Cross-border collaboration in the North. Viewpoints of municipal representatives and firm managers on the Bothnian Arc project
MADELEINE MATTSSON AND ÖRJAN PETTERSSON
Mattsson, Madeleine & Örjan Pettersson (2005). Cross-border collaboration in the North. Viewpoints of municipal representatives and firm managers on the Bothnian Arc project. Fennia 183: 2, pp. 97–107. Helsinki. ISSN 0015-0010.
Today greater responsibilities are being put on regions to shape their own future. Thus, different kinds of regional collaboration arenas have emerged and an in- creasing number of regional collaboration projects are now crossing both coun- ty and nation borders. The object of interest in this study is the Bothnian Arc project. This project involves municipalities on the Swedish and the Finnish side of the Gulf of Bothnia. The aim has been to analyse opinions and experiences of Swedish actors regarding the Bothnian Arc as a region-strengthening project. The article is based on interviews with fourteen municipality representatives and a questionnaire answered by approximately 300 firm managers within the Both- nian Arc area. The Bothnian Arc is essentially a political project and this study shows that the policy creating institutions have not succeeded in transferring ideas and objec- tives to firms within the area. In fact, only 30 per cent of the firm managers were familiar with the project. More concrete projects adapted to firm interests were required by a few of the municipality representatives. Moreover, the munici- palities closest to the Finnish border are more active and involved both on mu- nicipal and firm level. This tendency is primarily due to already existing tradi- tions of collaboration with Finnish actors.
Madeleine Mattsson & Örjan Pettersson, Department of Social and Economic Geography, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. E-mail: orjan.petters- [email protected]. MS received 23 March 2005.
Structural changes and self-sufficient a growing number of service-producing firms (Pet- regions tersson 2002; Glesbygdsverket 2003, 2004; ITPS 2004; Långtidsutredningen… 2004). Today significant changes concerning economic, Simultaneously, the importance of local and re- social and demographic structures are taking place gional arenas for collaboration has been empha- in many parts of Europe. Sweden is no exception. sised to increase the competitiveness. Collabora- The tendency is a more polarised development tion across administrative borders is accentuated pattern. The metropolitan areas and the university by EU-policies and planning ideas, such as the Eu- cities continue to attract the young, productive ropean Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP), part of the population. On the other hand, towns which is supporting the development of function- with traditional industries and sparsely populated ally integrated regions (European Union 2004). By areas experience low birth rates, a steady net out- the principle of subsidiarity and a number of sup- migration and an ageing population. Rationalisa- port systems within the EU, greater responsibilities tions and closures of small units take place in pub- are being put on the regions themselves to shape lic services. Due to increasing global competition, their own future (Törnqvist 1998). the industry needs to continuously upgrade their However, the establishment of regional arenas capacity to compete. One obvious strategy is to is still very often a product of politicians and plan- focus more on knowledge intensive activities and ners (Davoudi 2003; Meijers & Romein 2003). An innovative strength. Another structural tendency is interesting question is whether economic growth
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 97 12.6.2006 11:03:28 98 Madeleine Mattsson and Örjan Pettersson FENNIA 183: 2 (2005)
can be stimulated by policymaking and planning linkages between firms as one key factor to create or if it is a result of slow development processes, polycentric regions. Nevertheless, matters must be random factors and/or inherited conditions unique discussed and operated among a number of actors for a certain place, which are difficult to imitate. to bring such a project to success. Some researchers mean that if visions and objec- Methodically, this article is mainly based on in- tives only exist on the political level, it is hard to terviews and a questionnaire survey. The inter- transform the ideas to concrete activities on the views were conducted in October 2004, with grass-root level (Malmberg 2002). fourteen key actors at the Swedish municipalities, Regional collaboration arenas are currently such as municipal commissioners and directors of about keeping territories together based on various trade and industry departments1. The answers were types of interactions and transactions, i.e. flows of compiled from all of the municipalities taking part information, goods and people. A major argument in the Bothnian Arc collaboration. The interviews is that enlarged functionally integrated regions were based on an interview guide, containing make the service production more efficient and questions with open alternatives of answers. The thus improve the conditions of individuals, house- questions dealt with collaboration