Themen für Bachelor- und Masterarbeiten Unit ......Especially the tourism industry (e.g. e...

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Economic Geography | Topics for Bachelor and Master Thesis 1 Themen für Bachelor- und Masterarbeiten Unit Wirtschaftsgeographie FS 2021 (Stand: 1. Februar 2021) Diese Liste wird regelmässig aktualisiert und auf der Webseite der Unit veröffentlicht. Immer wieder werden auch Themen mit externen Partnern (z.B. RW Oberwallis, Kramgass Leist, Regio Frauenfeld, etc.) ausgeschrieben bzw. Studierende können diese Partner suchen und Themen entwickeln. Diese werden auf der Webseite publiziert. Themen und Fragestellungen für die BA- oder MA-Arbeit können auch gerne durch die Studierenden selbst entwickelt werden. Die folgende Liste beinhaltet mögliche Themen/Fragestellungen und sie gibt Auskunft über die Literatur und es sind die Betreuenden aufgelistet. Forschungsschwerpunkte: Digitalisierung und Regionalentwicklung Soziale Innovationen und Postwachstum Transformative Unternehmen in Peripherien Innovationen in peripheren Regionen Demographischer Wandel, Sozialkapital und regionale Aspekte von Unternehmertum Entrepreneurship und Startup-Ökosysteme Städtische Ökonomien: Trends und Perspektiven Industriestädte (Industrial Towns): Transformation und Politik Perspektiven

Transcript of Themen für Bachelor- und Masterarbeiten Unit ......Especially the tourism industry (e.g. e...

Page 1: Themen für Bachelor- und Masterarbeiten Unit ......Especially the tourism industry (e.g. e -tourism) and the manufacturing sector (e .g. Industry 4.0) observe increasing benefits

Economic Geography | Topics for Bachelor and Master Thesis

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Themen für Bachelor- und Masterarbeiten Unit Wirtschaftsgeographie FS 2021 (Stand: 1. Februar 2021)

Diese Liste wird regelmässig aktualisiert und auf der Webseite der Unit veröffentlicht.

Immer wieder werden auch Themen mit externen Partnern (z.B. RW Oberwallis, Kramgass Leist, Regio Frauenfeld, etc.) ausgeschrieben bzw. Studierende können diese Partner suchen und Themen entwickeln. Diese werden auf der Webseite publiziert.

Themen und Fragestellungen für die BA- oder MA-Arbeit können auch gerne durch die Studierenden selbst entwickelt werden.

Die folgende Liste beinhaltet mögliche Themen/Fragestellungen und sie gibt Auskunft über die Literatur und es sind die Betreuenden aufgelistet.

Forschungsschwerpunkte:

Digitalisierung und Regionalentwicklung

Soziale Innovationen und Postwachstum

Transformative Unternehmen in Peripherien

Innovationen in peripheren Regionen

Demographischer Wandel, Sozialkapital und regionale Aspekte von Unternehmertum

Entrepreneurship und Startup-Ökosysteme

Städtische Ökonomien: Trends und Perspektiven

Industriestädte (Industrial Towns): Transformation und Politik Perspektiven

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Digitalization and regional development Digitalization influences our everyday life. The permanent possibility to find information on demand has reached new dimensions. The rise of the Internet and digital information and communication technologies (smartphones, apps, social media, etc.) bring new benefits and challenges for economic development. Until today, digitalization remains a ‘black box’ for science, because of its lack of research on its impact on humanity, economy or the environment. In Switzerland, a new sensibility and interest about the effects of the digitalization on structural and spatial change is emerging in science and praxis. Especially the tourism industry (e.g. e-tourism) and the manufacturing sector (e.g. Industry 4.0) observe increasing benefits from new digital technologies. The importance of online platforms and apps on smartphones (e.g. Aletsch Arena, Davos Klosters, Booking.com, ebookers, AirBnB, Swiss Hike, etc.) is growing and are frequently used by domestic and foreign tourists. They provide higher connectivity and mobility (e.g. co-working, digital multilocality). Therefore, multilocal work arrangements between Swiss urban centers and mountainous peripheries became increasingly popular and create novel forms of urban-rural linkages. This research area focuses on the socio-economic impact of digitalization in urban, rural and mountain regions in Switzerland. The research is part of the SNF Project “Digital multilocality: Analyzing urban-rural linkages in the context of co-working spaces in the Swiss Alps”. Supervisor: Reto Bürgin Contact: reto.buergin(at)giub.unibe.ch

