Evolving roles and dynamic capabilities of an innovation agency: the Dutch Rijksnijverheidsdienst, 1910–1940

Contemporary literature on intermediary organisations does not cover the history of these organisations in the early twentieth century or how their roles evolved. To understand the evolution of roles, this paper extends the application of dynamic capabilities theory from firms to intermediary organisations. It does this by studying a Dutch government innovation agency between 1910 and 1940 with dynamic capabilities in mediation and knowledge development. These capabilities are illustrated by nine examples that reveal how the agency's consultants modified and extended their resource base in order to continue supporting small and medium-sized enterprises while coping with considerable challenges and changes. Thereby, this paper shows that the dynamic capabilities theory can explain how intermediary organisations can adapt their roles.     

National innovation systems and international knowledge flows: an exploratory investigation with the case of the Netherlands

Since the late 1980s, the literature on innovation systems has flourished, often tying these systems to nation-states. Technology, however, often flows across the borders of nations. In this paper, four cases are studied where foreign technology is imported and appropriated from abroad into Dutch companies. By doing so, the questions what a national system of innovation consists of and what such a system means for firms are explored. The cases studied provide a picture of international-sectoral systems, adding up to a loosely interacting innovation system at the national level.     

From ‘Golden Age’ to ‘Golden Age.’ An Introduction to the Role of the Netherlands in Economic Science and Economic History

This article introduces the special issue of De Economist on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Royal Netherlands Association of Economists.     

Broiler production in South Africa: Is there space for smallholders in the commercial chicken coup?

It is agreed that agriculture provides avenues for impoverished households to produce and trade their way out of poverty. However, this requires market access and value chain integration of small-scale farmers. This paper explores the possibilities for integration of small-scale farmers into the mainstream commercial broiler value chain in South Africa. Production costs of small-scale producers are evaluated within the context of their commercial counterparts, with a case study approach. It revealed that small-scale producers pay more for inputs but also receive a substantial premium for sales of live birds in the informal market. This results in attractive gross margins for small-scale producers. There is, however, a production ceiling, due to demand and production considerations, associated with small-scale broiler production. This ultimately results in a dualistic industry with an informal (live sale) value chain at the one end of the spectrum and a sophisticated large-scale commercial value chain at the other. Given the salient production features and investment requirements associated with large-scale broiler production, organic growth from the small-scale value chain into the commercial value chain seems improbable. The dual nature of this industry should therefore be considered when developing policy geared towards development, poverty alleviation and value chain integration.     

The Transformation of an Old Industrial District: Firms, Family, and Mutuality in the Zaanstreek between 1840 and 1920

The Zaanstreek—northwest of Amsterdam, The Netherlands—hasbeen a highly industrialized region for nearly four hundredyears. For most of this period, it showed a strong sense ofcommunity and a high degree of cooperation between firms, whichis usually considered to be typical for an "industrial district."However, between about 1840 and the First World War the characterof this industrial district was dramatically transformed. Inresponse to the rapidly growing integration of markets in thenational and international economies since the 1840s, the Zaanstreekwent through a radical change in energy base, as well as a fundamentalshift in industrial structure. This essay addresses the questionsof what happened to interfirm cooperation in the Zaanstreekwhen this fundamental transition in energy base and shift inindustrial structure came about and how and to what extent entrepreneursin the Zaan district between 1840 and 1920 managed to preservethe sense of community and interfirm cooperation that were thehallmarks of this region since the seventeenth century. It showsthat the principle of mutuality eventually proved no longerstrong enough to keep the actors in these institutions together.Ties between firms within the industrial district were in severalrespects replaced by, or subordinated to, ties between firmsoutside the industrial district. What kept interfirm cooperationin the district nevertheless intact for much of the period after1920 were ties of regional family networks. The essay concludeswith a few observations about the relevance to the study ofindustrial districts in general.