Regionally asymmetric knowledge capabilities and open innovation: Exploring ‘Globalisation 2’—A new model of industry organisation

This paper proposes to review and assess social scientific debate about the origins and nature of innovation in modern society. It focuses on three sub-sets of conceptualisation, critique and commentary that refer specifically to sub-national or regional innovation systems. Research in the latter field has grown enormously in recent years. Moreover, new perspectives from other disciplines than regional science have been promoted. One distinctive view of relevance in that it is focused on the role in innovation of specific ‘entrepreneurial universities’ in relation to industry and government is, of course, the ‘Triple Helix’ approach. This is reviewed and sympathetically critiqued. A second view, less sympathetically critiqued here, is one that itself attacks all so-called ‘new regionalism’ for stressing the importance of institutions, industry embeddedness and the micro-science of regional economic development. Dazzled by ‘Globalisation 1’ and the totalising power of ‘scale’ geographies, this rejection of the worth of spatial analysis at less than the global or national ‘scalar envelope’ is assessed for its potential insights into weaknesses of the regional innovation systems approach but found wanting in both technical accuracy and scholarly competence. Finally, the state of the art in regional innovation systems research is sketched by reference both to recent longitudinal findings and elaborations into specific technological fields, particularly but not only Bioregional Innovation Systems that help move us towards a newer theory of economic geography in the knowledge economy, based on ‘regional knowledge capabilities.’ The analysis conclusively proposes ‘Globalisation 2’, a ‘ground-up’ knowledge-driven evolution of the earlier ‘top-down’ multilateral trade institution and corporately driven ‘Globalisation 1.’     

What motivates academic scientists to engage in research commercialization: ‘Gold’, ‘ribbon’ or ‘puzzle’?

This paper employs the three concepts of ‘gold’ (financial rewards), ‘ribbon’ (reputational/career rewards) and ‘puzzle’ (intrinsic satisfaction) to examine the extrinsic and intrinsic aspects of scientists’ motivation for pursuing commercial activities. The study is based on 36 individual interviews and an on-line questionnaire survey of 735 scientists from five major UK research universities. It finds that there is a diversity of motivations for commercial engagement, and that many do so for reputational and intrinsic reasons and that financial rewards play a relatively small part. The paper draws on self-determination theory in social psychology to analyse the relationship between scientists’ value orientations with regard to commercial engagement and their personal motivations. It finds that those with traditional beliefs about the separation of science from commerce are more likely to be extrinsically motivated, using commercialization as a means to obtain resources to support their quest for the ‘ribbon’. In contrast, those identify closely with entrepreneurial norms are intrinsically motivated by the autonomy and ‘puzzle-solving’ involved in applied commercial research while also motivated by the ‘gold’. The study highlights the primacy of scientists’ self-motivation, and suggests that a fuller explanation of their commercial behaviour will need to consider a broader mix of motives to include the social and affective aspects of intrinsic motivation. In conclusion, the paper argues that policy to encourage commercial engagement should build on reputational and intrinsic rather than purely financial motivations.     

Modelling science as a contribution good

The non-rivalness of scientific knowledge has traditionally underpinned its status as a public good. In contrast we model science as a contribution game in which spillovers differentially benefit contributors over non-contributors. This turns the game of science from a prisoner's dilemma into a game of ‘pure coordination’, and from a ‘public good’ into a ‘contribution good’. It redirects attention from the ‘free riding’ problem to the ‘critical mass’ problem. The ‘contribution good’ specification suggests several areas for further research in the new economics of science and provides a modified analytical framework for approaching public policy.     

The myth of the biotech revolution: An assessment of technological, clinical and organisational change

This paper argues that despite being widely promoted by academics and consultants, the empirical evidence does not support the existence of a biotech revolution. Nor does the data support the widely held expectations that biotechnology is having a revolutionary impact on healthcare or economic development. The revolutionary model is therefore a misleading basis for policy making as it over-estimates the speed and extent of any changes in productivity or the quality of therapeutics. Instead, the evidence suggests biotechnology is following a well-established incremental pattern of technological change and ‘creative accumulation’ that builds upon, rather than disrupts, previous drug development heuristics.     

