Regional Knowledge, Organizational Capabilities and the Emergence of the West German Laser Systems Industry, 1975-2005

Regional Studies. This paper analyses how the regional distribution of knowledge and pre-existing organizational capabilities shaped the spatial distribution of a new innovative industry, using the German laser systems industry as an empirical example. It is found that regional knowledge in the related field of laser source production and the presence of laser-relevant universities and public research organizations were conducive to the first emergence of laser systems producers. Upstream laser source producers influenced entry into the downstream laser systems industry primarily through their own diversification moves. Public research was less important in the submarket of materials processing laser systems, which is less directly science based than other parts of the laser systems industry.