Location and collaboration: Manufacturing firms' use of knowledge intensive services in product innovation

The paper addresses the relation between geographical location of firms and collaboration with knowledge intensive service providers on product innovation in a small country setting. The analysis shows that even in a small country with limited geographical distances firms located in peripheral areas are less likely to be broad users of collaboration with knowledge intensive service providers in the process of product innovation than firms located in major urban areas. However, it is only amongst firms located in the periphery that collaboration strategy seems to matter in the sense that differences in development in employment can be detected between broad and rare users of collaboration.     

Exploring a Strategic Turn: Case Study of Innovation and Organizational Change in a Productivist Dairy

Some firms within the conventional agri-food processing industry change their business strategy by trying to innovate towards alternative foods, like regional foods. For firms which are part of a larger organization or integrated in a group of companies this is a special challenge. The purpose of this paper is to explore what happens when a firm within a large and complex organization tries to turn from a productivist strategy to a differentiated strategy. This exploration uses a case study from the Norwegian dairy industry. The case shows that powerful industrial conventions and lack of suitable organizational conditions can be a hindrance for organizational change. Organizational capabilities to change routines and conventions have significant influence on the result of the innovation process.     

Border blocking effects in collaborative firm innovation

Border regions are not often associated with innovation and economic prosperity. And even when they are prosperous, cross-border interaction is still mostly limited. The opening up of borders in Europe has presented new opportunities for firms located in these border regions to co-operate for innovation and knowledge to flow across borders. Despite the reduction of the importance of borders, firms seeking to access cross-border knowledge resources need still to ‘cross’ the border and address the various effects it brings. This paper therefore asks the question of how the presence of a border affects the processes by which firms attempt to build up productive co-operations for innovation. We use a heuristic of collaborative innovation across borders as building up through four sequential cooperation stages, and each of these different stages is susceptible to different kinds of border effects. Using a case study of firms co-operating across the Dutch-Flemish border, we empirically explore these border crossing processes in order to shed further light on how border processes play out.     

Strategic Considerations for Innovation and Commercialization in the US Biotechnology Sector

This paper examines the importance of alliances as an innovation strategy utilized by US biotechnology firms. In doing so, the role of alliances with universities vis-à-vis alliances with industrial companies is emphasized. The biotechnology sector is dominated by few large and many small firms. The small firms are research focused or technology developers. Several large firms are now integrated biopharmaceutical companies. Very few small firms can survive without strengthening their relationships with universities, biotechnology or pharmaceutical or other large companies. These relationships range from licensing agreements, export–import connections to various forms of alliances for R&D, product development and marketing. Large firms supplement in-house R&D by acquiring research products and/or new technologies from small firms as well as universities. A survey of US biotechnology companies is used to show the emergence of alliance relationships, which continue to highlight university linkages, emphasize connections of biotechnology firms with other biotechnology entrepreneurs, and an ongoing effort to build a synergistic relationship with pharmaceutical or other large companies. Most linkages are not confined to the local area; the main locational attribute is the science base or the labour market.     

Firm Performance,Innovation Modes and Territorial Embeddedness

This paper seeks to identify different innovation modes and their territorial embeddedness, relating them to firms’ innovative and economic performance. We also analyse the relationship between the different innovation modes and the economic impact of the crisis on firms’ performance. These relationships are tested by regression and latent class models for the Portuguese population of firms, using a sample of 397 firms classified according to technological intensity, size and region. Our results show three different innovation modes: a DUI (Doing, Using and Interacting) mode, an STI (Science, Technology and Innovation) mode and a TEI (Territorial Embeddedness Innovation) mode in which territory plays a key role. These innovative modes are related in different ways to firms’ economic and innovative performance and also have marked distinctions in terms of resilience to the economic crisis. These findings lead to a reflection on regional innovation policy in the European context.     

The Creative Industries,Creative Occupations and Innovation in London

London is a global hub of the creative industries. These industries are seen as both innovative in themselves and an input in innovation processes in other sectors. Yet few studies have tested these relationships. This article investigates these issues using large-scale survey data for London. Using four measures of product and process innovation, we find no evidence that London's creative industries are more innovative than other sectors. Yet, individuals doing creative occupations in other sectors are a robust driver of product innovation in London's firms. The results suggest that occupations performed in London may be an important driver of product innovation in the city, and firms in other sectors may use creative occupations to develop new products in the capital. This finding is supportive of policies attempting to stimulate the creative industries by integrating creative occupations into firms across the whole economy.     

