R&D networks and regional knowledge production in Europe. Evidence from a space-time model

In this paper we estimate space-time impacts of the embeddedness in R&D networks on regional knowledge production by means of a dynamic spatial panel data model with non-linear effects for a set of 229 European NUTS-2 regions in the period 1999-2009. Embeddedness refers to the positioning in networks where nodes represent regions that are linked by joint R&D endeavours in European Framework Programmes. We observe positive immediate impacts on regional knowledge production arising from increased embeddedness in EU funded R&D networks, in particular for regions with lower own knowledge endowments. However, long-term impacts of R&D network embeddedness are comparatively small.(authors' abstract)Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Serie

Impacts of EU funded R&D networks on the generation of Key Enabling Technologies: Empirical evidence from a regional perspective

Cross‐regional R&D networks are essential for regional innovativeness. Yet, we lack insights into technology field‐specific effects of a region's network connectivity. This study investigates key enabling technologies (KETs) to compare knowledge creation effects of EU funded R&D networks for different technological fields. By applying spatially filtered regression models together with marginal effect interpretations for non‐linear models we quantify and compare network effects across KET fields. Results show that the generally positive network effects differ depending on region‐internal endowments and the nature of the underlying technologies. Policy implications arise for the interrelations between EU research, industrial and regional policy

How do firm characteristics affect behavioural additionalities of public R&D subsidies? Evidence for the Austrian transport sector

Interest of STI policies to influence the innovation behaviour of firms has been increased considerably. This gives rise to the notion of behavioural additionality, broadening traditional evaluation concepts of input and output additionality. Though there is empirical work measuring behavioural additionalities, we know little about what role distinct firm characteristics play for their occurrence. The objective is to estimate how distinct firm characteristics influence the realisation of behavioural additionalities. We use survey data on 155 firms, considering the behavioural additionalities stimulated by the Austrian R&D funding scheme in the field of intelligent transport systems in 2006. We focus on three different forms of behavioural additionality project additionality, scale additionality and cooperation additionality and employ binary regression models to address this question. Results indicate that R&D related firm characteristics significantly affect the realisation of behavioural additionality. Firms with a high level of R&D resources are less likely to substantiate behavioural additionalities, while small, young and technologically specialised firms more likely realise behavioural additionalities. From a policy perspective, this indicates that direct R&D promotion of firms with high R&D resources may be misallocated, while attention of public support should be shifted to smaller, technologically specialised firms with lower R&D experience

Bedingungen des Bindungsaufbaus während der Eingewöhnungsphase

In der Studie wurde die Eingewöhnungsphase in die Kinderkrippe von 104 Kleinkindern im Alter von 10 bis 33 Monaten erfasst. Mittels Videoanalyse wurde die Erzieherin-Kind-Interaktion mit Hilfe der Computersoftware „INTERACT 8.7.0“ (Mangold, 2008) analysiert. Zur Operationalisierung der Bindungsqualität wurde das Attachment-Q-Sort-Verfahren (AQS; Waters, 1995) verwendet. Die mütterlichen Trennungsängste wurden mittels der Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale (MSAS; Hock, McBride & Gnezda, 1989) erhoben. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung deuten darauf hin, dass eine sichere Mutter-Kind-Bindung nicht bedeutet, dass das Kind auch ein sicheres Bindungsmuster zur Erzieherin entwickelt. Zur Mutter unsicher gebundene Kinder werden von der Erzieherin häufiger zurechtgewiesen als Kinder mit einer sicheren Mutter-Kind-Bindung. Betreuungsbezogene Trennungsängste der Mutter stehen im Zusammenhang mit der Mutter-Kind-Bindung, wirken sich aber nicht auf die Erzieherin-Kind-Bindung aus. In Gruppen mit einem kleineren Betreuer-Kind-Schlüssel entsteht eher ein sicheres Bindungsmuster zwischen Kind und Erzieherin als in Gruppen mit einem größeren Betreuer-Kind-Schlüssel. Positive Verstärkung findet eher in kleinen Gruppen als in großen Gruppen statt.The adaptation to day care center of 104 toddlers was examined. The children were aged from 10 to 33 months. Video analysis were made with the computersofterware „Interact 8.7.0“ (Mangold, 2008) to rate the caregiver-child-interaction. The Attachment-Q-Sort (AQS; Waters, 1995) was used for assessing the quality of attachment between mother and child and caregiver and child. Maternal separation anxiety was examined with the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale (MSAS, Hock, McBride & Gnezda, 1989). The results indicates that a secure mother-child-attachment doesn’t imply a secure caregiver-child-attachment. Children who are insecurely attached to their mothers were more often reprimanded from their caregivers than children with a secure mother-child-attachment. Maternal anxiety correlates with mother-child-attachment, but there is no influence on caregiver-child-attachment. In groups with a smaller caregiver-child-key children are more often securely attached to their caregivers than in groups with a larger caregiver-child-key. In small groups children were more often praised than in larger groups