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Topics in this area Digitalisierung und ländlicher/peripherer Raum:

- Wie werden städtische und ländliche Regionen sowie die Berggebiete digital erschlossen und welche sozio-ökonomischen Veränderungen gehen damit einher?

- Welche Auswirkungen hat die Digitalisierung auf städtische und ländliche Regionen? Welche Unterschiede entstehen dabei und was sind die Gründe dafür?

- Inwiefern wirkt sich der digitale Wandel auf Urban-Rural-Linkages aus? Wie können wir ländlichen Ökonomien im digitalen Zeitalter verstehen?

Digitale Multilokalität:

- Wie wirkt sich die Nutzung von Marginalität auf multilokale Arbeitsweisen aus und welche Rolle kommt den digitalen Technologien dabei zu?

- Wie wirkt sich digitale Multilokalität auf Urban-Rural Linkages aus? Was sind mögliche Potenziale und Herausforderungen?

- Welche Orte werden wann, wie und warum zum Arbeiten genutzt? Wie werden periphere Räume in die digitale Multilokalität integriert bzw. aussen weggelassen?

Digitalisierung und Social Media:

- Warum setzen Unternehmen (z.B. Uhrenindustrie) vermehrt auf die Vermarktung ihrer Produkte in Social Media und welche räumlichen Veränderungen von Unternehmensstrategien gehen damit einher? (z.B. Cyberspace vs. physischer Raum)

- Welche Rolle spielen die Social Media (z.B. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TripAdvisor) und/oder Social Influencers in der Vermarktung von z.B. Tourismusdestinationen/-regionen?

A Glance Into The Literature ASH J, KITCHIN R, LESZCZYNSKI A (eds) (2019) Digital Geographies. Sage, Los

Angeles, London, New Dehli BOSWORTH G, VENHORST V (2017) Economic linkages between urban and rural

regions – what’s in it for the rural? Reg. Stud. 0:1–12 GRABHER G (2018) Marginality as strategy: Leveraging peripherality for creativity.

Env and Plann A 50:8:1785-1794. doi: 10.1177/0308518X18784021 MALECKI EJ (2003) Digital development in rural areas: Potentials and pitfalls. J

Rural Stud 19:201–214. doi: 10.1016/S0743-0167(02)00068-2 PHILIP LJ, TOWNSEND L, ROBERTS E, BEEL D (2015) The Rural Digital Economy.

Scottish Geogr J 131:143–147. doi: 10.1080/14702541.2015.1083732 SALEMINK K, STRIJKER D, BOSWORTH G (2017) Rural development in the digital

age: A systematic literature review on unequal ICT availability, adoption, and use in rural areas. J Rural Stud 54:360–371. doi: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.09.001

TOWNSEND L, SATHIASEELAN A, FAIRHURST G, WALLACE C (2013) Enhanced broadband access as a solution to the social and economic problems of the rural digital divide. Local Econ 28:580–595. doi: 10.1177/0269094213496974

ZOOK M (2007) The Geographies of the Internet. Annu Rev Inf Sci Technol 40:53–78. doi: 10.1002/aris.1440400109

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Social Innovation and postgrowth economy The assumption that the economy is and should be growing is increasingly questioned. Scholars have started to examine the so-called post-growth economy and they are questioning our dependence on growth. Yet, many industries are still very dependent on growth and we do not know much about how they can transition to a post-growth future. Several movements and concepts may help us understand how society can become less growth dependent (e.g. Slow Cities, transition town network, voluntary simplicity, sufficiency, sharing economy, social innovations, etc.). We explore the concept of social innovation and its relation to the post-growth economy in the context of the Swiss Alps. We examine the tourism, health care and construction industries and welcome students interesting in doing work on this topic. The research is undertaking within the SNF project “Social Innovations in Swiss Mountain Regions: Shifting Away from Growth Dependency in the Tourism, Construction and Healthcare Industries”.

