Anders Larsson

In Swedish national transport policy is freight transport regarded as a major facilitator for economic development on all geographical levels. At the same time it is noted that methods and data on business location and transportation is not adequate in order to follow-up transport policy objectives. This paper reports on a pilot study on the potential to develop accessibility measures to support and follow up policy objectives in Swedish context. The concept of accessibility and its practical use in concrete measures is discussed and problematized. A number of practical examples from Region Västra Götaland are used as illustrations. In terms of results the study identifies a number of potentials and limitations of using accessibility measures for freight transport issues. The usefulness is mainly driven by the integration capability of transport and land-use. This opens up for more complex questions and measures and thus supports the integration between planning specialisations. Limitations are to a large extent related to data availability and quality and to the degree of which models are possible to communicate to non-experts. The concluding discussion highlights how the policy and governance context is key in understanding how to best utilise the potential strengths of the accessibility concept and measures.

James L., Vissers G., Larsson A. and Dahlström M. Territorial knowledge dynamics and knowledge anchoring through localized networks: the automotive sector in Västra Götaland, Regional Studies. Innovative firms often engage in knowledge interactions across regional boundaries, which is difficult to account for by territorial innovation models. The territorial knowledge dynamics perspective directs attention to the ways in which firms and other actors combine regional and extra-regional relations. It deals with the spatial aspects of innovation, emphasizing constantly evolving knowledge networks that are not confined to regional boundaries, which implies a new view on regional knowledge anchoring. The paper presents a case of innovation in the automotive sector in the Västra Götaland region of Sweden to show how a spatial pattern of knowledge interactions develops over time.

Today many regions in the industrialized world have to deal with a transformation from traditional industry such as agriculture or manufacturing to service-oriented production such as tourism. Nevertheless, few studies highlight the possibilities and limitations of inter-sectoral knowledge sharing among stakeholders representing these sectors and hence there seem to be missed opportunities for mutual collaboration in the era of experience production. Using an evolutionary perspective, this article aims to analyse how the leisure boat manufacturing and the tourism sectors in the municipality of Orust on the Swedish west coast, combine knowledge from these two sectors as a way to spur innovation in experience production. The article shows how there are a number of limitations to sectoral knowledge interaction. Some of them can be linked to the conservative nature of the traditional industry, and to the immature nature of the tourism sector, others to the role of policy. However, at the same time as there being a number of obstacles for collaboration, the article reveals some interesting possibilities to form inter-sectoral knowledge sharing.