The influence of societal challenges on STI policy-making within the European multi-level governance system

Gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen wie zB Klimawandel oder die alternde Bevölkerung sowie der Ruf nach politischer Koordinierung von Forschungs-, Technologie und Innovationsaktivitäten (FTI) zur nachhaltigen Bewältigung dieser bestimmen derzeitige FTI politische Bestrebungen auf europäischer Ebene. Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert wie sich bestimmte gesellschaftliche Herausforderungen als explizites FTI politisches Ziel auf die Politikgestaltung in der EU auswirken. Hierbei soll, unter besonderer Bezugnahme der Charakteristika des Europäischen Mehrebenensystems, genauer untersucht werden, wie sich diese thematische Schwerpunktsetzung in den vorherrschenden FTI politischen Governance- und Politikkoordinierungsformen widerspiegelt. Anhand von zwei Fallstudien werden Joint Programming Initiativen (JPI) - neue FTI politische Ansätze auf EU-Ebene welche auf verstärkte multilaterale Koordinierung von FTI Aktivitäten setzen, um zukünftige gesellschaftliche Herausforderungen zu bewältigen - näher untersucht. Dies bringt neue Aufschlüsse über das Wechselspiel zwischen Schwerpunktsetzung auf politischer Ebene, und der praktischen Ausgestaltung von unterschiedlichen Governance- und Koordinierungsmechanismen zur Auswahl bestimmter Forschungsstrategien auf Programmebene. Die Analyse zeigt, dass mit der strategischen Auswahl von interdisziplinären Forschungsansätzen sowie deren Koordinierung zur Bewältigung von bestimmten sozialen Problemen neue Governanceaspekte ins Zentrum FTI politischer Gestaltung rücken. Dies bezieht sich vor allem auf die Zielbestimmungen von EU FTI politischen Programmen, welche durch eine Reihe von unterschiedlichen wissenschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Akteuren mitbestimmt werden.Climate change or ageing population are examples for pan-European societal problems that call for strategically coordinated science, technology and innovation (STI) input in order to deal with them sustainably, putting societal challenges and policy coordination on top of the current EU STI policy agenda. This diploma thesis focuses on how the formulation of societal challenges influences EU STI policy-making. The aim is to analyse how this shift in thematic prioritisation of STI policy affects the prevalent policy coordination practices in the EU by particularly accounting for the specific nature of a multi-level governance system. The empirical investigation of two Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) by the means of a multiple-case study analysis provides new insights into governance and coordination aspects arising in STI policy approaches that explicitly address major European societal challenges by fostering mulitlateral coordination. It explores the practical implications resulting from the political prioritisation in terms of broadly formulated societal challenges for the development of specific problem-oriented STI-based responses in the multi-level and multi-actor setting of JPIs. The analysis focuses on the specific thematic and scientific embedding of the two JPIs, and reveals that a societal challenge-driven STI policy brings new governance aspects into the centre of STI policy-making, pertaining to issues of ways to strategically select and coordinate research approaches that are increasingly interdisciplinary and oriented towards a distinct problem. In this regard, specific institutional arrangements involving different scientific experts and stakeholders are crucial for shaping the distinct design and determining the objectives of EU STI policy programmes

Temperature-Dependent Reproductive Success of Stickleback Lateral Plate Morphs: Implications for Population Polymorphism and Range Shifts Under Ocean Warming