Supervisor: Heike Mayer, Andrea Winiger, Pascal Tschumi Contact: mayer(at)giub.unibe.ch andrea.winiger(at)giub.unibe.ch pascal.tschumi(at)giub.unibe.ch

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Topics in this area

- Analyse der Wachstumstreiber in Branchen wie Tourismus, Bauwesen und Gesundheitswesen

- Die Rolle der sozialen Innovation in der Postwachstums-Ökonomie - (Sozial-)innovative Lösungen für ländliche Herausforderungen wie z.B.

mangelnde Gesundheitsversorgung oder älter werdende Bevölkerung - Unternehmensstrategien in der Postwachstums-Ökonomie - Unternehmen, die nicht wachsen: Welche sind es in der Schweiz? - Wachstumsabhängigkeit auf Mikro- und Makroebene: Welche

Wirtschaftsakteure sind vom Wachstum abhängig und wie? - Regionale Strategien in einer Postwachstums-Ökonomie - Bewegungen wie Slow Cities, Slow Food, Transition Towns, freiwillige

Suffizienz, Selbstversorgung usw. - Ko-Kreation im Tourismus und Gesundheitswesen und Auswirkungen

auf die Schweizer Bergregionen - Vor- und Nachteile der Sharing Economy

A Glance Into The Literature AYOB, N., TEASDALE, S. & FAGAN, K. 2016. How social innovation “Came to

Be”: Tracing the evolution of a contested concept. Journal of Social Policy, 45, 635–653, 10.1017/S004727941600009X.

BOCK, B.B. 2016. Rural Marginalisation and the Role of Social Innovation; A Turn Towards Nexogenous Development and Rural Reconnection. Sociologia Ruralis, 56, 552–573, 10.1111/soru.12119.

KAUFFELD-MONZ, M., KREIBICH, M. & HUBER, M. 2019. Soziale Innovationen in der Sozial- und Gesundheitswirtschaft. In Becher, B. & Hastedt, I., eds. Innovative Unternehmen der Sozial- und Gesundheitswirtschaft. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, Wiesbaden, 209–250., 10.1007/978-3-658-19504-5_9.

NEUMEIER, S. 2012. Why do Social Innovations in Rural Development Matter and Should They be Considered More Seriously in Rural Development Research? - Proposal for a Stronger Focus on Social Innovations in Rural Development Research. Sociologia Ruralis, 52, 48–69, 10.1111/j.1467-9523.2011.00553.x.

POSSE, D. 2015. Zukunftsfähige Unternehmen in einer Postwachstumsgesellschaft. Heidelberg: Vereinigung für Ökologische Ökonomie, 135 pp.

SCHMELZER, M. & VETTER, A. 2019. Degrowth/Postwachstum zur Einführung. Hamburg: Junius Available at: https://www.swissbib.ch/Record/566459523 [Accessed July 3, 2019].

TSCHUMI, P., WINIGER, A., WIRTH, S., MAYER, H., & SEIDL, I. 2020. Wachstumsunabhängigkeit durch Soziale Innovationen? Eine Analyse potenzieller Wachstumswirkungen von Sozialen Innovationen im Schweizer Berggebiet. In B. Lange, M. Hülz, B. Schmid, & C. Schulz, eds. Postwachstumsgeographien. Raumbezüge diverser und alternativer Ökonomien. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 117-137.

VOORBERG, W.H., BEKKERS, V.J.J.M. & TUMMERS, L.G. 2015. A Systematic Review of Co-Creation and Co-Production: Embarking on the social innovation journey. Public Management Review, 17, 1333–1357, 10.1080/14719037.2014.930505.

