The Role of ICT as a Locational Factor in Peripheral Regions - Examples from “IT-active” local authority areas in Sweden

• Published in: Netcom
• Main Author: Lorentzon, Sten
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Le Havre : Association NETCOM 1998
• Subjects: peripheral regions.; ICT-use; relocation; regional policy; geo; manag; Arvidsjaur
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3406/netco.1998.1397; https://www.persee.fr/doc/netco_0987-6014_1998_num_12_1_1397

This paper focuses on the use of information and communication technology as a communicative tool (ICT). The problem is how the knowledge of ICT is implemented at production for goods and services and its geographical impact. The purpose is to increase the knowledge of why activities locate to local authority areas (LAAs) that have successfully used information technology as a tool for the creation of jobs. Another subordinated purpose is to analyze how the demand for communications of activities influences the locational preferences and thereby the competitive power of different places/regions. The study has mainly been performed through interviews with people representing businesses and authorities of the government and the LAAs of Ronneby, Sotenas, Are and Arvidsjaur. These LAAs have shown an interest in the development of the use of ICT (“IT-active”). An assumption of the study is that relocation of activities is driven by push factors. Another assumption is that the infrastructure for information processing and exchange is important for different activities and thereby for the development of LAAs. The result of this study argues that the expansion of call centers in peripheral areas depends on the difficulties in recruiting personnel in mainly the Stockholm metropolitan area, i.e. the push factors are decisive for the relocation of ICT -based businesses. The peripheral location can partly be balanced by infrastructure for communications. However, this study argues that infrastructure for telecommunications and passenger traffic are necessary conditonsfor the use of ICT in regional policy. The state, LAAs, teleoperators, businesses and private persons are in different ways involved in the efforts to take advantage of the potential possibilities of the use of ICT. In all types of activities, driving spirits play an important role. But even if there are common characteristic features the conclusion is that the specfic conditions are decisive for the location of businesses to a certain LAA. At the same time, ...