The structuration of socio-technical regimes—Conceptual foundations from institutional theory

In recent years, socio-technical transitions literature has gained importance in addressing long-term, transformative change in various industries. In order to account for the inertia and path-dependency experienced in these sectors, the concept of the socio-technical regime has been formulated. Socio-technical regimes denote the paradigmatic core of a sector, which results from the co-evolution of institutions and technologies over time. Despite its widespread acceptance, the regime concept has repeatedly been criticized for lacking a clear operationalization. As a consequence, empirical applications tend to depict regimes as too ‘monolithic’ and ‘homogenous’, not adequately considering persistent institutional tensions and contradictions. These are however crucial for assessing transition dynamics. In this paper, we revisit two concepts from institutional theory that enable an explicit identification of socio-technical regimes and more generally a specification of the ‘semi-coherence’ of socio-technical systems. First, we will show that ‘levels of structuration’ can be conceptualized as degrees of institutionalization, thereby treating institutionalization as a variable with different effects on actors, the stability of the system and thus the potential for change. Secondly, we draw on the institutional logics approach to characterize the content of various structural elements present in a system and to trace conflicts and contradictions between them. We illustrate this approach with an empirical in-depth analysis of the transformation of the Australian urban water sector since the 1970ies.     

Innovation and firm growth in high-tech sectors: A quantile regression approach

We relate innovation to sales growth for incumbent firms in high-tech sectors. A firm, on average, experiences only modest growth and may grow for a number of reasons that may or may not be related to innovative activity. However, given that the returns to innovation are highly skewed and that growth rates distributions are heavy-tailed, it may be misleading to use regression techniques that focus on the ‘average effect for the average firm’. Using a quantile regression approach, we observe that innovation is of crucial importance for a handful of ‘superstar’ fast-growth firms.     

‘Energy regions’: The transformative power of regional discourses on socio-technical futures

‘Guiding visions’ play an important role in the transition management approach as a central means of mobilizing social actors and the co-ordination of dispersed agency.‘Energy regions’ in Austria are an interesting example for the strategic promotion of such guiding visions in the context of regional development. We describe the case of Murau, an alpine district in which a strong actor network has been built around a vision of systematically exploiting renewable energy sources and at the same time saving the region from economic decay. The vision gained much authority and has been institutionalised at various levels of regional governance. It furthermore was supported by and played an important role for regime level attempts to influence socio-technical change.Development and social propagation of such visions are inherently political and contested processes involving much strategizing and anticipation of conflict. We describe particular discursive strategies applied in niches - such as the combination and translation of sentiments into localised visions and demonstrations of feasibility. These strategies can be understood as systematic attempts to support discursive shifts at regime level by means of local activities, and aim to modify rather durable power structures.We suggest ways to analyse such discursive practices in order to orient strategic action in the course of such processes: analysing ‘guiding visions’ and their interference with other emerging trends; extending analyses across spatial scales (e.g. translations) and across thematic fields (e.g. convergence of agendas); and focusing on processes of stabilisation, institutionalisation and mutually reinforcing developments.     

Rethinking the market-technology relationship for innovation

This paper revisits the ‘what causes innovation — market pull or technology push?’ debate to argue that the conceptualisation is flawed and that the firm is the only ‘agent’ capable of innovative action. The paper differentiates between ‘use’, ‘need’ and ‘intended use’ to obtain greater precision with respect to the technology-market matching process that is fundamental to innovation. The validity of the approach is demonstrated through empirical examples. These examples also show the value of distinguishing between two types of market concept used by the innovating firm. These are the ‘reference market’ which is a traded product that is a principal source of ‘use’ ideas for the mental construction of the ‘innovation market’ concept. It is the latter that can be thought to guide the construction of innovative production technology.     

