Clashing institutional interests in skills between government and industry: An analysis of demand for technical and soft skills of graduates in the UK

Technological knowledge and skills provide a basis for developing national competitiveness. However, there is an emerging clash of interests in the UK labour market between employers and policy makers. The former requests highly skilled workers who often jealously train in house for their specific operations while the latter aims to reduce unemployment through the expansion of vocational training to lower skilled workers. Universities need to find their strategic position in the knowledge economy characterised by radical technological change and shifting occupational structure by meeting the future skills demand while balancing between the clashing institutional interests. This study analyses 510 job advertisements in the supply chain management area, using a combination of OMDS and HCA techniques. The advertisements are categorised by means of six dimensions according to the skills, duties and job type. This study analyses not only employers' needs in skill types according to job roles but also emerging institutional clashes in the job market and their implications for skills training policy and curriculum development

Strategic alliances and firm performance in startups with a social mission

Innovation with a social purpose is strictly linked to entrepreneurship and economic development. However, those startups that pursue a social mission often operate in really novel markets and raise some scepticism in the eyes of investors. Startups can improve their business performance by leveraging on equity and non-equity based strategic alliances, so to pursue growth. However, sustainable growth requires to attract the right investments at the right stage of development of the startup. This study draws on international business theory and proposes a novel framework that explains the mechanisms regulating strategic alliances and firm performance in a startups context. We use a sample of 3,913 UK high-tech startups engaging in social innovation to test our hypotheses and we derive an explanation for some of the mechanisms behind strategic alliances effect on startups performance, startups scalability and the balance needed between performance and the pursuit of a social mission

Regional collaborations and indigenous innovation capabilities in China: A multivariate method for the analysis of regional innovation systems

In this study we analyse the emerging patterns of regional collaboration for innovation projects in China, using official government statistics of 30 Chinese regions. We propose the use of Ordinal Multidimensional Scaling and Cluster analysis as a robust method to study regional innovation systems. Our results show that regional collaborations amongst organisations can be categorised by means of eight dimensions: public versus private organisational mindset; public versus private resources; innovation capacity versus available infrastructures; innovation input (allocated resources) versus innovation output; knowledge production versus knowledge dissemination; and collaborative capacity versus collaboration output. Collaborations which are aimed to generate innovation fell into 4 categories, those related to highly specialised public research institutions, public universities, private firms and governmental intervention. By comparing the representative cases of regions in terms of these four innovation actors, we propose policy measures for improving regional innovation collaboration within China

Collective Knowledge and Social Innovation in Communities of Practice: The Case of the Slow Food Movement in Italy

The purpose of this chapter is to present a novel knowledge management model for communities of practice to foster social innovation by leveraging on collective knowledge. We use the case of the Slow Food Movement (SFM) in Italy to analyse how collective knowledge in a population can be used by communities of practice (CoP) to enhance social innovation. The SFM is an organisation born in Italy in 1986 with the aim to promote the importance of local food heritage and traditional cooking as an alternative to fast food. As part of the remit of the SFM feature the promotion of traditional and regional cuisine, small businesses operating in short food chains, sustainable farming of plants, seeds, and the rearing of livestock that are typical of a regional ecosystem.(...) In this chapter, we propose that, although organisational capabilities play a pivotal role in determining the success of the CoP, collective knowledge gathered through market intelligence activity is a necessary social resource and input to the formation and development the CoP. We argue that collective knowledge contributes to the production of a social structure and then lead to social innovation via a mechanism of joint enterprise, mutual engagement, and showed repertoire

The role of universities in the development of the local knowledge base: supporting innovation ecosystems through skills development and entrepreneurship

Regional competitiveness can be achieved by different setups in the regional innovation system (RIS). Overall, the predominant model emulated by many countries in the world is the liberal, industry-driven model of Silicon Valley. From a Triple Helix perspective, the Silicon Valley model adds value to the innovation ecosystem by leveraging on the weight of private initiative. However, other actors in the Triple Helix can also play an important role in contributing to thriving innovation systems. We present two case studies based on the UK experience, outlining the role that universities play in supporting the development of the local knowledge base to build resilient and sustainable innovation systems. The former case shows how the Triple Helix model can contribute to regional competitiveness through governmental coordination (in the Northern Powerhouse case) and shift into a Quadruple Helix model by enhancing inclusivity. The latter shows how regional competitiveness can be achieved by leveraging on the coordinating role of the local centres of knowledge (in the Midlands Engine case). Key elements to the success of these two different models of coordination are the upgrading of regional learning capabilities and the workforce upskilling. The policy implications deriving from this study suggest policymakers could shape the role of the centres of knowledge in the coordination of regional efforts to apply Knowledge Based Development (KBD) solutions to the development of RIS: (i) a partnering role might be most appropriate to initiatives based on a Quadruple Helix approach and (ii) stronger leadership as primus inter pares may be more suited for initiatives based on a Triple Helix approach