Regional innovation systems: Current discourse and unresolved issues
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed and summarized important ideas and arguments in the recent theorizing on regional innovation systems and examined such issues as (a) definition confusion and empirical validation; (b) the territorial aspect of regional innovation system; and (c) the role of institutions.
About: This article is published in Technology in Society.The article was published on 2005-04-01. It has received 614 citations till now.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of regional variety and trade linkages on regional economic growth by means of export and import data by Italian province (NUTS 3) and sector (three-digit) for the period 1995-2003 was presented.
Abstract: This article presents estimates of the impact of regional variety and trade linkages on regional economic growth by means of export and import data by Italian province (NUTS 3) and sector (three-digit) for the period 1995–2003. Our results show strong evidence that related variety contributes to regional economic growth. Thus, Italian regions that are well endowed with sectors that are complementary in terms of competences (i.e., that show related variety) perform better. The article also assesses the effects of the breadth and relatedness of international trade linkages on regional growth, since they may bring new and related variety to a region. Our analysis demonstrates that regional growth is not affected by simply being well connected to the outside world or having a high variety of knowledge flowing into the region. Rather, we found evidence of related extraregional knowledge sparking intersectoral learning across regions. When the cognitive proximity between the extraregional knowledge and the knowledge base of a region is neither too small nor too large, real learning opportunities are present, and the external knowledge contributes to growth in regional employment.
659 citations
Cites background from "Regional innovation systems: Curren..."
...294 2002; Cantwell and Iammarino 2003; Doloreux and Parto 2005; Iammarino 2005; von Tunzelmann 2009)....
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Posted Content•
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this article, the authors make an attempt to estimate the impact of regional variety and trade linkages on regional economic growth by means of export and import data by Italian province (NUTS 3) and sector (3-digit) for the period 1995-2003.
Abstract: This paper makes an attempt to estimate the impact of regional variety and trade linkages on regional economic growth by means of export and import data by Italian province (NUTS 3) and sector (3-digit) for the period 1995-2003. Our results show strong evidence of related variety contributing to regional economic growth, no matter how growth is defined. Thus, Italian regions well endowed with sectors that are complementary in terms of competences (i.e. having related variety) perform better. The paper also assesses the effects of the breadth and relatedness of international trade linkages on regional growth, as it may bring new and related variety in the region. Our analysis demonstrates that regional growth is not affected by being well connected to the outside world per se, or having a high variety of knowledge flowing into the region. When the extra-regional knowledge originated from sectors the region is already specialised in, it did not positively impact on regional economic growth either. We found, however, some evidence of related extra-regional knowledge sparking off inter-sectoral learning across regions. With respect to employment growth, we could demonstrate that a region benefits from extra-regional knowledge when it originates from sectors that are related, but not similar to the sectors present in the region. Apparently, when the cognitive proximity between the extra-regional knowledge and the knowledge base of the region is neither too small nor too large, real learning opportunities are present, and the external knowledge contributes to regional employment growth.
637 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce the concept of Triple Helix systems as an analytical construct that synthesizes the key features of university-industry-government (Triple Helix) interactions into an innovation system.
Abstract: This paper introduces the concept of Triple Helix systems as an analytical construct that synthesizes the key features of university–industry–government (Triple Helix) interactions into an ‘innovation system’ format, defined according to systems theory as a set of components, relationships and functions. Among the components of Triple Helix systems, a distinction is made between (a) RD (b) ‘single-sphere’ and ‘multi-sphere’ (hybrid) institutions; and (c) individual and institutional innovators. The relationships between components are synthesized into five main types: technology transfer; collaboration and conflict moderation; collaborative leadership; substitution; and networking. The overall function of Triple Helix systems – knowledge and innovation generation, diffusion and use – is realized through a set of activities in the knowledge, innovation and consensus spaces. This perspective provides an explicit framework for the systemic interaction between Triple Helix actors that...
588 citations
Cites background from "Regional innovation systems: Curren..."
...The concept has a broad definition: it encompasses, for instance, a set of regional actors aiming to reinforce regional innovation capability and competitiveness through technological learning (Doloreux and Parto, 2005), regional ‘technology coalitions’ arising from geographical distribution of economic and technological effects over time (Storper, 1995), or dynamic, self-organizing business environments (Johannson et al, 2005), and so on....
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...…for instance, a set of regional actors aiming to reinforce regional innovation capability and competitiveness through technological learning (Doloreux and Parto, 2005), regional ‘technology coalitions’ arising from geographical distribution of economic and technological effects over time…...
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TL;DR: Asheim et al. as discussed by the authors provide an appraisal and synthesis of the regional innovation systems paradigm and aim to shed light on a number of areas where theoretical, empirical and policy-based questions remain unanswered.
