Olli Niemi: "Think Global, Act Local"

"When the Vision 2010 took off, I was still focusing on issues of regional economy," says Olli Niemi. "I disagreed with basic approach of the early cluster studies. I have more faith in regional clusters than in national clusters."

"At the time I thought that an effective cluster was within 100 kilometers so that all activities during the work day could be conducted within that cluster. So the emphasis was on regional clusters that sought global visibility."

"In mechanical engineering and automation, for instance, we had some 50 enterprises which were reaching for global leadership in a very focused segment. Of these enterprises, 15 achieved a worldwide market leadership position between 1994 and 2004. It was based on ´think global, act local´ thinking. Focusing on regional economy, we could also accelerate R&D among these companies so that they would become world-class."

See interview of Olli Niemi - pdf 31 kt

Interviews of the Finnish Real estate and Construction leaders will be published in Dr Steinbock´s report on globalization, urbanization and the Finnish real estate and construction cluster.

See the Study to be released, Vital Cluster: Globalization, Urbanization, and the Finnish Real Estate and Construction Cluster