Zwischen Kontinuität und Transformation : die Evolution des Paderborner IT-Clusters

The aim of this article is to analyze how Paderborn
evolved from a rural economy in the 1950s to an
IT-cluster today. This development path was largely
shaped by Nixdorf AG, a company that during the
1960s and 70s became Paderborn's largest employer
and focal business. Throughout this period the company strongly influenced institutions in the area, for
example by initiating and financing research and educational facilities. After the take-over of Nixdorf AG
in 1989 by Siemens AG. the economic base of Paderborn changed significantly: business-units were downsized
or closed and several thousands jobs were cut.
However, due to the establishment of a large number
of new IT-companies. Paderborn's economic activity
in this field of business did not come fully to a stop. The
results of a survey of 103 businesses indicate that the
institutional structures laid in the hey-days of the Nixdorf AG and the IT focus al the university were largely
responsible for the establishment of the new IT businesses, rather than they being the result of a possible
wave of spin-off-establishments linked to the Nixdorf
AG.