projects and holds and firms. These processes are growing out priorities of the municipalities in general, with the of local contexts, but are also widening into larger Bothnian Arc project in particular and finally with territories and an increasing number of regional the decision-making process and future organisa- collaboration projects are now crossing both tion. county and nation borders. This kind of projects is The questionnaire, with fixed alternatives of an- characterised by functional integration processes swers, was directed towards managers within the of different scales, from small and temporary col- Swedish part of the Bothnian Arc, in December laboration projects, to more powerful and sustain- 2003 and January 2004. From a total of about able processes of region building. An important 25,000 firms, a selection of 2000 firms, with five factor for national and transnational projects with- employees or more2, was conducted. After that a in Europe is financial support from national- au branch-stratified selection was made. The branch- thorities and the Interreg funding of the European es selected was those considered as the most rel- Union. evant in perspective of priorities in the Bothnian Arc project, such as the manufacturing and steel industry, information and communication technol- The aim, material and structure of the ogy, forestry, health care/welfare and tourism study (Bothnian Arc 2004a). The selection resulted in 517 firms. After one reminder, 302 of the manag- ers had answered the questionnaire, i.e. 58 per The object of interest in this study is the Bothnian cent. Most of the questions have an internal drop- Arc project, which consists of a combination of out rate between 0 and 4 per cent. One should national and transnational collaboration activities. keep in mind that dropouts risk distorting the re- This project involves municipalities on the Swed- sults, as this is a group of respondents we lack ish and the Finnish side of the Gulf of Bothnia. The other forms of compensatory information from. aim is to analyse opinions and experiences among The questionnaire focused on topics such as the Swedish actors of the Bothnian Arc as a region- managers’ knowledge about and actual involve- strengthening project. Do local politicians and ment in the Bothnian Arc project, and whether ac- firm managers on the Swedish side regard this as a tors such as universities and other firms within the meaningful project from their perspective? What Bothnian Arc area are of interest for future coop- are the objectives that the municipalities want to eration. Other questions dealt with the firm man- achieve? The Bothnian Arc is essentially a political agers’ views on which issues should be prioritized project and it is not obvious that the policy creat- within the project, as well as their opinion about ing institutions has managed to transfer these ideas future prospects for their own firm and for the area and objectives to the firms within the area. Böhme in general. (2002), for instance, stress the need for involving This introduction is followed by a summary of other actors at local and regional level in order to related theoretical perspectives on polycentric re- fulfil the intentions of the ESDP, whereas Davoudi gions, region-building processes and economic (2003) accentuate the importance to strengthen growth. Thereafter, a brief description of the Both-
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 98 12.6.2006 11:03:29 FENNIA 183: 2 (2005) Cross-border collaboration in the North. Viewpoints of … 99
nian Arc is made, followed by a presentation of the kind of development corridors have in fact evolved results from the interview study and the survey. The around major transport links, and within these cor- article concludes with some summarising re- ridors there are possibilities for households and marks. firms to establish important connections and meet- ing points. As the need for mobility and accessibil- ity increases, it is assumed that strategic invest- Polycentric regions and development ments in crucial corridors can promote more ro- corridors bust service structures and economic growth in sparsely populated areas. However, proper physi- cal infrastructure is not enough to create regional To achieve sustainable long-term results, collabo- functionality and attraction. Additional factors of ration projects across administrative borders in a significance are the industrial character, -knowl subnational and transnational perspective gradu- edge production and labour competence, the built ally have to develop into more powerful processes environment in relation to the natural landscape of regional integration. However, it must be and the possibilities of the housing market to sat- stressed that there is no unambiguous and clear- isfy people with a great variety of income situa- cut definition of the region concept or region tions, desires and lifestyles (Copus 2001; Wiberg building in processes of shaping regions as alter- 2002). natives to existing administrative regions. In what way a region is categorised and marked off from its surroundings often depends on the social and/or Regional arenas of collaboration and economic context (Wiberg 2002). Moreover, Tay- region