348 research outputs found
Competencies of firms, external knowledge sourcing and types of innovation in regions of Europe
Many innovation studies have been focusing on a narrow concept of innovation such as the generation of patents or new products. The performance of companies, however, often depends on innovation defined from a broader perspective. This includes process, organisational and market innovations as was pointed out already by Schumpeter. Drawing on the concept of knowledge bases and innovation networks we argue that these different types of innovation require both internal competencies, and technological and market knowledge from various kinds of external sources. These can be located at regional, national and international levels. In the present paper we are going to analyse evidence from eight European countries in this respect. Based on a multivariate model we are able to show that product, process and organisational innovations indeed rely on quite different types and sources of knowledge, and that in addition also the institutional characteristics of regions and countries matter.
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Modulation of sterol homeostasis by the Cdc42p effectors Cla4p and Ste20p in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
This article is available open access through the publisher’s website at the link below. Copyright @ 2009 The Authors.The conserved Rho-type GTPase Cdc42p is a key regulator of signal transduction and polarity in eukaryotic cells. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Cdc42p promotes polarized growth through the p21-activated kinases Ste20p and Cla4p. Previously, we demonstrated that Ste20p forms a complex with Erg4p, Cbr1p and Ncp1p, which all catalyze important steps in sterol biosynthesis. CLA4 interacts genetically with ERG4 and NCP1. Furthermore, Erg4p, Ncp1p and Cbr1p play important roles in cell polarization during vegetative growth, mating and filamentation. As Ste20p and Cla4p are involved in these processes it seems likely that sterol biosynthetic enzymes and p21-activated kinases act in related pathways. Here, we demonstrate that the deletion of either STE20 or CLA4 results in increased levels of sterols. In addition, higher concentrations of steryl esters, the storage form of sterols, were observed in cla4Δ cells. CLA4 expression from a multicopy plasmid reduces enzyme activity of Are2p, the major steryl ester synthase, under aerobic conditions. Altogether, our data suggest that Ste20p and Cla4p may function as negative modulators of sterol biosynthesis. Moreover, Cla4p has a negative effect on steryl ester formation. As sterol homeostasis is crucial for cell polarization, Ste20p and Cla4p may regulate cell polarity in part through the modulation of sterol homeostasis.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Austrian FWF
Does combinatorial knowledge lead to a better innovation performance of firms?
The knowledge base concept in the past has often been applied in its "pure" form, i.e. it was assumed that there are dominant knowledge bases in particular sectors and firms, that shape the knowledge- and innovation process and related networks. For example, it has been argued that in
the case of "analytical sectors" such as biotech codified knowledge generated by universities and R&D organisations are key for radical innovation, and that such knowledge is often transmitted by formal R&D cooperations and university-firm links. "Synthetic sectors" such as machinery on the other hand were assumed to innovate more incrementally by recombining existing knowledge that was often drawn from suppliers or service firms. Empirical literature partly has confirmed these basic patters, but also has demonstrated that more complex knowledge processes are underlying these overly schematic expectations. In addition, there have been arguments by Asheim, Boschma and
Strambach, among others, more recently that combinations of different but related knowledge bases and -assets might be of high relevance for understanding innovation processes of firms in particular sectors and regions. This implies that innovation of firms e.g. in "analytical sectors" might benefit not just from new and basic knowledge generated by research, but also from recombining existing and applied knowledge or by drawing on symbolic knowledge assets. The same argument for the relevance of combinatorial knowledge bases applies for "synthetic" and "symbolic sectors", but in
different forms. The paper investigages if the reliance on combinatorial knowledge bases leads to a better innovation performance and more radical forms of innovation than the use of more narrow knowledge assets. The paper investigates the relevance of combinatorial knowledge bases for innovation at first conceptually and based on respective literature. In the second part we analyse this question empirically by drawing on findings for the ICT sector in three regions of Austria (Vienna, Upper Austria, and Salzburg). (authors' abstract)Series: SRE - Discussion Paper
Technological Competencies and Firm Performance: Analyzing the Importance of Internal and External Competencies
In this paper, we analyze the relationship between technological competencies (TC) and firm performance. Theoretically, the importance of TC is well established and widely accepted. Therefore, it is surprising that a number of empirical studies have been unable to confirm a substantial positive relationship between TC and firm performance. We identify two major reasons for this: [i] affected by the availability and choice of indicators existing studies are often biased towards large firms; and [ii] they frequently do not consider both internal and potential access to firm-external TC. This paper discusses conceptually the interplay between firm-internal and firm-external TC as well as the mediating effect of firm size. These relationships are then analyzed empirically using Swedish micro data on 15,682 firms in 290 Swedish municipalities. Novel indicators based on occupational statistics are combined with measures of time-distance accessibility to study internal and external TC. The results provide evidence for a positive relationship between firm growth and TC. In particular, the combination of firm-internal and firm-external competencies seems to be conducive for growth. Lastly, our study suggests that firm size is an important factor to further our understanding about these relationships. Based on this we identify a number of future research questions to be addressed
When drivers of clusters shift scale from local towards global: What remains for regional innovation policy? PEGIS, Papers in Economic Geography and Innovation Studies
Industries and regional economies evolve as a result of the interplay between local and non-local factors. Increasing globalization of both production- and innovation activities implies a shift in the relevant scales of interaction from the local towards the global level. This paper is concerned with the implications of such scale shifts for the role of the region and for cluster-related regional policies. It examines what is left of the role of regional settings in fostering economic development when extra-regional drivers of change increase in importance. We investigate this crucial question with two in-depth case studies of the medical technologies sector, in which such scale shifts have been particularly pronounced.