Abstract: Asheim B. T., Lawton Smith H. and Oughton C. Regional innovation systems: theory, empirics and policy, Regional Studies. Interest in regional innovation systems has grown significantly over the past three decades driven partly by advances in theoretical analysis, partly by the growing interest in innovation as a source of competitive advantage, and partly by the need for new policies to address regional inequalities and divergence. This article explores the elements and characteristics that exemplify the regional innovation systems approach. It provides an appraisal and synthesis of the regional innovation systems paradigm and aims to shed light on a number of areas where theoretical, empirical and policy-based questions remain unanswered. It outlines and assesses the major strands in recent theoretical and empirical debates and discusses how they might be developed to contribute to the further advancement of the regional innovation systems literature. Three interrelated questions form the key themes arou...
539 citations
Cites methods from "Regional innovation systems: Curren..."
...Similar analysis has been made by DOLOREUX (2002) and DOLOREUX and PARTO (2005)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the relationship between entrepreneurial ecosystems and other existing literatures such as clusters and regional innovation systems and suggest that a process-based view of ecosystems provides a better framework to understand their role in supporting new venture creation.
Abstract: Research Summary: Entrepreneurial ecosystems have recently emerged as a popular concept within entrepreneurship policy and practitioner communities. Specifically, they are seen as a regional economic development strategy that is based around creating supportive environments that foster innovative start-ups. However, existing research on entrepreneurial ecosystems has been largely typological and atheoretical and has not yet explored how they influence the entrepreneurship process. This article critically examines the relationships between ecosystems and other existing literatures such as clusters and regional innovation systems. Drawing on this background, the article suggests that a process-based view of ecosystems provides a better framework to understand their role in supporting new venture creation. This framework is used to explain the evolution and transformation of entrepreneurial ecosystems and to create a typology of different ecosystem structures.
Managerial Summary: Entrepreneurial ecosystems are a new buzzword within research and managerial circles. They represent the types of cultural, social, economic, and political environments within a region that support high-growth entrepreneurship. But current research does little more than look at successful ecosystems to identify best practices. This article examines what we know about entrepreneurial ecosystems and links them with existing theories like clusters and regional innovation systems. We argue that successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurship within an ecosystem generates critical entrepreneurial resources like investment capital, skilled workers, and entrepreneurial knowledge. This, in turn, supports future high-growth venture creation. The types of resources available in an ecosystem and the ability of these resources to flow through social networks helps separate strong, well-functioning ecosystems from weak, poorly functioning ones.
477 citations
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References
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Book•
01 Jan 1990TL;DR: Douglass C. North as discussed by the authors developed an analytical framework for explaining the ways in which institutions and institutional change affect the performance of economies, both at a given time and over time.
Abstract: Continuing his groundbreaking analysis of economic structures, Douglass North develops an analytical framework for explaining the ways in which institutions and institutional change affect the performance of economies, both at a given time and over time. Institutions exist, he argues, due to the uncertainties involved in human interaction; they are the constraints devised to structure that interaction. Yet, institutions vary widely in their consequences for economic performance; some economies develop institutions that produce growth and development, while others develop institutions that produce stagnation. North first explores the nature of institutions and explains the role of transaction and production costs in their development. The second part of the book deals with institutional change. Institutions create the incentive structure in an economy, and organisations will be created to take advantage of the opportunities provided within a given institutional framework. North argues that the kinds of skills and knowledge fostered by the structure of an economy will shape the direction of change and gradually alter the institutional framework. He then explains how institutional development may lead to a path-dependent pattern of development. In the final part of the book, North explains the implications of this analysis for economic theory and economic history. He indicates how institutional analysis must be incorporated into neo-classical theory and explores the potential for the construction of a dynamic theory of long-term economic change. Douglass C. North is Director of the Center of Political Economy and Professor of Economics and History at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a past president of the Economic History Association and Western Economics Association and a Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has written over sixty articles for a variety of journals and is the author of The Rise of the Western World: A New Economic History (CUP, 1973, with R.P. Thomas) and Structure and Change in Economic History (Norton, 1981). Professor North is included in Great Economists Since Keynes edited by M. Blaug (CUP, 1988 paperback ed.)
27,080 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the role that institutions, defined as the humanly devised constraints that shape human interaction, play in economic performance and how those institutions change and how a model of dynamic institutions explains the differential performance of economies through time.
