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About the Academy
Mission
The mission of the Academy is to establish itself as a leading European centre for doctoral education on the dynamics of technical, structural and institutional change based on theories of economic organisation, organizational competencies, competitive advantages, economic evolution and growth.
Identity
The Academy is an integral part of the research environment of The Danish Research Unit for Industrial Dynamics (DRUID). DRUID was established in 1995, based on funding from the Danish Social Science Research Council (SSF) and the Danish Ministry of Industry. DRUID is operated jointly by the Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy, Copenhagen Business School, the Department of Business Studies, Aalborg University. Scholars at the Kolding Campus of Southern Denmark University and at Aarhus Business School also take part in all activities of DRUID. The DRUID Academy is supported by the Danish Research Training Council, under the Danish Research Agency
DRUID is one of the founders of ETIC - the European Doctoral Programme on the Economics of Technology and Institutional Change, recognized and economically supported by the DG XXII as a Research Training Network 1999-2001. See further at http://cournot.u-strasbg.fr/etic/.
Research agenda
On the level of basic research, the Academy confronts and combines new institutional theories and the resource-based view of the firm with recent approaches where the focus is on learning and the dynamic capabilities developed within firms and among firms in networks. The dynamic interplay within and among firms is seen as crucial in order to understand international and regional (sub-national) differences in industrial structure, employment and economic growth.
The Academy's conceptual and empirical work is organized around three scientific themes with a distinct focus on:
A.Theory of the firm
including the connections between new institutional theories of the firm (such as transaction cost economics), the field of strategy (such as the capabilities and knowledge-based views of the firm) and market dynamics.
B.Inter-firm interaction
including the circumstances where the dynamic changes in competitive patterns of firms is associated with changes in their specialization and position in the production systems. Included are analysis of co-ordination of R&D and of other activities bearing on the technological development of firms, their connection to competitive strategies and performance and inter-firm organizational arrangements. Of special concern is the evolution of the vertical division of labour between firms, and the way in which a deepening of the interaction between firms gives rise to innovative activity.
C.Innovation systems
including the formation of geographically distinct systems of innovation and their effect on economic growth and development. The theme also explores and develops the theoretical and methodological base for the application of new concepts such as "the learning economy".
On the applied level, the Academy supports the development of policy implications while interacting with policy makers in government and managers in the business community.
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