building processes lor (1988) stresses that regions rarely meet at clear- cut boundaries, but rather overlap across border zones. Over time, both the space and the contents The establishment of regional arenas might adopt of a region are constantly changing through differ- a variety of forms and structures. Nordgreen (1995) ent phases and processes. In this study the theo- discusses three different kinds of linked region retical discussion is based on the concept of the structures with varying intermediate networks. A functional region that is tied together by flows and new enlarged region emerges from integration transactions. The polycentric region is one type of processes between smaller, equivalent functional functional region, highly focused on in current regions. Thus, in this larger region a new function- policymaking within the EU (Davoudi 2003). The al and hierarchic structure is created. A region sys- polycentric idea is about the nodes in form of cit- tem, on the other hand, contains a great number of ies and towns to be involved in different kinds of horizontal links between the smaller regions, but networks. The thought is for the sub-areas to be without the merging process into one large region. useful to each other, either by similarities or by Finally, a region alliance, consisting of horizontal complementary effects regarding for instance la- collaboration without the regions necessarily be- bour markets, and to get access to a variety of serv- ing spatially close to each other, is considered by ices and cultural activities (Wiberg 2002; Petters- Nordgreen as the most suitable region structure in son & Westerberg 2003). The idea is also to reduce the knowledge based “new economy”. disparities and hierarchic power relations between Paasi (1986) describes region building as a proc- centre and periphery; between cities of larger and ess, consisting of different phases of development smaller scales and between urban and rural areas that step-by-step lead to internal cohesion and ex- (European Union 2004). ternal separation. These phases can be related to A special kind of polycentric region is the devel- Hettne’s (1997) regionness, suggesting that regions opment corridor (Jussila et al. 1993). This is not a exist in different grades and levels, from the natu- new phenomenon in Sweden and Finland. Espe- ral shaped region to the historically demarcated cially in northern Sweden this is an apparent geo- region with a clear identity. Processes of this kind graphical pattern and for centuries settlements and are rarely as simple and uncomplicated though, as economic activities have been concentrated to to be clearly marked off in specific phases. Aalbu coasts and river valleys (Pettersson 2002). Today and Wiberg (1997) suggest a more dynamic model these “natural” corridors have been strengthened in which the elements institutional changes, infra- with road and railway infrastructure. The modern structure investments and joint action, are interre-
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 99 12.6.2006 11:03:29 100 Madeleine Mattsson and Örjan Pettersson FENNIA 183: 2 (2005)
lated. These factors interact with each other with- The Triple Helix model is one theoretical ap- out any particular order, and backward as well as proach describing the collaboration between in- forward linkages tie the elements together. Thus dustry, government and universities. The links be- activities within one element automatically affect tween these actors often consist of consultant serv- the others, which in turn stimulate cumulative ices and contract research. All parts in the model processes. Furthermore, Hettne (1997) emphasises contribute to continuous processes where innova- that regional integration is not an irreversible proc- tions, competence and knowledge transfer are cre- ess. On the contrary, disintegration and fragmenta- ated (Etzkowitz 2002; Higano 2002; Lähteenmäki- tion could dissolve this process. Meijers and Ro- Smith & Persson 2002). There is often an assump- mein (2003) highlight the need to build regional tion that universities and research institutes more organization capacity in order to realize the po- or less automatically have a positive effect on the tential of polycentric regions. In this process, local and regional development. However, this is a shared visions, regional identity and leadership complex matter and studies are indicating that the are important aspects. existence of R&D institutions alone is not enough To sum up, these processes towards establishing to stimulate regional development and economic new regional arenas are very complicated and growth. It must be supported by other important even more complex are the transnational projects, parts of the social structure as well, such as a suf- with many political, economic, geographical, in- ficiently large population, a diversified labour frastructural, technical and cultural hinders and market, well functioning infrastructure and leaders barriers to overcome (Wiberg 1995, 1996; Lind- who take active interest in politics and business fors 2004; Rylander 2004). (Olsson & Wiberg 2003). Furthermore, the ability to adapt to specific lo- cal and regional conditions is important for plan- Growth factors and partnerships