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Transformative enterprises in the periphery Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often overlooked as drivers of transformative change, and even more so if they are located in peripheries. Transformative SMEs that act as socio-ecological pioneers striving for changes towards sustainability can, however, play a key role in tackling grand challenges such as climate change, aging societies or out-migration. This research project explores transformative SMEs in the wood-processing sector – an important pillar of peripheral economies – where grand challenges manifest as pest infestations, lack of skilled workforce, pressures to digitize production or slumps in demand because of economic crises. It investigates the practices and strategies of transformative SMEs in the Canton of Bern (CH) and the Vorarlberg region (AUT) and asks in what ways they could contribute to new industrial path development in peripheries. Hence the question about the role of transformative SMEs in regional economic development is also addressed. Supervisor: Miriam Hug Contact: miriam.hug(at)giub.unibe.ch

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Topics in this area

- Alternative Wirtschaftspraktiken und nachhaltigkeitsorientierte Unternehmen in Peripherien (Fallstudien)

- Alternative Wirtschaftspraktiken in Peripherien und deren Potenziale zur Förderung neuer (zukunftsweisender) Wirtschaftszweige.

- Treiber und Inhibitoren transformativer Praktiken (individuell, politisch, institutionell, kulturell)

- Unternehmen, die sich für eine sozial-ökologische Transformation einsetzen (Überschneidung mit dem Projekt zur Sozialen Innovationen und Postwachstum)

- Analyse der Regionalentwicklungspolitik hinsichtlich der Rolle von KMU - Untersuchung der Dimensionen der territorialen Disparitäten und der

Peripherisierung in der Schweiz - Politikanalyse in Hinblick auf einen sozialen und wirtschaftlichen

Übergang/Transformation

A Glance Into The Literature BOCK, B. 2016. Emptiness and space. On population decline and quality of life

in the north of the Netherlands. 1–12. GEBAUER, J. & SABEBIEL, J. 2015. Wie wichtig ist Wachstum für KMU? Berlin,

68 pp. GRABHER, G. 2018. Marginality as strategy: Leveraging peripherality for

creativity. Environment and Planning A, 50, 1785–1794, 10.1177/0308518X18784021.

JACKSON, T. 2017. Prosperity without growth: foundations for the economy of tomorrow. Second Edi. London and New York: Routledge, 310 pp.

KÜHN, M. 2015. Peripheralization: Theoretical Concepts Explaining Socio-Spatial Inequalities. European Planning Studies, 23, 367–378, 10.1080/09654313.2013.862518.

NORTH, P. 2016. The business of the Anthropocene? Substantivist and diverse economies perspectives on SME engagement in local low carbon transitions. Progress in Human Geography, 40, 437–454, 10.1177/0309132515585049.

POSSE, D. 2015. Zukunftsfähige Unternehmen in einer Postwachstumsgesellschaft. Vereinigung für Ökologische Ökonomie e.V.

Schneidewind, U., Palzkill, A. & Scheck, H. 2012. Der Beitrag von Unternehmen zur großen Transformation. In Hahn, R., Janzen, H. & Matten, D., eds. Die gesellschaftliche Verantwortung des Unternehmens: Hintergründe, Schwerpunkte und Zukunftsperspektiven. Stuttgart: Schäffer-Poeschel, 497–528.

VIAZZO, P.P. & ZANINI, R.C. 2014. ‘Taking advantage of emptiness? Revue de géographie alpine, 0–11, 10.4000/rga.2478.

