Regional knowledge and spatial evolution of the West German laser systems industry.We analyze the regional evolution of the German laser systems industry in West Germany in the 1975- 2005 period. We find that regional knowledge in the related field of laser source production and the presence of laser-relevant universities and public research organization were conducive to the first emergence of laser systems producers. Upstream laser source producers influence 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. While spatial proximity to Munich, the early center of laser research in Germany, had a slightly increasing effect on regional entry into the new industry, we do not find any evidence for spillovers between neighbouring regions.
© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