ning and policy-making in general. Activities based on high technology and knowledge is often fo- Many theories have been developed regarding dif- cused today, but it seems over-optimistic to expect ferent kinds of factors considered to be of impor- all regions to be transformed into high-tech clus- tance to economic growth and thus also to local ters. Economic policy and planning must be an- and regional development. The more recent dis- chored to the reality to have real impact on re- cussions concerning regional development deal gional development processes and in this context with, for example, agglomerations and clusters the public institutions have an important role to (see for example Marshall 1919; Porter 1990; Cas- draw up the guidelines (Nyström 1999; Malmberg tells 1996; Sheppard & Barnes 2000; Berggren & 2002). From this point of view the Bothnian Arc Brulin 2002; Malmberg 2002), the creation of in- collaboration is an interesting project to study. novation systems, knowledge and competence (Sheppard & Barnes 2000; Ljusberg 2001, 2002; Bager-Sjögren & Rosenberg 2004), social capital The Bothnian Arc (Putnam 1996; Westlund 2004), the entrepreneur- ial spirit (Aronsson & Johannisson 2002) and the The overall aim of the Bothnian Arc project is to creative class (Florida 2002). These theories influ- create favourable conditions for economic growth ence planners and policy makers at different levels in this part of Europe and to design planning and and contribute to planning and decision making investment proposals to meet the structural and processes. Furthermore, the growth factors are economic challenges connected to the relatively probably important in partnerships and collabora- peripheral location (Bothnian Arc 2004a). The idea tion strategies of different kinds. One type of part- is to create networks of long-term and sustainable nership that increasingly appears in planning, cross-border collaboration, but also to make the policy and region-building processes, are those area well known in international contexts. The first between private and public actors at local and re- phase of the project was implemented between gional levels (Jussila et al. 1993; Nyström 1999). 1998 and 2001. It was financed by the EU - pro These partnerships may improve the conditions for gramme Interreg II C Baltic Sea Region and also by development and decision-making by generating a number of Swedish and Finnish stakeholders more creative and effective processes than at for- (Bothnian Arc 2004a). The key actors are the mu- mal and strictly regulated planning. nicipalities, who also work for engaging firms and
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 100 12.6.2006 11:03:29 FENNIA 183: 2 (2005) Cross-border collaboration in the North. Viewpoints of … 101
universities within the region. In this way the Both- nian Arc project is an umbrella project where the idea is to develop different kinds of networks and partnerships between the actors within the area (Bothnian Arc 2004a, 2004b). Geographically the Bothnian Arc stretches along the coast from the municipality of Skellefteå on the Swedish side, to the Ylivieska region on the Finn- ish side (Fig. 1). Road distance from one end to the other is more than 500 kilometres. The municipal- ities of Haparanda, Kalix, Luleå, Piteå, Boden, Älvsbyn and Skellefteå constitute the Swedish sub- region, which is the focus of this study (Fig. 2). Ap- proximately 250,000 people live in the Swedish part of the Bothnian Arc (Statistics Sweden 2004). The industry consists partly of traditional branches, like mining, steel, manufacturing, forestry, energy and food production, and partly of firms within the “new economy”, such as IT, music, electronics, telecom and a variety of other high-tech business- es. There are also, of course, a substantial number of firms providing services of different kinds. Re- garding higher education and research, Luleå Uni- versity of Technology is the most apparent actor in the area, but both Luleå University of Technology and Umeå University conduct research and give Fig. 1. The geographical area of the Bothnian Arc. courses in other municipalities, mainly in Skel- lefteå. There are still many barriers to overcome and links to create in the Bothnian Arc area. A planned coastal railway (i.e. Norrbotniabanan) will proba- bly, from approximately the year 2020 and on- wards, strengthen the Bothnian Arc as a functional development corridor. This railway will link the Bothnian Arc area to the Swedish rapid train sys- tem, but also to the Finnish and Russian railway system (Bothnian Arc 2004a; Norrbotniabanan 2004). It is an important component for the devel- opment of the area as it will improve communica- tion and transportation networks, which in turn will support the integration processes and strength- en the nodes.
The municipality perspective
The interviews with municipality representatives showed that collaboration across municipal bor- ders already exists in the Swedish part of the Both- nian Arc area, such as The Municipal Square (Fyr- kanten; i.e. Luleå, Piteå, Boden and Älvsbyn) and Eastern Norrbotten (Östra Norrbotten; i.e. Haparanda, Kalix, Överkalix and Övertorneå). An Fig. 2. The Swedish sub-region with nodes and links.