In search of a useful theory of the productive potential of intellectual property rights

Mainstream theory, which has informed the belief systems regarding the operation as well as the predicted social and economic effects of IPR systems, cannot explain why the IPR system generates different performance results and varying potential for growth across the firms, sectors and nations participating in the IPR system. This paper sketches a theory of the ‘productive potential of intellectual property rights’ which is able to do just that. Focusing on the ‘rules of the game’ embedded in the institutional IPR environment and the ‘play of the game’ within the alternative institutions of IPR governance, the paper emphasizes the importance of the nature or quality of the relationships among IPR stakeholders and the contribution of such relationships to the processes of financial and non-financial value creation and distribution from IPRs. The central role of cooperation, asymmetric relationships, and the effective resolution of conflicting interests amongst stakeholders is addressed. It is suggested that the proposed framework provides a better starting point for the design of IPR policy and management.     

The bumpy road of technology partnerships: Understanding causes and consequences of partnership mal-functioning

Research on technological partnerships has traditionally sought explanation of their high failure rates in partner characteristics and relationship features. This study introduces the notion of a ‘bumpy road’ in technology partnerships which refers to undesired outcomes such as ‘partnership mal-functioning’ and ‘instability’ to the degree to which innovation activities are hampered. We explain how firm-level strategies can reduce the probability of a ‘bumpy road’ in partnerships. We also assess the impact of this ‘bumpy road’ on innovative performance. We find that firms that excel in diversification of external activities (in terms of different types of partners) perform best. Moreover, a persistent product oriented innovation strategy geared at developing new products, new markets, or higher product quality will yield more stable partnership outcomes. Our results confirm that engagement in partnerships is beneficial for innovative performance. However, firms that experienced a ‘bumpy road’ in their technological partnerships have to pay a price in terms of a negative effect on their innovative performance.     

Email overload: Exploring the moderating role of the perception of email as a ‘business critical’ tool

The management of email remains a major challenge for organisations. In this article, we explore the extent of the perceptions of email as a business critical tool within an organisation and how the level of such perceptions may moderate the level of email overload experienced by individuals within the organisation. Data from a sample of 1100 employees of a multinational technology firm are analysed using multivariate techniques. The results suggest that without a clearly stated code of email practice within an organisation, there are likely to be large variations in what is perceived as ‘business-critical’ email and, as a result, a substantial amount of email generated within the organisation may not be ‘business-critical’, potentially increasing the level of ‘email-overload’ experienced by individuals within the organisation.     

On the innovativeness of foreign affiliates: Evidence from companies in The Netherlands

In examining the distinctive contributions of foreign subsidiaries and domestic firms to innovative performance in Dutch manufacturing, the paper shows that foreign ownership is an important factor in explaining inter-firm differences affecting innovativeness. It characterizes innovativeness by distinguishing between products that are new to the firm (‘imitative’ innovations), and those products that are new to the market (‘real’ innovations). It uses firm-level data for 4780 firms which took part in the Community Innovation Survey (CIS-2) for 1996 in The Netherlands. It concludes that foreign subsidiaries are more innovative, they are more likely to introduce ‘imitative’ as well as ‘real’ innovations compared to domestic firms. In comparison with the population of innovative companies, however, there is greater heterogeneity among foreign subsidiaries, i.e. they are not more likely to introduce ‘real’ innovations if they cannot utilize knowledge transfer from an associated company.     

Investigation of a novel perforation technique in petroleum wells—perforation by drilling

The objective of perforating the petroleum wells is to maximize well productivity. A good connectivity between the wellbore and formation can lead up to achieve that goal. However, the conventional method of perforation, which basically involves the use of explosive charges, rarely meets the expected well productivity. It is mainly because of the formation of a region of reduced permeability around the perforation tunnel. To offset such and several other shortcomings of present practices, a new technique is required, the highlight of this paper. Described as the ‘perforation by drilling’ (PD), this new technique is examined and compared for its performance with that of another technique, ‘Perforation by Shooting’ (PS). For this, the experimental and numerical results of the PS technique on cylindrical sand samples of varying amounts of strength and porosity are studied. Moreover, in order to achieve a so-called ‘perfect perforation’, results are compared with the ‘Casting technique’. Three different samples were selected for the measurement of fluid flow rate and differential pressure across the perforation using a ‘geotechnical digital system’ (GDS), which is a triaxial testing device. Profiles such as fluid flow rate with a change in differential pressure and pressure build-up data with time, signify that the PD technique can achieve maximum wellbore productivity when compared to the PS technique. Results also indicate that at a 100 kPa differential pressure, the PS, PD and Casting techniques can achieve 0.20, 0.65 and 1.00 mL/s fluid flow rates respectively across a sample. The paper also implements a 1-D time dependent porous media flow model to simulate flow across the perforated cylindrical samples created by the PS, PD and Casting techniques. Results show a good consistency between the experimental and numerical approaches.     