Renewable Energy Innovation and Governance in Wales: A Regional Innovation System Approach

This paper draws on research commissioned to investigate the regional innovation system of Wales on green innovation, focusing on the renewable energy sub-sectors of wind, solar and biomass. It shows how many innovative firms operate within regional networks, cooperating and interacting not only with other firms such as suppliers, customers and competitors, but also with research and technology resource organizations, innovation support agencies, venture capital funds, and local and regional government bodies. The paper argues that within the region there is the presence of various renewable energy production platforms, usually based on core technologies (wind, solar, biomass, marine, etc.) at different levels of development. They involve a mix of established energy utilities and new sustainable energy businesses that are positioned at different levels within the renewable energy supply chain. The research shows that the regional government is playing an important role in supporting the renewable energy industry; nevertheless, more needs to be done to facilitate planning control, provide skills and create new demands for renewable energy that will further foster business growth and further strengthen the existing manufacturing base and innovation in Wales. The paper identifies some weaknesses in the Welsh energy innovation system, not least that energy is not a devolved responsibility and it argues that there is some scope for the Welsh Assembly Government to further investigate gaps within the green innovation supply chain and act on strengthening regional capabilities within the industry but also to support and investigate further opportunities for inward investment.     

Spatial distribution of innovation networks,technological competencies and degree of novelty in emerging economy firms

This paper analyses the relationship of the accumulation of technological competencies at the firm level, the spatial distribution of the firm's innovation networks and the degree of novelty of product innovation. Firm-based primary data collected in two innovative regions in emerging economies are used to predict higher degrees of novelty in emerging economy firms. Similarly to advanced economy firms, the results show that international linkages are associated with higher degrees of novelty. However, new-to-the-world innovation in emerging country firms is fundamentally externally driven, suggesting that international linkages seem to be a compensating mechanism for the initially lower technological capabilities rather than a complementary source of knowledge.     

Innovation,technology support and networking in South Wales

This paper summarizes findings from an EU Regional Innovation and Technology Transfer Strategies project conducted in the Centre for Advanced Studies, Cardiff 1993–1995. The aims of the project were threefold: to assess the present innovations infrastructure of South Wales; to identify using questionnaires the innovation needs of innovating firms; and to establish an innovation support network to meet identified needs. This piece focuses mainly on the innovation survey of firms, the main identified needs of whom were finance, technical assessments and research partners.     

Determinants of the Uneven Regional Participation of Firms in European Technology Programmes. The 'Low R&D Trap'

Technology is of key importance to the growth of regional firms and economies. Research has shown the association between low technology development or take-up and regional disparities. Hence technology policy is moving closer to the heart of regional policies. European innovation programmes are intended to involve firms, large and small, in international technology research and development networks. The paper focuses on the involvement of Spanish firms in such programmes. Participation tends to be low if business R&D, presence of large firms, and the development of regional innovation systems are also low. Creation of R&D infrastructure through the Structural Funds has now to be prioritized at EU level and also define a new scheme of sectoral priorities in order to support R&D innovation activities in fields diverse from high-tech, if regions are to escape the 'low R&D trap'.     

Proximities and Embedding Effects

Clusters are supposed to enhance exchanges among firms or between firms and research institutions. This is termed “proximities effects” in this paper. There are many theories explaining proximities effects, but most of them lack a clear distinction between levels of action (individuals, social networks, firms, markets, etc.). This paper is focused on this issue, claiming that it is crucial to understand the shifts between levels of action. Embeddedness of economic activity in social networks is not viewed as a static situation, but rather as a process, with a reciprocal, decoupling. Two empirical studies on innovation in the south-west of France support this argument. One bears on the relations between academic laboratories and firms, the other on the creation of innovative companies. They show that proximity and embeddedness in local social networks are just a specific context for emergence of collaborations and access to resources in the emergence phases of new companies creation, but not necessarily a specific mode of regulation of professional or technologic relations.     