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 101 12.6.2006 11:03:38 102 Madeleine Mattsson and Örjan Pettersson FENNIA 183: 2 (2005)
association including the municipalities of Väster- of the Bothnian Arc project compared to other col- botten has also been established, as well as EU- laboration projects. Except from one civil servant, projects across municipal borders within the the respondents of the four northernmost munici- county concerning trade, industry and education. palities are giving very high priority to the Bothni- It is clear that trade and industry development, re- an Arc project, whereas it seems to have lower search and education are important areas of col- priority in the other municipalities. laboration both locally between adjacent munici- During the first phase of the Bothnian Arc palities and regionally between counties. At project, 1998–2001, the number of contacts and present there are research collaborations between networking increased in many of the municipali- the higher education centres concerning digital ar- ties. The actors in Sweden and Finland got more chives and also between a music school and a uni- acquainted with each other and have developed a versity within the area. The border municipalities better understanding of the cultures of both coun- Haparanda and Tornio have been collaborating for tries. a long time and there is a close partnership be- tween a couple of energy companies, owned by ”[The municipalities] have a completely different dia- Swedish and Finnish municipalities. logue than before, when it was more or less non-ex- The characteristic features of the Bothnian Arc istent between many of the involved municipalities. Tornio and Haparanda have been collaborating suc- project are efforts to elaborate collaboration in the cessfully for some time though, and have been urging fields of knowledge/education/research, tourism, in this. Luleå and Uleåborg also have a good dialogue technology, industry and trade. Another matter of and it is very important for this collaboration.” (Politi- great importance is a well-functioning infrastruc- cian) ture, including public transport and modern infor- mation and communication technology. Great Some examples of more concrete contributions hopes are expressed regarding the future Norrbot- mentioned in the interviews are for example inten- niabanan, which is expected to function as a con- sified work on upgrading the standard of the necting link for the entire region. Other advantages Haparanda railway3, bus transports around the with the Bothnian Arc are increased opportunities northern part of the Bothnian Arc, mapping of the to find creative forms of collaboration within mu- coastline from Skellefteå on the Swedish side to tual areas of interests, as the familiarity of each Brahestad on the Finnish side, applications for EU- other and the knowledge of cultural differences financing and some recently created tourist between Sweden and Finland increases. One of projects. Moreover, the Bothnian Arc project has the municipality representatives emphasised the created the foundation for sub-projects aimed to use of collaboration projects like the Bothnian Arc develop the knowledge level and the steel industry within EU-contexts, not least when it comes to in the area. However, there are also critical com- funding development projects. ments. A couple of the municipality representa- Furthermore, the role of the Bothnian Arc as a tives are quite critical about the fact that very little platform for marketing and development of north- has happened up to now, that the process is too ern Sweden, northern Finland and the Barents re- slow and that there are too few concrete achieve- gion is stressed. According to the municipality rep- ments. In some cases they blame these problems resentatives, there is a strong interest to increase on differences in the decision-making processes the collaboration with Finland within the tourism on the Swedish and Finnish side of the border. industry, where Finnish actors are appreciated col- laboration partners. Other areas of interest for col- ”From the Finnish perspective, I imagine that they laboration are research, product development and think things are going slow quite often and that it trade. ought to be more action and less processing in board However, some of the municipalities had not meetings. I would like it that way as well, that we advanced very far in the Bothnian Arc collabora- would get more concrete projects, but it probably tion. A representative of one of the southern mu- will take some time.” (Politician) nicipalities stated that their involvement in the Bothnian Arc project was mainly a political initia- Part of the criticism is also the fact that the Both- tive, not entirely anchored among civil servants in nian Arc is still quite unknown for many people, the municipality administration. The interviews within the area as well as outside. The marketing have also revealed a pattern regarding the priority of the Bothnian Arc has to be faster and more leg-
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 102 12.6.2006 11:03:38 FENNIA 183: 2 (2005) Cross-border collaboration in the North. Viewpoints of … 103
ible to be effective. Furthermore, one of the mu- atives reckon about the extensive territory that the nicipal representatives stresses that it might not be Bothnian Arc actually constitutes. This has been meaningful for all municipalities to take part in all studied from different perspectives. The proximity activities and that it might be better to focus on to Russia is one of the aspects, and this is seen as a matters that are useful to the individual municipal- business related advantage by more or less all of ity. the municipality representatives. Other perspec- In order to involve the firms in the Bothnian Arc tives concern barriers to collaboration due to dif- project, most of the municipal representatives re- ferent languages, cultures, currencies and the rela- spond that circulars have been sent out to the firms tively great internal distances. In these cases the in the area and that firms have been informed at opinions differ quite a lot, where some respond- different occasions, at seminars and personal vis- ents see hindrances, other see advantages and op- its. At these occasions, the firms have also had the portunities. One of the respondents, for instance, opportunity to express their requirements and pref- argues that this large geographic area contains erences, which in the long run might contribute to many different landscapes, which is then seen as more concrete and firm-adjusted projects. Yet, sev- positive for tourism development. It is also empha- eral respondents claim that the municipalities have sised that this territory has similar structures