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Innovation in peripheral regions Innovation processes are often conceptualized with an urban bias and are therefore theorized solely considering the perspective of the urban environment (e.g. close face-to-face contacts, dense urban milieus, fast interactions between a multitude and diverse actors, etc.). As a result, innovation theories do not sufficiently consider the context of the periphery and how this context – or even different types of peripheries – may foster or hinder the development of innovative products, technologies and services. Economic geographers started to conceptualize innovation processes in peripheral locations as `slow innovation` (Shearmur, 2015, 2017; Shearmur & Doloreux, 2016), but they have neither developed clear typologies nor differentiations between different forms of innovation (social, technological, product, process, etc.). We are currently engaged in a research project that examines these innovation processes in peripheral regions in the European Alps (Italy: Valle Maira, Valle Po; Austria: Osttirol; Switzerland: Haslital/Meiringen, Goms). The research is funded by the Regional Studies Association. We are also interested in innovative practices to maintain the viability and livability of peripheral regions. Some mountain communities have started to pay money to new residents to entice to move there (e.g. Albinen, Quinten, Grossdietwil, etc.). It would be interesting to examine such practices to see if they work. Supervisor: Heike Mayer Contact: mayer(at)giub.unibe.ch

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Topics in this area

- Innovationsdynamiken in unterschiedlichen Industrien in den Schweizer Bergregionen (Goms, Hasliberg, etc.)

- Innovation in schrumpfenden Regionen - Innovation in städtischen Randgebieten (z.B. benachteiligte Stadtteile,

Enklaven usw.) - Die Rolle der «Leere» oder auch «Marginalität» in Innovation und

Kreativität - Das Konzept der "Slow Innovation" und seine Bedeutung für die

Schweizer Randregionen - Kritische Diskussion der "Peripherie" im Schweizer Kontext - Das Konzept des regionalen Innovationssystems und seine Anwendung

im peripheren, ländlichen Raum - Zwischen Tradition und Innovation: Innovationsprozesse von Firmen in

peripheren Räumen - Die Innovationsquellen von Unternehmen im ländlichen Raum im

Vergleich - Wissensquellen von Unternehmen im ländlichen Raum: regionale vs.

ausserregionale Quellen (sowohl qualitativ, als auch quantitativ, z.B. durch Netzwerkanalyse untersuchbar)

- Forschungseinrichtungen als Innovationsquellen für Unternehmen im ländlichen Raum. Welche Bedeutung haben sie für unterschiedliche Industrien (z.B. Tourismus)?

- What strategies do peripheral regions use to compete with non-peripheral regions in developing and generating innovation? (z.B. how do Ticino/Bern/Basel make up for not having institutions like ETH/EPFL?)

A Glance Into The Literature EDER, J. 2018. Innovation in the Periphery. International Regional Science

Review, 016001761876427, 10.1177/0160017618764279. EDER, J. & TRIPPL, M. 2019. Innovation in the periphery: Compensation and

exploitation strategies. Growth and Change, 1–21, 10.1111/grow.12328. GRABHER, G. 2018. Marginality as strategy: Leveraging peripherality for

creativity. Environment and Planning A, 0, 1–10, 10.1177/0308518X18784021.

MEILI, R. & SHEARMUR, R. 2019. Diverse diversities—Open innovation in small towns and rural areas. Growth and Change, 50, 492–514, 10.1111/grow.12291.

SHEARMUR, R. 2017. Urban Bias in Innovation Studies. In Shearmur, R., Bathelt, H., Cohendet, P., Henn, S. & Simon, L., eds. The Elgar Companion to Innovation and Knoweldge Creation: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 440–456.

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Changing age structure and social capital as regional determinants of entrepreneurship

Social capital and changing age structure are two regional determinants of entrepreneurship. These factors may shape geographical variations in entrepreneurial activities. They may also play different roles for entrepreneurship depending on the regional context. As societies in the most developed economies are getting older, the concept of silver economy receives increasing attention. This term describes products and services developed and offered to meet the needs of older cohorts of the populations. These cohorts typically are not only large in numbers, but also managed to accumulate significant financial resources during their live course, which took place during the period of post-war economic boom. Senior individuals are important not just as consumers. Those willing or in need to continue professional activity after reaching the retirement age might be successful as entrepreneurs. The literature on entrepreneurship indicates that the relationship between age and propensity to become an entrepreneur follows in general an inverse U-shape pattern with the peak of probability being typically located around age of 40 (Parker 2018). Recently, Backman and Karlsson (2018) show that older individuals are increasingly becoming entrepreneurs around the retirement age and the probability of becoming self-employed peaks at much older age in the most rural municipalities in Sweden. This pattern might not necessarily be restricted to Sweden. As emphasized by Mayer and Leick (2018), the opportunities and challenges associated with old age entrepreneurship depend

