<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>There are debates in the research literature about the mechanisms responsible for the formation of local development trajectories. What is emphasised, as particularly scarce, are longitudinal studies which show how historical, social and institutional structures are reproduced and/or transformed into new paths of development in the case of industrial towns. This paper aims to capture the role of various social, cultural and institutional features that constitute localised capabilities, in the process of transition from an old to a new developmental path for older industrial towns. The authors use case studies of three medium-sized industrial centres in Poland: Dzierżoniów, Starachowice and Mielec, to illustrate how localised capabilities are shaped by the interplay of earlier economic activity and the characteristics of local firms, on the one hand, and the evolving social, cultural and institutional attributes of the particular town and its region on the other. As a result, industrial towns may differ significantly in their ability to absorb exogenous impulses, as well as their capacity to transform and recombine them into a new development pathway that is more resilient than the old one.</p></abstract>

There are debates in the research literature about the mechanisms responsible for the formation of local development trajectories. What is emphasised, as particularly scarce, are longitudinal studies which show how historical, social and institutional structures are reproduced and/or transformed into new paths of development in the case of industrial towns. This paper aims to capture the role of various social, cultural and institutional features that constitute localised capabilities, in the process of transition from an old to a new developmental path for older industrial towns. The authors use case studies of three medium-sized industrial centres in Poland: Dzierżoniów, Starachowice and Mielec, to illustrate how localised capabilities are shaped by the interplay of earlier economic activity and the characteristics of local firms, on the one hand, and the evolving social, cultural and institutional attributes of the particular town and its region on the other. As a result, industrial towns may differ significantly in their ability to absorb exogenous impulses, as well as their capacity to transform and recombine them into a new development pathway that is more resilient than the old one.

Localised capabilities as an intermediating factor in the transition from an old to a new development path: The case of post-socialist industrial towns

Moravian Geographical Reports

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

There are debates in the research literature about the mechanisms responsible for the formation of local development trajectories. What is emphasised, as...

Localised capabilities as an intermediating factor in the transition from an old to a new development path: The case of post-socialist industrial towns

Published Online: Jul 09, 2020

Page range: 123 - 135

Received: Sep 19, 2019

Accepted: May 20, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mgr-2020-0010

Keywords
industrial towns, local development, path creation, localised capabilities, post-socialism, Poland

© 2020 Krzysztof Gwosdz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Localised capabilities as an intermediating factor in the transition from an old to a new development path: The case of post-socialist industrial towns

Published Online: Jul 09, 2020

Page range: 123 - 135

Received: Sep 19, 2019

Accepted: May 20, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mgr-2020-0010

Keywordsindustrial towns, local development, path creation, localised capabilities, post-socialism, Poland

© 2020 Krzysztof Gwosdz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
industrial towns, local development, path creation, localised capabilities, post-socialism, Poland