Our findings from empirical material collected in Scania/Sweden and Vienna/Austria illustrate the ways in which changes in national and supra-national regulatory frameworks have had a profound impact on the innovation activities of individual firms and the way to develop and launch new products, and subsequently on the regions in which they cluster. Such scale-shifts have on the one hand limited the potential for regional policy to shape the cluster's path through support for supply-side factors. Yet some critical assets remain local but are increasingly difficult to access. By addressing such barriers to access, regional policy can still strongly affect the opportunities for innovation. Furthermore, in an increasingly open industry system, we see an expanded role for regional policy in supporting firms to access critical assets and sources of innovation found external to the region
Towards regenerative regional development in responsible value chains: an agentic response to recent crises
In this paper, we empirically and theoretically present regenerative regional development in responsible value chains as an alternative to the prevailing traditional, neoliberal economic rationale of globalization. We develop the argument on the back of a longitudinal in-depth case study on actors’ engagement in the recurring crises in the maritime industry in Sunnmøre/Norway. The alternative perspective is an agentic response from the business community in the wake of recent crises. It builds on advanced manufacturing capabilities, automation and precision technologies, which promise local economic regeneration while reducing the reliance on low-cost labour, substantially cuts emissions through reduced long-haul transport, use of green energy and more energy-efficient production processes. To succeed, however, it calls for policies that promote the building of local capabilities and penalize practices causing environmental and social harm in global value chains, making it possible to move towards responsible and shorter value chains.publishedVersio
Temporality of agency in regional development
The temporality of agency plays a fundamental role in regional development but has received little attention in economic geography and regional studies. This paper zooms in on two aspects of temporality: the temporality of intentions and the temporality of consequences. The former refers to actors’ perception and valuation of opportunities in the near and distant future, whereas the latter refers to the short- and long-term consequences of actions. This paper studies the temporality of agency in the context of regional development. It investigates how short- and long-term intentions motivate different types of agency, how different types of agency affect short- and long-term regional development outcomes and which conditions enable or constrain different types of agency. We illustrate our arguments with an in-depth case study covering the regional development of a labour market in Norway over the last 20 years.publishedVersio
Assessing change agency in urban experiments for sustainability transitions
Experimentation has become one of the prevailing modes of governing the transition toward sustainable practices in urban environments. The spatial variation of urban sustainability transition has been attributed to a variety of conditions erected at different spatial scales. What remains less well-understood is how spatial situatedness shapes agency in urban experiments and the shapes agency can take is a field that requires further research and frameworks. The paper addresses this gap by introducing a framework from the literature on regional development, identifying three distinct types of agency that shape regional development processes. Combining this framework with a process perspective on urban experiments, we develop an analytical framework, which allows for a more granular understanding of agency in urban sustainability transitions. The analytical framework is then brought to use in a case study of an urban experiment aiming to electrify public transport in Gothenburg, Sweden.publishedVersio
The black box of regional growth
Regional growth models leave a large share of variation unexplained. While we should continuously aim to improve these models, the unique combination of conditions and human agency in each region will also invariably lead to region-specific growth trajectories. Theoretically, we should thus expect systematic deviations from growth predictions. We propose an approach to explore these unexplained deviations and to detect regions that perform unexpectedly well or badly in certain periods. We illustrate the approach using data for Sweden from 1990 to 2016. We find systematic patterns of unexplained periodic regional growth deviations outweighing the effect of generic structural factors.publishedVersio
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