The globalisation processes changed in a short period of time the framework of the world economy competitiveness and bring new opportunities and challenges. In this new scenario, the European enterprises can only compete by taking full advantages of the new opportunity offered by knowledge-based economy. In fact, Europe cannot compete on the base of reducing labour costs, polluting environment or overexploiting raw materials. Indeed European economy productivity and growth should be based on use of frontier technology and ability to produce high-tech goods, manufactures and services (Lisbon Strategy, 2000). In this perspective, innovation is considered to vital importance, to have in Europe enterprises able to compete on a global scale and to take fully advantages of new market opportunities offered by ICT exploitation. EU expect such a transition will boost fast economic growth, creates better jobs, while at same time maintains and improve the European welfare model and the environment protection (Lisbon Strategy, 2000). The thesis wants to compare innovation policy programs in two Italian regions: Emilia-Romagna and Friuli-Venezia- Giulia. The proposal of the work is to analyse how the Regional Innovation Strategy of the two chosen cases were implemented in the last program period 2000-2006. Which structures have been created? How the money was allocated? What can we learn from the past? Which opportunities were missed and what can be done? Are they really innovative? The last part of the thesis is dedicated to compare the Regional Innovation Strategy of the chosen regions. Which differences we can detect? What are the similarities between the two cases? In order to understand this, I will study what characterize an innovative region and which forces drives innovation in a particular region. The thesis will be based on Lisbon Strategy (political perspective) as point of departure to explain the role of innovation and innovation policies as peculiar importance to European social, economic and environmental development. Furthermore, regional innovation strategies (policy perspective) will be discussed to explain how the two chosen European regions have implemented their strategies to boost their development trough innovation. In particular the Regional Innovation System theory (theoretical perspective) will be assessed. The method used is to analyse economic data in the two regions, analysis of documents from EU, national and regional level, comparative analysis of innovation policies in EU, national and regional policy documents. Tables and figures will be presented and used as an element in the work thesis. The expected results of the work are: understanding how the two chosen European regions have implemented their innovation strategies and compare regional innovation strategies of two selected regions (existent similarities and differences). / 0039-3296499184

Drawing upon data collected as part of the development of a Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS) for the West Midlands region of England, the current study presents an attempt to better understand the factors which may hinder or facilitate product innovation within small manufacturing firms. The focus is upon traditional and/or mature sectors rather than the high-technology small firms (HTSFs), or new technology-based firms (NTBFs), which feature disproportionately in academic and policy discussions. The study adopts a model of firm-level innovation which views innovation outputs as a function of, internal and external, resource inputs and enabling activities set within an institutional framework (broadly defined to encompass instituted behaviours). To this end, the study is influenced by Systems of Innovation (SI) approaches and is, in part, a critique of such approaches. More specifically, employing a sample of 228 small manufacturing firms (i.e. less than 250 full-time-equivalent employees), the thesis considers the relationship between 'innovativeness' and: firm strategy and structure; skills; finance; external linkages; and, performance. Empirical observations are set within a broader conceptual framework of learning, discovery and interaction. Moreover, given the context in which the data was collected, policy considerations loom large. In particular, the thesis considers the extent to which 'spatial' systems of innovation represent appropriate models for economic development, generally, and for the revitalisation of areas characterised by industrial decline and restructuring specifically.

KARLSSON, ISAAC (2012). REGIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS: POLICY AND APPLICATION IN A SWEDISH CONTEXT. Uneven economic development has been an issue of interest for a long time. Recently focus has shifted from inequalities between countries to growing inequalities within countries. With the EU as one of the most prominent supporters, regional innovation systems have become a centerpiece in the battle against uneven development. This paper examines how these strategies and policies are transferred through the governance hierarchy from the supranational level to the periphery of small Swedish municipalities. The paper also examines how these strategies, influenced by theories and empirical evidence from successful innovative regions, are conceptualized and implemented in a Swedish context. Analysis of policy documents and interviews with regional and municipal actors have been the basis of the empirical material. The criteria for selecting cases to study are proximity to a university, and key economic variables for the municipalities. The analysis indicated that there seems to be a somewhat significant policy transfer effect into the strategies of the Swedish regions, but this does not necessarily reach the municipal level. There also seems to be a gap between the transfer of the strategies to their implementation, mainly caused by ambiguities in the structure of the system, in part stemming from an absence of a national plan on innovative regional systems.