Abstract: Examines the role that institutions, defined as the humanly devised constraints that shape human interaction, play in economic performance and how those institutions change and how a model of dynamic institutions explains the differential performance of economies through time. Institutions are separate from organizations, which are assemblages of people directed to strategically operating within institutional constraints. Institutions affect the economy by influencing, together with technology, transaction and production costs. They do this by reducing uncertainty in human interaction, albeit not always efficiently. Entrepreneurs accomplish incremental changes in institutions by perceiving opportunities to do better through altering the institutional framework of political and economic organizations. Importantly, the ability to perceive these opportunities depends on both the completeness of information and the mental constructs used to process that information. Thus, institutions and entrepreneurs stand in a symbiotic relationship where each gives feedback to the other. Neoclassical economics suggests that inefficient institutions ought to be rapidly replaced. This symbiotic relationship helps explain why this theoretical consequence is often not observed: while this relationship allows growth, it also allows inefficient institutions to persist. The author identifies changes in relative prices and prevailing ideas as the source of institutional alterations. Transaction costs, however, may keep relative price changes from being fully exploited. Transaction costs are influenced by institutions and institutional development is accordingly path-dependent. (CAR)
26,011 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss points of convergence and disagreement with institutionally oriented research in economics and political science, and locate the "institutional" approach in relation to major developments in contemporary sociological theory.
Abstract: Long a fruitful area of scrutiny for students of organizations, the study of institutions is undergoing a renaissance in contemporary social science. This volume offers, for the first time, both often-cited foundation works and the latest writings of scholars associated with the "institutional" approach to organization analysis. In their introduction, the editors discuss points of convergence and disagreement with institutionally oriented research in economics and political science, and locate the "institutional" approach in relation to major developments in contemporary sociological theory. Several chapters consolidate the theoretical advances of the past decade, identify and clarify the paradigm's key ambiguities, and push the theoretical agenda in novel ways by developing sophisticated arguments about the linkage between institutional patterns and forms of social structure. The empirical studies that follow—involving such diverse topics as mental health clinics, art museums, large corporations, civil-service systems, and national polities—illustrate the explanatory power of institutional theory in the analysis of organizational change. Required reading for anyone interested in the sociology of organizations, the volume should appeal to scholars concerned with culture, political institutions, and social change.
8,449 citations
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22 May 1995
TL;DR: Early Institutionalists Constructed an Analytic Framework I Three Pillars of Institutions Constructing an Analytical Framework II Content, Agency, Carriers and Levels Institutional Construction, Maintenance and Diffusion Institutional Processes Affecting Societal Systems, Organizational Fields, and Organizational Populations Institutional processes Affecting Organizational Structure and Performance Institutional Change Looking Back, Looking Forward
Abstract: Introduction Early Institutionalists Institutional Theory and Organizations Constructing an Analytic Framework I Three Pillars of Institutions Constructing an Analytic Framework II Content, Agency, Carriers and Levels Institutional Construction, Maintenance and Diffusion Institutional Processes Affecting Societal Systems, Organizational Fields, and Organizational Populations Institutional Processes Affecting Organizational Structure and Performance Institutional Change Looking Back, Looking Forward
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: Economic geography in an era of global competition poses a paradox: in theory, location should no longer be a source of competitive advantage, but in practice, Michael Porter demonstrates, location remains central to competition.
Abstract: Economic geography in an era of global competition poses a paradox. In theory, location should no longer be a source of competitive advantage. Open global markets, rapid transportation, and high-speed communications should allow any company to source any thing from any place at any time. But in practice, Michael Porter demonstrates, location remains central to competition. Today's economic map of the world is characterized by what Porter calls clusters: critical masses in one place of linked industries and institutions--from suppliers to universities to government agencies--that enjoy unusual competitive success in a particular field. The most famous example are found in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, but clusters dot the world's landscape. Porter explains how clusters affect competition in three broad ways: first, by increasing the productivity of companies based in the area; second, by driving the direction and pace of innovation; and third, by stimulating the formation of new businesses within the cluster. Geographic, cultural, and institutional proximity provides companies with special access, closer relationships, better information, powerful incentives, and other advantages that are difficult to tap from a distance. The more complex, knowledge-based, and dynamic the world economy becomes, the more this is true. Competitive advantage lies increasingly in local things--knowledge, relationships, and motivation--that distant rivals cannot replicate. Porter challenges the conventional wisdom about how companies should be configured, how institutions such as universities can contribute to competitive success, and how governments can promote economic development and prosperity.
8,293 citations
"Regional innovation systems: Curren..." refers background in this paper
...For example, Porter [29] argues that the enduring competitive advantage in a global economy is often heavily local, arising from a concentration of highly specialized skills and knowledge, [formal] institutions, related businesses and customers in a particular region....
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...Another unit of analysis is ‘the local’, which often refers to districts within cities or metropolitan areas [1,29,42,71]....
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...Clusters can include governmental and educational institutions and support services, with cluster boundaries defined by linkages and complementarities across institutions and industries [29]....
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