Turning around local economies: Managerial strategies and community assets

Nontraditional "invisible" sources of growth are identified through a case study of a diversified industrial region in Massachusetts. Firm-specific managerial strategies are found to be an important element in the determination of economic growth. Customized and hybrid firms characterize m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of policy analysis and management 1990-10, Vol.9 (4), p.487-506
Main Authors: Doeringer, Peter B., Terkla, David G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business Strategies
Business structures
Commercial production
Development
Economic costs
Economic growth models
Economic Policy
Economic regions
Economic statistics
Economics
Employment
Industrial production
Labor force
Local economy
Local Government
Management
Manufacturing industries
Massachusetts
Strategic planning
Strategy
Technological innovation
U.S.A
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Summary:Nontraditional "invisible" sources of growth are identified through a case study of a diversified industrial region in Massachusetts. Firm-specific managerial strategies are found to be an important element in the determination of economic growth. Customized and hybrid firms characterize major departures from the product-cycle model in which product specialization and service specialization attached to traditional products allow them to avoid product-cycle maturity. The interaction of these business strategies with invisible community factors such as labor force quality and the labor-management environment significantly influences local economic growth. These findings indicate the importance of targeting development efforts at the firm as opposed to the industry level and the need to better utilize local invisible factors as a basis for boosting local economic growth.
ISSN:0276-8739
1520-6688
DOI:10.2307/3325260