The restructuring of the old industrial region of Grenland in Norway: Between lock-in, adjustment, and renewal.

While the concept of ‘lock-in’ has been popular as a catch-all concept for explaining negative externalities associated with entrenched institutions in old industrial regions, recent research suggests a more nuanced account centred on path-dependent evolution. More specifically, regional economic development and restructuring might be better understood if lock-in is studied in relation to other potentially co-evolving processes, such as economic adjustment and renewal. The article indicates patterns of structural change and reported innovations, and the authors question how lock-in has co-evolved with various processes of adjustment and renewal in the old industrial area of the Grenland region in Norway, focusing on the period between 2000 and 2011. They pay specific attention to various measures of restructuring in the process manufacturing industry, the related mechanical manufacturing industry, and the emergence of a local information and communications technology (ICT) industry. While the Grenland region displays elements of economic lock-in and a continued dependence on process manufacturing, it has experienced substantial structural shifts that suggest regional renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]