Antecedents and trajectories of AMT adoption: The case of Greek manufacturing SMEs

This study examines antecedents and trajectories of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) adoption in three categories: stand-alone, intermediate, and integrated technologies. Antecedents of adoption include prior investments in AMT, developments in firms’ manufacturing capabilities, technology strategy, absorptive capacity, and environmental pressures. Based on a sample of 87 Greek manufacturing SMEs, we find that AMT adoption follows an incremental, piecemeal progression from the least complicated through intermediate to integrated technologies. It is found that an increase in the firms’ quality and flexibility capabilities induces them to adopt further AMT, whereas advances in low-cost, innovation, and delivery capabilities appear negatively related to further AMT adoption. Absorptive capacity, technology strategy and environmental pressures play a central role in decisions for additional investments in AMT. In the context of a catching-up economy, these results support the notion of a ‘stepwise’ technology accumulation process as well as ‘satisficing’ technological change.     

The micro-determinants of meso-level learning and innovation: evidence from a Chilean wine cluster

Most analyses of the relationship between spatial clustering and the technological learning of firms have emphasised the influence of the former on the latter, and have focused on intra-cluster learning as the driver of innovative performance. This paper reverses those perspectives. It examines the influence of individual firms’ absorptive capacities on both the functioning of the intra-cluster knowledge system and its interconnection with extra-cluster knowledge. It applies social network analysis to identify different cognitive roles played by cluster firms and the overall structure of the knowledge system of a wine cluster in Chile. The results show that knowledge is not diffused evenly ‘in the air’, but flows within a core group of firms characterised by advanced absorptive capacities. Firms’ different cognitive roles include some—as in the case of technological gatekeepers—that contribute actively to the acquisition, creation and diffusion of knowledge. Others remain cognitively isolated from the cluster, though in some cases strongly linked to extra-cluster knowledge. Possible implications for policy are noted.     

Entrepreneurship: Exploring the knowledge base

Entrepreneurship research has a long tradition and since the 1980s the field has grown significantly. In this study we identify the ‘knowledge producers’ who have shaped the field over time and their core entrepreneurship research works. A unique database consisting of all references in twelve entrepreneurship ‘handbooks’ (or state-of-the-art books) has been developed. The chapters in these handbooks were written by experts within the field, and it can be assumed that the most frequently cited references represent ‘core knowledge’ with relevance to entrepreneurship research.From our analysis, it appears that entrepreneurship is a rather changeable field of research, closely linked to disciplines such as ‘management studies’ and ‘economics’. Over time, the field has become more formalized with its own core knowledge, research specialities and an increasing number of ‘insider works’. However, it is still based on some fairly old theoretical frameworks imported from mainstream disciplines, although during the last decade we have seen the emergence of a number of new field-specific concepts and theories. We argue that to successfully develop entrepreneurship research in the future, we need to relate new research opportunities to earlier knowledge within the field, which calls for a stronger ‘knowledge-based’ focus. We would also like to see greater integration between the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation studies in the future.     

The role of intermediation and absorptive capacity in facilitating university-industry linkages—An empirical study of TAMA in Japan

This paper analyzes two elements necessary for building an efficient regional technology-transfer system between universities and firms, namely, an intermediary organization and regional firms that have a developed ‘absorptive capacity’, touching in particular upon the tacit knowledge aspects. Based on an empirical study of the TAMA cluster project (in the western part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area), which is a model project of the ‘Industrial Cluster Plan’ in Japan, we examine the intermediation effect of the TAMA Association and the ‘absorptive capacity’ of various product-developing SMEs. These two elements are interrelated because the participation of the product-developing SMEs is a prerequisite for the effective functioning of an intermediary such as the TAMA Association. Our analysis also shows that university-industry linkages and inter-firm linkages lead to different outcomes.     