re- not succeeded very well in engaging and involving garding base industries, such as forestry and min- the firms to a satisfactory extent. More concrete ing. Other strengths mentioned with the Bothnian projects, of interest for trade and industry, are Arc area are the high level of competence, modern asked for. industry and high-quality technology within R&D. By contrast, the universities have been involved Some of the municipal representatives, however, from the start. For instance, R&D projects are see difficulties with the different languages, cul- mentioned by several of the municipalities where tures, currencies, tax systems and the big distances for example Luleå University of Technology and within the Bothnian Arc. Not least lack of knowl- its decentralised College of Music in Piteå are in- edge in Finnish language and culture seems to be volved. Contacts have also been established be- an obstacle. tween the university association/research station Eastern Norrbotten and Finnish R&D centres. ”What really consists a problem is the language and However, two of the seven municipalities have the cultural differences. There are different ways to not taken any initiatives at all to engage universi- get the job done.” (Civil servant) ties. The most concrete plans for the near future are Worth noting is that the collaborations existing to continue to develop collaborations within today have often grown from experiences of earlier knowledge, steel industry and tourism, and to fol- collaborative efforts in the Swedish part of the low up the existing projects. Some of the munici- area, such as The Municipal Square and Eastern palities are also planning to intensify the market- Norrbotten, which both seem to be of higher prior- ing of the Bothnian Arc. The northernmost munici- ity than the Bothnian Arc project. One way to pality, Haparanda, is working on a vision of an strengthen the collaboration in the Bothnian Arc international centre in the Barents region. During would be to constitute a more formal organisation, the second phase, 2002–2005, five of the munici- e.g. a municipal union, with legible agreements palities have the intention to increase the involve- on collaboration between the municipalities. To- ment of firms and universities. day, a municipal union between Haparanda and Tornio is actually in the process of being estab- ”All the time we are looking for ways to engage firms lished. The process has been long and hard though, more concretely in different projects. The problem is as this kind of cross-border unions requires signifi- that many projects are too long-term, which makes it cant legal adaptations in both countries. Neverthe- hard to involve firms and to get them to invest money. less, this union might serve as a model for other The individual entrepreneur must be able to see that municipalities in the area and the collaboration this will bring something, which can be difficult at between Haparanda and Tornio is by several rep- times.” (Civil servant) resentatives viewed as an interesting pioneering project. In contrast, several of the respondents An interesting question, from a functional re- claim that the current collaboration is quite gion perspective, is what the municipal represent- enough.
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 103 12.6.2006 11:03:38 104 Madeleine Mattsson and Örjan Pettersson FENNIA 183: 2 (2005) The firm perspective One of the activities considered important for regional development processes is increased col- As economic growth is one important dimension laboration between firms. This is also one of the in the Bothnian Arc project, the second major fo- aims within the Bothnian Arc project. According to cus in this article is the firm perspective on the ef- the survey, the share of managers who have estab- forts of the project. The questionnaire to firm man- lished new contacts with other firms within the agers within the Bothnian Arc showed that only 30 Bothnian Arc area is low. Worth noting though, is per cent of the managers are familiar with the that newly established contacts with firms on the Bothnian Arc project. There are also obvious dif- Swedish and Finnish side of the Bothnian Arc is ferences between the municipalities and the almost the same, even if the actual numbers are awareness seems to decrease as the distance from low. Also regarding to what extent the Bothnian the Finnish border increases (Fig. 3). Firm size also Arc project has influenced the firm activities, the turned out to matter. The managers of big firms are figures are quite modest and a majority of the much more often familiar with the Bothnian Arc managers claim that the influence on their own project as compared to the managers of small busi- firm activities has been quite limited. nesses. The bigger firms often have more devel- Even though actual collaboration has not ad- oped connections and might thus get more infor- vanced very much, the interest in various collabo- mation at an early stage about different activities rative activities is evident. For instance, there is a and projects affecting their business, than the significant interest in increased collaboration with smaller firms do. Moreover, bigger firms probably firms on the Finnish side, especially among man- have more resources to put into this kind of projects agers who are already familiar with the Bothnian and therefore they might be more open for such Arc project. There is an even greater interest in col- information. laboration with firms on the Swedish side, whereas the interest in collaborating with firms in North-
100 % west Russia and in other parts of Europe is smaller (Table 1). This legible interest in firm collaboration was also revealed when the managers were asked 80 % 11 to specify which measures ought to be prioritised 56 in the area. Networking between firms within the 12 60 % 101 Bothnian Arc received the greatest interest. As mentioned before, the connection to R&D is
40 % a crucial factor for economic growth and develop- ment in general. The investigation showed that 12 there is an interest among the managers to collab- 20 % 35 4 orate with universities, even if it is slightly less pro- 20 nounced than the interest to collaborate with other 0 % Haparanda/Kalix Luleå/Piteå Boden/Älvsbyn Skellefteå firms. In this case the interest mainly concerns the universities on the Swedish side; Luleå University Familiar with the project Not familiar with the project of Technology and Umeå University. Fig. 3. The managers’ awareness of the Bothnian Arc project Finally, the managers’ expectations about the in relation to municipality group. Note: the figures show the future development in a more long-term perspec- actual numbers of responding managers. tive show that there is careful optimism.
