ABSTRACT
The process of globalisation gives the impression that economic forces are increasingly interrelated with national arrangements and, in a quite particular way, creates the appearance of ubiquitous development. Certainly global players are strong actors in that situation, and quite frequently they are in a situation where they can demand attractive inducements from countries or regions in order to make positive decisions about investments and locations where they will establish their factories and plants. Such decisions are the very end of a long process, and indicate that a certain stage of maturity has been achieved. The process of techno-industrial innovation, on the other hand, takes a very long period; two to three decades pass from the first breakthroughs in science until the final application in products (e.g. micro-electronics, biotechnology, nuclear energy). Here, decisions about locations are based upon criteria other than the costs of labour; both scientific excellence and industrial technology are critically important.