Developing cross-industry innovation capability: regional drivers and indicators within firms

ABSTRACT

The role of firms in the process of regional renewal and path development is a somewhat neglected area in the existing literature. With few exceptions, the literature is mainly concerned with aggregated development paths. To cover this gap, the current study turns its attention to cross-industry innovation capability (CIIC) building in firms and discusses how conditions for innovation and learning in a region drive this process. We introduce a new concept of CIIC – that is, the firm’s ability to transform knowledge and ideas from different industries into new products, processes and systems and/or its ability to adapt existing products, processes and systems to new industries – and identify its drivers and indicators. The discussion is supported by empirical studies of firms in three Norwegian case regions that undergo the restructuring process due to the recent severe decrease in oil prices. Our empirical data demonstrate that organizationally thick and diversified regions are more favourable for firms’ abilities to develop CIIC and cross-industry innovation activity. As a result, we emphasize that future regional policies should have a stronger focus on the linkages between internal firm characteristics and regional innovation systems to contribute to the firms’ absorptive capacity for developing cross-industry innovation.     

Networking and learning for tourism innovation: evidence from the Western Cape

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the nature of networking and learning by tourism firms in relation to accessing knowledge for innovation. In particular, the nature of tourism learning and networking, geography of networking linkages, and systemic characteristics of relationships between tourism firms, government agencies, higher education institutions, and other organisations in the Western Cape tourism system are examined. The analysis draws on 182 tourism firm, tourism system, and contextual interviews. This investigation demonstrates that even though tourism firms mostly use internal resources for innovation, external, non-local knowledge is significant for enhancing novel innovation. It is disclosed that whilst local network linkages are dense, loose, and of importance for business and marketing purposes, extra-regional network relationships are imperative for learning in relation to innovation. As further observed, network linkages between local and regional actors for supporting tourism innovation in the Western Cape are generally weak which points to the underdevelopment of local and regional innovation networks or systems. The paper provides planning recommendations for enhancing the competitiveness of tourism firms towards fostering development and growth in the regional tourism economy. Specifically, support for stimulating learning networks as well as strengthening systemic relationships in the Western Cape tourism system are recommended. It is underscored that strategic relationships with non-local partners need to be nurtured towards fostering tourism innovation and enhancing regional competitiveness.     

The District and the Global Economy: Exportation Versus Foreign Location

We depict an industrial district as a center of innovation where positive local spillovers sustain the endogenous invention of new goods by profit-seeking firms. After invention, firms face a crucial choice between reaching distant markets by export or plant delocation. Attempts by firms to circumvent trade barriers through delocation slow down the pace of innovation and harm the welfare of the district.     

Entrepreneurial firms in STI and DUI mode clusters: do they need differentiated cluster facilitation?

This paper elaborates on the types of knowledge sources, actors and geographical space that are involved in innovation processes among small entrepreneurial firms located in two distinct city-based clusters in Norway with firms characterized as typical STI mode innovators (Oslo Cancer Cluster) and DUI mode innovators (Subsea cluster in Bergen). The aim of the paper is to see how, when and why firms source distinct knowledge and to what degree this aligns with their initial knowledge base and STI or DUI innovation mode. Findings show that the knowledge base and innovation mode approach hold for describing the early stages of the innovation process, suggesting cumulative path-dependent knowledge dynamics. However, at later stages, firms combine STI and DUI mode innovation logics and activate different types of sources, actors and geographical scales through combinatorial knowledge dynamics, largely pushed forward by the need to solve unforeseen challenges, to understand markets and by the need to reduce risks associated with the newness of innovations. Furthermore, we find that rigid regulatory regimes influence the dynamic interplay between sources, actors and geographical scales in the process of creating and transmitting knowledge. Based on these findings, the paper proposes cluster roles and facilitation initiatives.     

Regional Innovation Policy and Innovative Behaviour: Looking for Additional Effects

This paper aims to evaluate the additionality of innovation policy in terms of innovative behaviours at the regional level. Innovative behaviours are identified both within and across firm and regional boundaries. The role of policy is evaluated for a sample of firms in the Italian region of Emilia–Romagna (ER), exploiting an original, survey-based data set. Propensity score matching is applied to investigate the effects of an innovation subsidy. Funded firms are found to be more likely to upgrade their competencies, compared with similar non-subsidized firms. On the other hand, in most cases, innovation cooperation with other business partners within or outside the region is not significantly affected by policy. Ultimately, the investigated innovation policy in the ER region seems to show what might be termed “cognitive capacity additionality”, rather than “network additionality”.     

