An agent of change against all odds? The case of Ledger in Vierzon, France

Morisson, Arnault; Mayer, Heike (2021). An agent of change against all odds? The case of Ledger in Vierzon, France. Local Economy, 36(5), pp. 430-447. Sage Publications 10.1177/02690942211052014

Preview

Text An_Agent_of_Change_Against_all_Odds_RG.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (798kB) | Preview

The literature in economic geography is increasingly interested in the role of human agency in local and regional development. The understanding of the role of agents of change on path development is especially critical for small- and medium-sized towns (SMSTs), which tend to be less diversified and to have fewer localised capabilities. The town of Vierzon in the Centre-Val-de-Loire region in France is a medium-sized old industrial town in a structural crisis. It is suffering from deindustrialisation, population decline, unemployment and poverty. This article takes a micro-perspective with a case study approach to explore the creation and growth of Ledger – a frontier blockchain start-up that designs, produces and commercialises hardware wallets for cryptocurrencies – against all odds in Vierzon, France. It underlines the role of a Window of Locational Opportunity, agency, chance, the broader institutional context in the location of Ledger in an unlikely place and subsequent unrelated diversification and path creation. It contributes to the debate on the interplay between agency and structure by linking agents of change in SMSTs to the broader institutional context and to the understanding of the emergence of place-based leadership.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

193 since deposited on 22 Oct 2021
108 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item