EVOLUTIONARY MECHANISMS OF IMPRINTING: EVIDENCE FROM TWO CASE STUDIES

Abstract

Purpose- The aim of the study is to contribute to the recently developing field of evolutionary economic geography field by developing a synthetic theoretical framework to explain the evolutionary dynamics of regional clusters. The theoretical framework combines elements of multi-level imprinting theory and general Darwinism to model how hereditary factors and environmental influencers interact to render regional clusters more receptive or immune to triggering conditions.

Methodology- The study employs historical-comparative analysis (HCA) to highlight the influence of past events and reveal evolutionary mechanisms based on two cases of regional clusters from the empirical literature. Evidence from each case is used to identify the mediator and reinforcing mechanisms of imprints.

Findings- The analysis of two empirical case studies significantly corroborated our theoretical insights and displayed a considerable fit with our proposed analytical model. Not only our understanding towards variation, selection and retention mechanisms is enhanced, but also the conditions that affect the success of imprinting are identified.

Conclusion- Empirical cases illustrated that sensitive periods do not automatically result in evolution of a cluster. For a successful imprinting during a sensitive period, the presence of a VSR mechanism is necessary. VSR mechanism, on the other hand, is found to be affected by both environmental factors and genetic/hereditary factors. Additionally, MLIT should be revisited to include political influencers, which seems to be a potent environmental source of imprinting.

Keywords

• General Darwinism,imprinting,economic geography,regional development history,regional growth

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