Στην παρούσα εργασία διερευνάται η επίδραση της μεταβολής των παραγόντων που αλληλεπιδρούν σε ένα Σύστημα Περιφερειακής Καινοτομίας (Regional Innovation System, RIS) εφαρμόζοντας ανάλυση με χρήση Bayesian Networks. Από την ανάλυση, η οποία διαχειρίζεται την εγγενή πολυπλοκότητα και αβεβαιότητα του συστήματος, προκύπτουν συμπεράσματα για την ευαισθησία της επίδοσης ως προς την καινοτομία των περιοχών στη μεταβολή κάποιων παραγόντων, όπως επίσης και για την κατεύθυνση και την έκταση της διάχυσης της επιρροής λόγω μεταβολής σε κάποιο μεμονωμένο παράγοντα. / -

¡§Science¡¨, ¡§Technology¡¨ and ¡§Innovation¡¨ are more important than the conventional productive elements in the era of knowledge economy. Lots of countries emphasized to advance the spread of knowledge in the innovation systems. Department of Industrial Technology also thought the relationships between governments, enterprises, research institutions and universities are important. Furthermore, the regional innovation system is the base of the national innovation system, but there were few research papers about regional innovation system. Therefore, we thought the regional innovation system is very important for regional developing and even the country. We collected the critical factors of the regional innovation system by literature review and the analysis of cases. And then, we adopt Delphi method to collect the professional¡¦s advices and check the critical factors of the regional innovation system. In concluding, we found out the factors below: 1.Governments should choose ¡§R&D¡¨ to be the orientation of the region, and supply the infrastructures to construct the good environment. It should establish relative policies and laws, and hold some exhibitions and conferences to promote the cooperation between the components. Central government and local governments should build good channel to communicate each other. 2.The research institutions, universities, and enterprises should have their own authorities and lead in the experts around the world. And they should spread the talents, technologies, and achievements between them. Furthermore, they should communicate with other international institutes. Having enough funds of R&D is also important for the research institutions, universities, and enterprises. 3.Finally, some results that we couldn¡¦t explain here is like intellectual property rights. Protecting intellectual property rights would increase invention and innovation, but sharing the knowledge and technology are also important for an innovation system. Consequently, the follow-up researchers could continue to research this subject.

This work is based on the analysis of regional innovation policies and partnerships for innovation in EU 2000-2006 Objective 1 regions. The focus on the wide concept of innovation at European level and the international competitive challenges are pushing European regions to increase the effectiveness of local innovation policies, developing and strengthening their regional innovation systems in partnership with local actors. The research has the main aim to evaluate the contribution of regional innovation policies to regional development, identify levers and obstacles, analyse the structures of Regional Innovation Systems including processes of cooperation, assess the effectiveness of regional policy mix and finally evaluate the effectiveness of regional partnerships. The methodology of the research is based on a multiple case-study approach and on mixed methods. Four case studies have been selected: Puglia, Sardegna, Comunidad Valenciana and Region de Murcia. Overall, 104 semi-structured interviews have been carried out in the four regions, with regional administrators, innovation agency managers, entrepreneurs, technology centres managers and academics (involved in spinoffs or managers of collaborative/industrial research projects). The field work activities have been focused on documentation review, unstructured interviews and data collection. A database of policy interventions was created to analyse targets, beneficiaries and areas of intervention. An analysis of regional performance has been conducted to examine the socio-economical structure and regional innovation indicators. The findings show common patterns and issues in policy implementation and dilemmas in strategic choices. All case studies featured wide and multi-purpose strategies aimed at the quantitative growth of regional innovation systems and a higher degree of internal collaborations through the support to intermediate bodies. Innovation systems are taking shape: regional administrations made a significant effort but struggled to overcome structural limitations and external constraints affecting the innovation structure.

