08 Fields & Externalities

agglomeration economies

• factors outside an organization within a region contribute to the firms’ competitive advantage

• presence of multiple competing and cooperating firms in a region…

  • helps to attract and train talent

  • leads to knowledge spillovers and co-specialization

  • enables innovation

anatomy of emerging fields

• upperground: formal institutions (firms, agencies, universities, government)

• middleground: communities and intermediary structures

• underground: individual creators (informal, often invisible, where ideas first appear)

Berlin design field anatomy of an emerging field

• uppergorund = events: synchronize attention, create categories

• middleground = places: confer legitimacy, anchor identity

• underground = spaces: facilitate encounters, provide affordances

consequences rapid growth ideology

consequences of uncontrolled regional growth

• inequality

• gentrification

• environmental destruction

• overstretching of local infrastructure

“gazelle” venture

high-growth entrepreneurial venture with positive structural impact

“muppet” venture

small-scale self-employment venture fostering limited economic prosperity