Scholarly research and information practices: a domain analytic approach

This paper deals with information needs, seeking, searching, and uses within scholarly communities by introducing theory from the field of science and technology studies. In particular it contributes to the domain-analytic approach in information science by showing that Whitley’s theory of ‘mutual dependence’ and ‘task uncertainty’ can be used as an explanatory framework in understanding similarity and difference in information practices across intellectual fields. Based on qualitative case studies of three specialist scholarly communities across the physical sciences, applied sciences, social sciences and arts and humanities, this paper extends Whitley’s theory into the realm of information communication technologies. The paper adopts a holistic approach to information practices by recognising the interrelationship between the traditions of informal and formal scientific communication and how it shapes digital outcomes across intellectual fields. The findings show that communities inhabiting fields with a high degree of ‘mutual dependence’ coupled with a low degree of ‘task uncertainty’ are adept at coordinating and controlling channels of communication and will readily co-produce field-based digital information resources, whereas communities that inhabit fields characterised by the opposite cultural configuration, a low degree of ‘mutual dependence’ coupled with a high degree of ‘task uncertainty’, are less successful in commanding control over channels of communication and are less concerned with co-producing field-based digital resources and integrating them into their epistemic and social structures. These findings have implications for the culturally sensitive development and provision of academic digital resources such as digital libraries and web-based subject portals.     

The economic impacts of academic spin-off companies, and their implications for public policy

The importance of academic research (“AR”) to economic growth is widely accepted but quantification of incremental impacts, and their attribution to any one country's expenditures, is difficult. Yet quantitative justification of government AR funding is highly desirable. We therefore attempt to quantify one impact which can be directly and causally attributed to one country's funding: spin-off companies. We focus on AR in the non-medical natural sciences and engineering (NSExm) in a whole country, Canada. ‘Applied’ disciplines are sometimes assumed to be the most commercializable, so we also separately investigate an especially ‘basic’ science, physics. Using a novel methodology, we estimate the lifetime impacts of companies spun-off directly from AR performed in 1960-1998, and compare the impacts with all government funding, direct and indirect, over the same period. This picks up virtually all funding and most company-formation since WWII, up to 1998. Such long-term studies are rare but essential, since we show that successful spin-offs grow (often exponentially) over several decades.With very conservative assumptions, and allowing for the time value of money, the impacts exceed government funding by a substantial margin. Physics actually fares 30-60% better than the combined NSExm; this reflects more successful companies, rather than greater numbers, and therefore does not seem inconsistent with earlier studies on company numbers. Firm lifetimes are long, with Canadian impacts truncated primarily by some foreign acquisitions.We argue that the spin-off impacts represent incremental contributions to GDP, much larger (even on a time-discounted basis) than the government funding and directly attributable to it; governments will also receive more in additional tax than they spent. The impacts therefore provide a quantitative justification for the public investment, allowing the much more important (but less quantifiable) long-term benefits to be regarded as a ‘free’ bonus. The very good showing of physics also suggests that reduced emphasis on basic work or on the basic disciplines could actually weaken the commercialization of AR.     

First- and second-order additionality and learning outcomes in collaborative R&D programs

In this paper, we distinguish between firm-level learning effects that result from ‘first-order’ and ‘second-order’ additionalities in innovation policy interventions. ‘First-order’ additionalities represent direct firm-level R&D subsidies, whereas ‘second-order’ additionalities result from knowledge spill-overs, horizontal knowledge exchanges between firms, and from other meso- or community-level effects. Analyzing data from collaborative R&D programs in Finland, we show that enhancing identification with a community of practice among R&D program participants (proxy for second-order additionality) enhances firm-level learning outcomes beyond those resulting from direct R&D subsidy (proxy for first-order additionality). Learning effects facilitated by second-order additionality are not confined to technological learning alone, encompassing also business and market learning. We also show that aspects of program implementation enhance identification with a community of practice, which then mediate the relationship between program implementation and firm-level learning outcomes.