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on the regional context. Furthermore, as emphasized by Mayer (2020), rural and urban economies might rely on different types of advantages. Social capital might constitute an important part of regional context facilitating old age entrepreneurship in rural economies. As emphasized by Parker (2018) the important feature of social capital is that it might play a substitutional role, i.e. compensate for other missing resources. This is because it facilitates the interaction between people and therefore shrinks the social distances between individuals with relevant knowledge and resources. Following this argument, Eriksson and Rataj (2019) have recently shown that this mechanism allows compensation for other missing resources in the case of rural economy. An open question worth of further investigation remains: How different is the role of social capital for different age groups. Supervisor: Marcin Rataj Contact: marcin.rataj(at)giub.unibe.ch Topics in this area

- Are older individuals better equipped to serve and understand the needs of older customers?

- Are men and women aging differently in terms of entrepreneurial activities and ambitions?

- What are the differences between migrant and the local population in term of senior age entrepreneurship?

- Do social ties play different role for senior entrepreneurs in different regional settings?

- What is the role of geographical context for male and female senior entrepreneurs?

- Can social ties be particularly helpful for senior entrepreneurs with lower level of education or more limited financial resources?

A Glance Into The Literature BACKMAN, M., KARLSSON, C. (2018), Entrepreneurship and Age Across Time

and Space. Tijds. voor econ. en soc. geog, 109: 371-385. doi:10.1111/tesg.12293

ERIKSSON, R., RATAJ, M. (2019): The geography of start-ups in Sweden. The role of human capital, social capital and agglomeration, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, DOI: 10.1080/08985626.2019.1565420

MAYER, H. (2020): Slow Innovation in Europe`s Peripheral Regions: Innovation beyond Acceleration in: Döringer, S.; Eder, J. (eds.): Schlüsselakteure der Regionalentwicklung. Welche Perspektiven bietet Entrepreneurship für ländliche Räume? ISR Forschungsbericht. Band 51. Wien. (forthcoming)

MAYER, H., LEICK, B. (2019), “Entrepreneurship and ageing: exploring an economic geography perspective” Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship and Aging, https://www.elgaronline.com/abstract/edcoll/9781788116206/9781788116206.00009.xml

PARKER S. C. (2018) The economics of entrepreneurship (Cambridge University Press)

WESTLUND, H., BOLTON, R. (2003), “Local Social Capital and Entrepreneurship” Small Business Economics 21(2) 77–113

WESTLUND, H., LARSSON J. P., OLSSON A. R. (2014), “Start-ups and Local Entrepreneurial Social Capital in the Municipalities of Sweden” Regional Studies 48(6) 974–994

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Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Entrepreneurial processes and entrepreneurial forms are important topics in economic geography. We examine entrepreneurial dynamics from a spatial perspective and focus, among other topics, on the role of entrepreneurship in the development of emerging industries but also in the development of regions outside the traditional core (e.g. peripheral or rural regions, mountain regions). We pay particular attention to entrepreneurial genealogies and the career paths of entrepreneurs. Here we utilize concepts and theories from evolutionary economic geography. Supervisor: Heike Mayer, Marcin Rataj Contact: heike.mayer(at)giub.unibe.ch

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Topics in this area

- Startup Ökosysteme (Entrepreneurial ecosystems) in der Schweiz (Bern, Zürich, Basel, etc.) oder auch im Ausland

- Entrepreneurial ecosystems: Das Konzept und seine Anwendung im peripheren Raum

- Unternehmertum im ländlichen Raum bzw. im Berggebiet/Alpenraum - New Highlander Entrepreneure in den Alpen: Fallstudien - Nischenproduzenten im ersten und zweiten Sektor und deren Rolle in

der Entwicklung des peripheren Raumes (Rolle sogenannter hidden champions)