Changing environments associated with rapid climate change can shape direct measures of fitness such as reproductive success by altering mating behavior, fecundity and offspring development. Using a polymorphic oceanic population of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we investigated whether a 4�°C increase in sea surface temperature influenced clutch siring success, reproductive output, and offspring growth among lateral plate morphs. Since low plated morphs are thought to have a selective advantage in warmer environments, we predicted that low plated males should have higher clutch siring success in +4�°C environments, and that thermal plasticity of traits (e.g., egg size, offspring growth) should reflect different trait optima in different environments among plate morphs. Parentage analysis of egg clutches revealed temperature-specific clutch siring success, in that low plated males sired more clutches in +4�°C environments and completely plated males sired more clutches at ambient (seasonal) temperature. Both completely and low plated females laid larger eggs when acclimated to +4�°C, but only completely plated females had smaller clutches at +4�°C. Offspring of low and partially plated females grew much less at +4�°C compared to those of completely plated females. Taken together, our results demonstrate that ocean warming could impact reproductive success at various levels, with differential effects depending on phenotype, in this case, lateral plate morph. Some traits (clutch siring success, egg size) showed better performance for low plated fish at +4�°C, whereas others (e.g., growth) did not. Higher clutch siring success of low plated males at elevated temperature might indicate a future shift in plate morph composition for polymorphic stickleback populations, with potential implications for colonization ability during range shifts under climate change

Temperature-Dependent Reproductive Success of Stickleback Lateral Plate Morphs: Implications for Population Polymorphism and Range Shifts Under Ocean Warming

Changing environments associated with rapid climate change can shape direct measures of fitness such as reproductive success by altering mating behavior, fecundity and offspring development. Using a polymorphic oceanic population of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we investigated whether a 4°C increase in sea surface temperature influenced clutch siring success, reproductive output, and offspring growth among lateral plate morphs. Since low plated morphs are thought to have a selective advantage in warmer environments, we predicted that low plated males should have higher clutch siring success in +4°C environments, and that thermal plasticity of traits (e.g., egg size, offspring growth) should reflect different trait optima in different environments among plate morphs. Parentage analysis of egg clutches revealed temperature-specific clutch siring success, in that low plated males sired more clutches in +4°C environments and completely plated males sired more clutches at ambient (seasonal) temperature. Both completely and low plated females laid larger eggs when acclimated to +4°C, but only completely plated females had smaller clutches at +4°C. Offspring of low and partially plated females grew much less at +4°C compared to those of completely plated females. Taken together, our results demonstrate that ocean warming could impact reproductive success at various levels, with differential effects depending on phenotype, in this case, lateral plate morph. Some traits (clutch siring success, egg size) showed better performance for low plated fish at +4°C, whereas others (e.g., growth) did not. Higher clutch siring success of low plated males at elevated temperature might indicate a future shift in plate morph composition for polymorphic stickleback populations, with potential implications for colonization ability during range shifts under climate change

Bridging centrality: A new indicator to measure the positioning of actors in R&D networks

In the recent past, we can observe growing interest in the STI community in the notion of positioning indicators, shifting emphasis to actors in the innovation process and their R&D inter-linkages with other actors. In relation to this, we suggest a new approach for assessing the positioning of actors relying on the notion of bridging centrality (BC). Based on the concept of bridging paths, i.e. a set of two links connecting three actors across three different aggregate nodes (e.g. organisations, regions or countries), we argue that triangulation in networks is a key issue for knowledge recombinations and the extension of an actor's knowledge base. As bridges are most often not empirically observable at the individual level of research teams, we propose an approximated BC measure that provides a flexible framework for dealing with the aggregation problem in positioning actors. Hereby, BC is viewed as a function of an aggregate node's (i) participation intensity in the network, (ii) its openness to other nodes (i.e. the relative outward orientation of network links), and iii) the diversification of links to other nodes. In doing so, we provide an integrative perspective that enables us to achieve a better understanding of the positioning of certain actors in R&D networks. An illustrative example on the co-patent network of European regions demonstrates the performance and usefulness of our BC measure for networks constructed at the aggregated level, i.e. regions in our example. A region's outward orientation and the diversification of its network links moderates the influence of regional scale on network centrality. This is a major strength of the measure, and it paves the way for future studies to examine the role of certain aggregate node's, and, by this, contributes to the debate on positioning indicators in the STI context