Innovative Companies in ordinary places - 'peripheral' perspectives on the global knowledge economy beyond the global north

Abstract

In the context of the DFG Collaborative Research Centre “Processes of Spatialisation under the Glob-al Condition”, the project “Innovative technology enterprises at unusual locations in Central Asia and Africa” analyses processes of spatialisation, spatial practices and networks of internationally suc-cessful, innovative and locally rooted enterprises.
Our research is about the emergence and development of these companies in the context of dominant imaginations of the so-called global knowledge economy (GKE) and the inherent spatial order of ‘core’ and ‘peripheral’ regions at global scale (cf. Rob-erts 2009). Empirically, the project focusses on the spatial agency of innovative companies as eco-nomic actors in countries beyond the Global North and in regions outside of the large agglomerations which are often referred to as ‘hot spots’ of the global economy.

Biographical Note

Markus Sattler (SFB 1199 & Leibniz-Insitut für Länderkunde)

Markus Sattler studied Political Sciences and Geography at the University in Bremen. Afterwards he studied International Studies in Berlin and Potsdam. Since 2020 he is part of the IfL. His research interest is Multiple geographies of regional and local development and regional European Geographies with a focus on power, domination and agency in human geography.

Marian Augustina Brainoo (SFB 1199 & Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde)

Marian Augustina Brainoo studied Economics and Business Administration in Ghana. She made her masters in Economics at the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena. Since 2020 she is part of the IfL. Her focus is on Multiple geographies of regional and local development and regional European Geographies.

Thilo Lang (SFB 1199 & Leibniz-Insitut für Länderkunde)

Having studied spatial and environmental planning in Kaiserslauten and urban planning in Hamburg, Thilo Lang gained his PhD in Potsdam and Durham. As the head of a department at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, his research interests focus on the production of space and transnational urban and regional development in the context of current processes of socio-spatial polarization and rising disparities across Europe. Further long-term research interests include urban and regional change, shrinking cities and regeneration, as well as peripheralization as a multilevel process. One current focus is on innovation outside of conurbations and alternative local and social economies.