- Nutzung ökonomischer Nischen, insbesondere Nutzung natürlicher Ressourcen für die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung

- Neue Innovationsmodelle und –prozesse in räumlicher Perspektive: Die Rolle von Kunden und Nutzern in neuen Industrien wie z.B. der Sportartikelindustrie

- Entrepreneurship-, Innovations- und Technologiepolitik als Instrumente der Regionalentwicklung

- Women and minority/ethnic entrepreneurship: Frauen als Unternehmensgründerinnen in räumlicher Perspektive

- How are economic linkages between regions’ entrepreneurial ecosystems determined? (z.B. does Ticino have more connections with Zurich, because of shared nationality, or with Milan because of shared language?)

A Glance Into The Literature MACK, E. & MAYER, H. 2015. The evolutionary dynamics of entrepreneurial

ecosystems. Urban Studies, 53, 2118–2133, 10.1177/0042098015586547.

MALECKI, E.J. 2018. Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Geography Compass, 12, 10.1111/gec3.12359.

STAM, P.E. & SPIGEL, B. 2016. Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. Utrecht. 16–13.

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Urban Economies: Trends and Perspectives Our research has always focused on issues related to the development of urban economies. We have conducted studies of the capital city economy in Bern and also have undertaking analyses of retail and housing in Bern`s old town. Urban economies are changing in terms of their structure and function. Regarding traditional urban sectors such as retail and services, urban economies are experiencing an unprecedented structural change as consumer habits are moving towards more online shopping. In response, retailers are engaging in the experience economy, which also draws on urban amenities. Also, industries such as software, banking, public sector, etc. are benefitting from agglomeration economies. Yet, work practices are changing as more and more employees engage in flexible work arrangements such as home office, part-time work, mobile work, etc. Another interesting field of study is the issue of entrepreneurial activities in neighborhood, particularly by those traditionally considered as minority in entrepreneurship studies such as migrants, women, second generation, etc. What about inclusiveness and economic growth/competitiveness in urban regions such as Basel? Also, how does a cross-border situation influence the economies of Basel or Lugano? Supervisor: Heike Mayer, Clara Turner, Arnault Morrison Contact: heike.mayer(at)giub.unibe.ch clara.turner(at)giub.unibe.ch

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Topics in this area

- Bern als Hauptstadt: Welche Bedeutung hat die Hauptstadt für die regionale Wirtschaft?

- Veränderte Arbeitsformen und deren Auswirkungen auf die Büronutzung in der Umgebung in Schweizer Städten (mobile Arbeit, Teilzeitarbeit, Homeoffice, etc.)

- Entwicklung der Berner Kernbranchen wie öffentlicher Sektor, Medizintechnik/Medizin, Software etc.

- Wie verändert sich die Wirtschaft in der Berner Altstadt? Wie hat sich die Kramgasse im Laufe der Zeit in Bezug auf den Mix aus Einzelhandel, Wohnen etc. verändert. (Strukturwandel in der Altstadt)

- Pop-Up-Nutzung in Bern (Bars, Restaurants entlang der Aare, Pop-Up-Nutzung in anderen Bereichen wie z.B. im Büro usw.)

- Nachbarschaftsökonomie und Unternehmertum (Länggasse, Bümpliz, Breitsch, etc.)

- Innovationsdynamik in Städten wie Bern, Zürich, Basel, etc. - Balance zwischen Wettebewerbsfähigkeit und inklusiver Entwicklung am

Beispiel der Grenzregion Basel (Betreuung u.a. auch durch Clara Turner)

- How does public or private Standortförderung activity intervene in economic development practices? (Clara Turner)

- Has economic growth from the life sciences cluster improved economic outcomes for all Basel area residents?Are positive or negative effects evenly distributed? (Clara Turner)

- How do the presence of international borders in some regions affect inclusive economic growth? How is the border used as a resource? To whose benefit? (Clara Turner)

A Glance Into The Literature KAUFMANN, D., WARLAND, M., MAYER, H. & SAGER, F. 2016. Bern’s

positioning strategies: Escaping the fate of a secondary capital city? Cities, 53, 120–129, 10.1016/j.cities.2016.02.005.