Canada's Ocean Supercluster initiative: A national policy in regional clothing?

Since the late 1980s, there has been no explicit regional policy in Canada. Indirectly, though, equalization payments, industrial policies, as well as regional agencies encouraging the adoption of federal industrial and innovation policies, impact regional economies. In 2017, the federal government appeared to alter its approach: the Supercluster initiative was announced, drawing upon the idea that localized networks of interrelated firms can generate innovation and local development. In this paper, we discuss the mechanisms through which spatially focused industrial innovation policy can lead to regional development. We then focus on Canada's Ocean Supercluster initiative. The question we address is as follows: to what extent can this initiative (and, more widely, Canada's Supercluster policy) be understood as a regional development strategy driven by a coherent rationale for regional intervention? Apart from the fact that each Supercluster focuses on a pre-existing core of firms located within a region, there is little evidence that the Supercluster initiative has regional development objectives or impacts.     

Tacit coopetition: chimera or reality? Evidence from the Basque Country

Coopetition is a strategy by which firms benefit from both collaboration and competition. Collaboration among competitors allows these to obtain advantages such as the joint creation and diffusion of knowledge, the exploration of new market opportunities, the identification of long-term innovation projects related to potential market, product or process diversification, or the gaining of access to external sources while still competing in certain areas. This paper focuses on the concept of tacit coopetition, which is defined as cooperation activities between neighbouring competitors located in the same region. Our goal is to assess the influence of tacit coopetition on the cooperative pattern of firms, as an alternative to promoting innovative projects among competitors. The analysis is performed in the county of Durango, located in the Basque Country (Spain). In particular, we seek evidence of whether tacit coopetition is a reality that can be objectively observed in Durango, and therefore, has the potential for a wider generalization of the phenomenon, or is instead a conceptual rhetoric (i.e. chimera) that is only observable in specific cases. The paper provides three major results. First, it sets out to identify whether tacit coopetition is occurring in Durango. Second, it identifies the factors influencing it, and finally, assesses the impact of tacit coopetition on firm performance.     

Innovative Activity in SMEs and Rural Economic Development: Some Evidence from England

Recent writings on the factors influencing the competitiveness of regional and local economies have emphasized the importance of innovation in SMEs. This paper discusses the findings of a study of the innovation process in a sample of SMEs located in rural environments. Adopting a broad, evolutionary view of the innovation process, the study highlights important sectoral variations using a multidimensional index of innovation. The way in which innovation is achieved is found to be shaped by various aspects of the rural environment, but relatively few firms are constrained by their rural location. Nor does the lack of local networking opportunities appear to hold back innovation in the more active SMEs. In conclusion, the most innovative firms are shown to make an important contribution to rural economies in terms of external income generation and employment generation.     

Innovation,knowledge and relations – on the role of clusters for firms’ innovativeness

ABSTRACT

For more than two decades, theories on regional clusters have inspired economic and structural policies at the European, national and regional levels. Based on the assumption that clusters generate innovation, policy-makers at all levels of governance have adopted instruments and mechanisms to stimulate, resource and sustain clusters. Despite the considerable attention paid to the clustering phenomenon, empirical evidence on to what extent firms’ innovation activities benefit from operating in clusters is scarce and inconclusive. This paper contributes to the micro-foundation of clustering effects by examining the characteristics and activities of cluster firms in relation to their innovativeness. Bridging innovation, management and cluster theories, it is argued that structural and relational embeddedness, relational capital and absorptive capacity influence clustered firms' innovativeness. Partial least-squares structural equation modelling of data from 104 firms in two software and information technology service sector clusters reveals that firms’ structural embeddedness (i.e. frequency of interactions) in clusters and external networks facilitates innovation cooperation. Firms’ absorptive capacity reinforces this positive effect of cluster-internal interactions on innovation cooperation. Results also suggest a substitution effect of trust as relational control mechanisms for formal control mechanisms within the cluster. However, the study finds no significant impact of firms’ innovation cooperation within the cluster (i.e. relational embeddedness) on their innovation success.