Table 1. The managers’ interest in cooperation with firms in Sweden, Finland, Russia and Europe.
Cooperation interest in: The Swedish part The Finnish part Northwest Russia Europe
Yes, very much 30% 26% 12% 23% Yes, to some extent 54% 45% 35% 42% Not at all 16% 29% 53% 35% Total, percent 100% 100% 100% 100% Total number 283 275 255 260
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 104 12.6.2006 11:03:38 FENNIA 183: 2 (2005) Cross-border collaboration in the North. Viewpoints of … 105 Concluding remarks ties and nations are regarded as real barriers re- stricting collaboration. From this perspective it This study reveals that the municipalities have not seems important to build on experiences from been quite successful in engaging firms in the present collaboration such as The Municipal Bothnian Arc project. Less than one third of the Square, Eastern Norrbotten and Haparanda– firm managers were familiar with the project. Also Tornio. confirmed is a rather distinct geographical pattern. A couple of the municipality representatives The three municipalities closest to the Finnish bor- also implied that it might be easier for bigger mu- der are more active and involved both on munici- nicipalities to participate in collaboration activities pal and firm level, which primarily seems to de- as they have more resources, human as well as pend on already existing traditions of collabora- economic. Furthermore, apprehensions have been tion with Finnish actors. In the municipalities fur- expressed regarding the risk of smaller municipali- ther from the border, there is a more pending atti- ties being run over by the bigger ones. One way to tude. The interest among firm managers to partici- handle this problem could be to establish a more pate in the Bothnian Arc project was however formal organisation, such as a municipal union, quite big by the time they answered the survey, but it is clear that most of the respondents were and thus there seems to be a good opportunity to quite pending to this option. Many of the munici- take further steps towards broader and deeper col- pal representatives stressed that the current organi- laboration. Nevertheless, it seems important to sation is quite enough for now. First and foremost find more successful ways to reach the managers they want to see what happens further on in the in their everyday activities. More concrete projects border municipalities Haparanda and Tornio, who adapted to the firm interests were also required by seem to have gained the role as a kind of pilot some of the respondents. If there is no engagement project and a role model for deepened regional from the firms, it is quite hard to implement ideas collaboration within the Bothnian Arc. and activities from the top. Firm involvement is Regarding strengths and weaknesses with this also desirable to get information about which types vast geographical area, the opinions were quite of efforts that ought to be made and perhaps also varying among the municipality representatives. to get financial support. The Bothnian Arc will of course become a more At present, the Swedish side of the Bothnian Arc powerful actor if all the municipalities are deeply should be regarded more as an identified function- involved. For instance, benefits may appear within al arena for collaboration – partly with polycentric scale-economics in production, marketing oppor- corridor characteristics – than an actual estab- tunities and chances of getting more financial re- lished polycentric region. There are still many po- sources from the EU through this cross-border col- litical, economic, geographic, infrastructural, tech- laboration. The point is that the two sub-regions nical and cultural barriers to overcome before that have a lot in common regarding industries such as can be fulfilled. Another problem that was men- mining, forestry and tourist related activities. There tioned by a couple of the municipal representa- are also substantial differences between the two tives is the differences in the Swedish and the Finn- countries, but these do not necessarily have to be ish way to handle administrative matters. Accord- negative to the development. On the contrary, the ing to the respondents, the Swedish model is differences might work as advantages, provided sometimes seen as too slow and complicated from that the problems regarding existing barriers can a Finnish perspective. Böhme (2002) concludes be handled efficiently. that Swedish actors, even in comparison to actors However, the study of the firm perspective re- in other Nordic countries, are especially devoted vealed that far from all firm managers think of the to find consensus agreements. Furthermore, it Bothnian Arc as the most natural functional re- seems as if Finnish actors, compared to Swedish gional context (Bothnian Arc 2004b). This may be actors, are more on the alert when it comes to interpreted that the concept of the Bothnian Arc ESDP, but also more used to collaboration across has not yet reached the way people on the grass- administrative boundaries and in new regional root level think. This may also mean that the mu- constellations (for instance various types of federa- nicipality representatives have to engage in a long- tions of municipalities). In Sweden, it appears as if term commitment of building this regional arena participants more often think in traditional ways of collaboration without expecting any immediate where boundaries separating municipalities, coun- response and support from the firm managers.
