The genesis of regional industries: A Scottish space industry case study

: (Alternative Format Thesis)

Abstract

Policymakers in many advanced economies increasingly seek ways to address highly uneven economic development. Against this contextual backdrop, support for place-based industrial development strategies has grown, whereby place-based approaches frame industrial strategies with differing regional needs in mind. However, these approaches remain ‘top-down’, and often neglect to account for the ways that people and organisations within the region impact the early development of new regional industries, a shortcoming this thesis addresses. In investigating the ‘bottom-up’ effects of people and organisations on regional industry emergence, the aim of this thesis is to advance scholarship on the formation and early development processes of new regional industries. Using a case study of Scotland’s space industry, the findings of this thesis show how a variety of people and organisations influence the genesis and emergence of nascent regional industries, demonstrating how they can contribute to policymakers efforts to grow regional industries and implement place-based industry development strategies. The significance of this research is that it informs our theoretical understanding of the processes underpinning the birth of new regional industries by putting focus on actors often overlooked in industrial policymaking, and informs our empirical understanding of how and why Scotland’s space industry has emerged.

Date of Award	10 Dec 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Felicia Fai (Supervisor), Mariachiara Barzotto (Supervisor) & Phil Tomlinson (Supervisor)