“Catalonia; Cluster, Hub or Node? Choices for Cork”

by Joe Haslam

Executive Director, #OEMPAssociate Professor, IE Business School

Barcelona, SpainMonday, 14th April, 2014.

Clár an Lae

1. Second City Syndrome2. How well do you know Cork?3. How well do you know Barcelona?4. Clusters, Hubs & Nodes5. Takeaways

1. Second City Syndrome

"Since 1800, 22 former Spanish colonies have become independent. None of them regrets it." "

“I can only imagine an independent Catalonia adding costs, hiring more people in government, building an army and other nonsensical moves that make the financial hole Catalonia is in even deeper”

2. How well do you know Cork?

You tell me!!!

Cork is the chosen European manufacturing and services location for the worldwide operations of such major corporations as Pfizer, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lily, Schering Plough, Apple Inc., Boston Scientific, Stryker, Johnson & Johnson, EMC, Amazon, Bank of New York Mellon and Citco.”

1. MNCs2. Research3. Port4. Soft stuff

Cork Harbour is Europe's largest natural harbour and the Port of Cork utilises this asset by providing Ireland's only multi-purpose deep sea port facility.

Cork offers a safe, welcoming, and friendly location with the perfect lifestyle balance

Cork also possesses a number of world renowned research institutes such as the Tyndall National Research Institute; the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre; Moorepark Dairy and Food Research Centre

“one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" (after Port Jackson, Sydney).

Other contenders include Halifax Harbour in Canada, and Poole Harbour in England.

The largest non-navigational harbour and the largest natural harbour in the world is New Zealand's Kaipara Harbour, at 947 km².

2. How well do you know Barcelona?

Tourism: 2.5m (1993) - 7.6m (2013)% of Economy: 4% (1993) - 14% (2013)

Barcelona is the world’s fourth busiest cruise ship port, with 2.6m passengers in 2013 (up from 152,000 in 1993),

Last August, Barcelona’s airport passenger count surpassed Madrid’s for the first time.

Barcelona Turisme: old city, Sagrada Família and Park Güell as tourism flash points.

Nevertheless, in addition to maintaining the tourism-branding at which it excels, “the city is also developing a more sustainable model of place branding in line with other world cities, to attract businesses and talent from outside. Developed under the slogan Barcelona Inspires, Prof Fernández explains, core assets of the older, tourist model – sea, climate, Gaudí, Barça football club – are being widened to project an image of innovation, creativity and talent.

Monday March 31 2014

Poblenou is a cluster of converted factories and striking new buildings that are home to research institutions, high-tech companies, corporate headquarters, government agencies and apartments

Mango

La Caixa

Gas Natural

FC Barcelona

Banco Sabadell

4. Clusters v Hubs

“Pick a hot industry, build a technology park next to a research university, provide incentives for businesses to

relocate, add some VC and then watch the magic happen”.

Vivek Wadhwa

- communication channels that local entrepreneurs maintain to the outside world

- open-mindedness toward foreign cultures, change and new ideas”. - Regional and national clusters are “irrelevant for innovation”

Key Drivers of Innovation

Companies that maintain ties only with players within the same cluster are four times LESS LIKELY to innovate

than those which were globally connected.

“Silicon Valley, despite being at the center of the digital world, is a hopelessly insular and actually rather hermetic place.

Even its famous immigrant culture emphasizes joining the SV way.

For all its talk of innovation, it resists almost anyone who is not part of its mainstream“

5. Takeaway

“Be a node … not a cluster”

“Of all required criteria, it is essential that the chosen entrepreneurs work in a global mindset, believing that the route to success is via expansion not isolation.”

Joe Haslam

B.Comm, M.Sc., University College, CorkMBA, IE Business School

Lives in: Madrid, Spain

http://www.linkedin.com/in/joehashttp://twitter.com/joehas

'The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.'

Walter Bagehot (1826 - 1877)