Regional economic development and resilience-adaptation relation: evidence from Denizli Industrial Cluster

Today's global economic environment is affected by a variety of shocks and crises that occur frequently and have profound impacts. These crises create various problems at both national and global levels, leading to serious economic impacts on sectors. Crises have different consequences at sectoral and spatial levels. These differentiations require regions and sectors to be addressed at different scales in terms of adaptation and resilience to crises, and in this context, it can shed light on different solutions in terms of understanding how crises are experienced at the local and national level and how their impacts are managed. In particular, some sectors seem to be affected more than other sectors in times of crisis. This is directly related to the resistance and adaptation strategies that sectors develop against shocks. In order to minimize the effects of crises and ensure sustainable regional development, targeted strategies and policy measures need to be developed, taking into account the specific conditions and needs of regions and sectors. The main objective of the study is to investigate whether regional development policies are effectively adopted in industrial regions and to examine their effects on the level of impact on the crises experienced since 2000 and to determine the vulnerabilities of the region. In the study, a field research was designed on the Denizli industry, which was defined as the Anatolian Tiger of a period, and face-to-face interviews were conducted with 118 companies operating in the textile sector, which stood out in line with the results of the three-star analysis, through a semi-structured interview form. Stratified sampling method was used in order to better understand the characteristics of the population. The data obtained as a result of the interviews were analyzed and interpreted with cross tabulations, correlation and regression models. In the analysis, it was determined that 36 of the 118 interviewed companies operate in residential areas, 63 of them are located in industrial zones and 19 of them operate in Organized Industrial Zones. This distribution provides an important context for understanding the effects of firms' location choices in times of crisis, explaining firm characteristics and assessing the level of cooperation between firms. In the light of the indicators identified from the literature review, the variables that the sector is vulnerable to were identified and the findings revealed that the majority of the interviewed firms have insufficient awareness of technology development activities, research and development (R&D) activities, qualified workforce employment, environmental steps (green transformation activities), renewable energy use and sustainability policies. These deficiencies cause firms to be more negatively affected during crisis periods and limit their capacity to cope with various types of crises. The analysis also revealed the effects of location choice on crisis resilience. Firms' location choice has a significant impact on the awareness and implementation of sustainability strategies, which in turn plays an important role in resilience to crises. These findings call for a comprehensive set of strategic policy and planning recommendations for better management and resilience of firms in times of crisis. The study concludes with policy and planning recommendations to reduce firms' vulnerability to potential crises.