Exploring plasticity in the development path of the automotive industry in Baden-Württemberg: The role of combinatorial knowledge dynamics

Abstract

Profound insights into why some regional paths remain dynamic over several decades while others follow a bumpy road and become stuck in the past are still scarce. This paper addresses this gap by contributing to a deeper understanding of dynamics within territorial paths. It focuses on organizational and institutional changes connected with so-called combinatorial knowledge dynamics. We claim that especially innovations based on the transversal combination of separated knowledge bases are connected to the gradual transformation, recombination or creation of institutions at the microlevel. This contribution explores the dynamics within the automotive industry of Baden-Württemberg by providing a meso-level overview of the trajectory of its technological and institutional development as well as an analysis of a case study that illustrates the gradual institutional change on the micro-level in the course of knowledge combination.