Territorial marketing: interaction between industrial and regional networks

Abstract

This is a summary of the author's PhD Thesis, supervised by Professor Carlos Brito, and defended on December 21, 2010 at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Porto (Portugal). The thesis is written in Portuguese and is available from the author upon request. The research deals with the reciprocal influence between firms and regional dynamics. The study puts in evidence that the relationship between firms and regions is specific and dependent upon particular features, thus, impossible to replicate in other contexts. It also suggests that regional dynamics are mostly reliant upon intangible factors and networks interactions taking place at various scales, and not on circumscribed material components. Such specificity renders fragile the literature associated to the traditional stand of economic geography and clusters' theory. These results provide regional administrations with a new perspective for the territorial promotion.