MAYER, H., SAGER, F., KAUFMANN, D. & WARLAND, M. 2016. Capital city dynamics: Linking regional innovation systems, locational policies and policy regimes. Cities, 50, 206–2015, 10.1007/s13398-014-0173-7.2.

MAYER, H., SAGER, F., KAUFMANN, D. & WARLAND, M. 2018. The Political Economy of Capital Cities. London: Routledge.

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Economic Geography | Topics for Bachelor and Master Thesis

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Industrial Towns: Their socio-economic transformations and policy perspectives Our research focuses on the socio-economic transformation of Small- and Medium-Sized Industrial Towns (SMSTs), namely Glarus, Mendrisio, and Biel. We are looking at how those industrial towns manage to transform and create or not create new industrial paths. The industrial sector accounts for a large share of employment in small and medium-sized towns (SMSTs) (see Kotzeva et al., 2016). The academic literature tends, however, to focus on industrial transformation in well-performing regions and large urban centres; making policy recommendations derived from such “best-practice models” ill-adapted to SMSTs’ contexts (see Florida et al., 2017; Miörner & Trippl, 2019). Researchers are increasingly interested in SMSTs to provide policymakers with contextualised place-based policies (see Servillo et al., 2014). Additional research must be conducted to understand how industrial and socio-institutional transformation plays out in SMSTs. Using a comparative approach, we examine socio-economic transformation in six industrial towns in Switzerland and Slovenia. The research methodology is based on in-depth comparative case-study approaches and participatory workshops to identify the processes behind socio-economic transformation in SMSTs. The research project will attempt to provide an explanation to favour community-level responses when tackling socio-economic transformation and mitigate increasing populist resentment from citizens in SMSTs who “feel that they don’t matter” compared with citizens in large urban centres (Rodríguez-Pose, 2018). Supervisor: Heike Mayer, Arnault Morisson, Cédric Lehmann

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Contact: heike.mayer(at)giub.unibe.ch arnault.morisson(at)giub.unibe.ch cedric.lehmann(at)giub.unibe.ch Topics in this area

- To explore and analyse the socio-economic transformation of Small- Medium-Sized Towns (SMSTs)

- To use conceptual frameworks coming from regional innovation system (RIS) or evolutionary economic geography (EEG) to research economic transformation

- To assess the role of regional policies to research socio-economic transformation

- To investigate Trinity of Changes and the role of agency in socio-economic transformation

- To assess local and regional innovation policies to transform specific sector (textile, watchmaking…)

- To investigate the role of the institutional context on regional and local economic transformation

- To look at transformation through the lens of industrial culture and slow innovation

- To use methodological tools such as Social Network Analysis (SNA) or community-based workshops to investigate socio-economic transformation

- To asses neo-industrial and post-industrial pathways of socio-economic transformation in SMSTs

A Glance Into The Literature Florida, R., Adler, P., & Mellander, C. (2017). The city as innovation machine.

Regional Studies, 51(1), 86–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2016.1255324

Kotzeva, M., Brandmüller, T., Lupu, I., Önnerfors, Å., Corselli-Nordblad, L., Coyette, C., … Wolff, P. (2016). Urban Europe: Statistics on Cities, Towns and Suburbs. Luxembourg: European Union.

Miörner, J., & Trippl, M. (2019). Embracing the future: path transformation and system reconfiguration for self-driving cars in West Sweden. European Planning Studies, 27(11), 2144-2162.

Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2018). The revenge of the places that don’t matter (and what to do about it). Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 11(1), 189–209. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsx024

Servillo, L., Atkinson, R., Smith, I., Russo, A., Sykora, L., Demazière, C., & Hamdouch, A. (2014). TOWN, small and medium sized towns in their functional territorial context. Retrieved from https://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default