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 105 12.6.2006 11:03:39 106 Madeleine Mattsson and Örjan Pettersson FENNIA 183: 2 (2005)
Part of the objectives underlying the Bothnian 3 The Haparanda railway is at present a single-track, Arc project has been to deepen the integration non-electrified part of a railway link from Boden to within the area, between the municipalities and Haparanda and connecting to the Finnish railway system through Tornio. across the national border separating Sweden and Finland, but also to increase the collaboration be- tween public actors, private firms and the universi- ties on both sides of the border. These ambitions REFERENCES can be seen as a first step towards building a new functional region within the area. One major ob- Aalbu H & U Wiberg (1997). How may institutional stacle, however, is the long distances within the regionalization promote regional development? Bothnian Arc area. Frequently the examples of In Dellenbrant JÅ & U Wiberg (eds). Euro-Arctic curtains, 77–101. CERUM, Umeå. polycentric regions in Europe are both more Aronsson P & B Johannisson (red) (2002). Entrepre- densely populated and have shorter distances be- nörskapets dynamik och regionala förankring. 217 tween large urban centres compared to the rela- p. Växjö University Press, Växjö. tively vast and outstretched Bothnian Arc. This can Bager-Sjögren L & M Rosenberg (2004). Kartläggning also be an explanation as to why the actors close av aktörer i det svenska innovationssystemet. ITPS, to the border are generally more engaged and en- Rapport A2004:020. 74 p. Berggren C & G Brulin (2002). Klistriga kluster eller thusiastic, whereas actors further away from the globala glidare? Den lokala dynamikens paradox- border are more sceptical towards the project. ala betydelse i den globaliserade ekonomin. Other obstacles to overcome are differences in NUTEK, Rapport B 2002:2. 61 p. language, culture and legislation. At the same time Böhme K (2002). Nordic echoes of European spatial it should be kept in mind that the studied project planning: discursive integration in practice. Nor- started as recently as 1998 and that these kinds of dregio report 2002:8. 367 p. region building processes usually takes a lot of Bothnian Arc (2004a). Bothnian Arc.
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 106 12.6.2006 11:03:39 FENNIA 183: 2 (2005) Cross-border collaboration in the North. Viewpoints of … 107
Higano Y (2002). The region in the new economy. An Olsson B & U Wiberg (red) (2003). Universitetet och international perspective on regional dynamics in den regionala utmaningen. 207 p. SISTER, Stock- the 21st century. 430 p. Ashgate, Hampshire. holm. ITPS (2004). Effektutvärdering av de geografiska mål- Paasi A (1986). The institutionalization of regions: a programmen inom EG:s strukturfonder. ITPS, Rap- theoretical framework for understanding the emer- port A2004:009. 136 p. gence of regions and the constitution of regional Jussila H, LO Persson & U Wiberg (1993). Shifts in identity. Fennia 164: 1, 105–146. systems at the top of Europe. 181 p. FORA, Stock- Pettersson Ö (2002). Socio-economic dynamics in holm. sparce regional structures. GERUM Kulturgeografi Lähteenmäki-Smith K & LO Persson (eds) (2002). ���Re- 2002:2. 47 p. structuring the state – regional impacts. Nordregio Pettersson Ö & P Westerberg (2003). Vägar för sam- report 2002:9. 134 p. verkan. Storumanföretagares inställning till plane- Långtidsutredningen 2003/04 (2004). Regional ut- ringssamarbete över kommungränsen. CERUM, veckling – utsikter till 2020. SOU 2004:34. 158 p. Working Paper 64:2003. 74 p. Lindfors S (2004). Gränsöverskridande näringslivs- Porter M (1990). The competitive advantage of na- samarbete – en jämförande studie av andra regio- tions. 855 p. Macmillan, Basingstoke. ners erfarenheter av gränsöverskridande samarbe- Putnam RD (1996). Den fungerande demokratin – ten: eventuella fördelar och svårigheter. Prakti- medborgarandans rötter i Italien. 286 p. SNS för- kantrapport.
23240_2_Mattsson.indd 107 12.6.2006 11:03:39 23240_2_Mattsson.indd 108 12.6.2006 11:03:39