms in each of these regions are generally far more oriented to sources of supply, customers and collaborations outside the region than within it, and that these are often international. In addition, all UK firms in opto-electronics, plus those in Massachusetts, were surveyed to establish their relative performance, the benefits firms gain from being part of a cluster, and whether those that are not part of a cluster are disadvantaged. Papers relating to the project have been given at conferences in London, Rhodes, Barcelona, Denver, Phoenix, Modena and Dublin.

Hendry, C., Brown, J. & DeFillippi, R.J. (2000), ‘Regional Clustering of High Technology-based Firms: Opto-Electronics in Three Countries’, Regional Studies, 34, 2, pp. 129-144.

Hendry, C., Brown, J. & DeFillippi, R.J. (2000), ‘Understanding Relationships between Universities and SMEs in Emerging High Technology Industries: The Case of Opto-Electronics’, International Journal of Innovation Management, 4, 1, pp. 51-75.

Hendry, C., Brown, J., DeFillippi, R.J. & Hassink, R. (1999), ‘Industry clusters as commercial, knowledge and institutional networks: opto-electronics in six regions in the UK, USA and Germany’, in A.Grandori (ed.) Interfirm Networks: Organisation and industrial competitiveness. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 151-184.

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Managerial and Organisational Learning through Supply Chains and Industrial Districts

(£19,500) - Sundridge Park Management Centre (1994-95). Researchers: Chris Hendry and James Brown.

This project was concerned with networked relationships between firms, and looked at learning processes in these two types of network. It concluded that supply chains and industrial districts (with particular reference to professional networks) are a mirror image of each other in terms of the strengths and weaknesses they exhibit in learning. Thus, industrial districts stimulate individual learning, but are less effective in harnessing this for the organisation; while supply chains focus learning for organisational improvement, but are less good at stimulating individual creativity.

Brown, J.E. and Hendry, C. (1998), ‘Industrial Districts and Supply Chains as Vehicles for Managerial and Organizational Learning’, International Studies of Management and Organization, 27, 4, 127-157 (ISSN:0020-8825).

Researcher: Simona Spedale. (2000) 'The Emergence of the Network Supply Chain: A study of cooperation and performance in supply-chain relationships in the UK fibre-optics industry' (Doctoral thesis)

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