The topic of Regional Innovation System (RIS) is gradually emphasized. The RIS includes four compositions. They are local government, industry, university and public research organization. The RIS results in industry cluster and provides economic development in regions such as known Silicon Valley. Thus, many countries have begun to develop RIS. In recent days, Mainland China has put emphasis on regional technology development. The experience of regional innovation in Mainland China may provide a suggestion for Taiwan. However, how to evaluate regional innovation performance is attractive. The performance of RIS in Mainland China is examined in the context of a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. The model is tested using data from a sample of 31 cities in Mainland China. This study will provide some important innovation suggestions for regional innovation activities.

This project is concerned with developing an understanding of systems of regional renewal (defined as where a restructuring of regional industries or technologies takes place or where new firms or industries emerge). The framework used for the study was an adapted version of the Holmen-McKelvey analytical tool designed for the systematic study of regional renewal. This included analysing social capital, organisations, and path dependency. As the study was concerned with understanding the operation of regions which by nature are complex systems, the study made use of a qualitative case study method. Four case studies were analysed in depth, two each from Germany and Australia: Dresden, Freiberg, Adelaide, and the Barossa. The conclusions from the research are twofold. The thesis argues that the Holmen and McKelvey framework varies across regions and that that the variation can be explained by the ‘varieties of capitalism’ literature. That is, regional renewal systems work differently in different regions because regions are part of a national political-institutional context (or variety of capitalism). First, the paths to regional renewal vary across regions. There are many and varied contributing factors to regional renewal and a holistic approach is needed in analysing the sources of regional renewal as well as in formulating regional policy. Social capital and path dependency in particular were important across all four cases, suggesting that social capital can enable the mobilisation of regional attributes and that historical and context specific aspects of a region need to be considered in regional direction setting. While some contribution by these factors was consistent across all four cases, their apparent strength and the nature of their contributions varied. The roles of universities, government bodies, multinational corporations, small-and-medium-sized enterprises, technology parks, non-university research bodies, and industry associations displayed even more variation amongst the cases suggesting that there can be no ‘cut and paste’ or one-size-fits-all approach to regional renewal. Before policy is formulated and implemented, there needs to be a systemic analysis of regional assets and deficiencies. Second, the thesis suggests that renewal systems work differently in different regions because regions are part of a national political-institutional context. Different paths to regional renewal can be explained in terms of different institutional capacities for state-led coordination and governance of the regional institutional environment. The thesis puts forward the proposition that we might expect national structures to impact on the functioning of systems of regional renewal. The case analysis suggests that we might expect coordinated attempts at regional renewal involving several actors to be more successful in coordinated market economies than in uncoordinated market economies. The four cases in this research indicate the national business system impacts on the local level. Five key differences between the German and Australian cases were: the approach of the state at a regional level, social capital, the education and training system, policy continuity, and multinational embeddedness. National policies provide a critical role of strategic planning at the local level. How can an uncoordinated market environment at the national level which includes a focus on competition and anti-trust facilitate cooperation between firms and other actors at the local level which is seen as critical for coordinated attempts at regional renewal? Thus a key lesson from this research is that to achieve regional renewal, different regions require locally appropriate policies supported by national directions.

The topic of regional innovation systems is one that has been covered extensively in prior research. It has influenced regional policy by providing context of how regional actors and firms interact and how they are affected by institutional guidance and formal structuring tools. An aspect that has not been covered to a sufficient extent is the prospect of self-sustaining or spontaneous collaborative efforts. This is an interesting area to consider because it questions the idea that regional innovation systems need institutional support to survive. Instead, it suggests that firms can collaborate simply through a mutual understanding of their situation and how an integration of their competences can prove beneficial to their system. The bottom line for well-functioning regional innovation systems are its ability to facilitate knowledge transfer for its actors. This raises the question of how firms’ knowledge transfer processes, its absorptive capacity is affected by regional innovation systems. The purpose of this study is to create a conceptual framework exploring how and why regional innovation systems facilitates firms’ absorptive capacity, as well as how they are affected by being either institutional or entrepreneurial. This has been done through an inductive multiple case study where 18 different cases of regional innovation systems were surveyed. The study resulted in a process model of how regional innovation systems evolve, its facilitating effect on firms’ absorptive capacity, and how entrepreneurial or institutional setups influence this evolution. Our findings suggest that regardless of being institutional or entrepreneurial, regional innovation systems follow a similar evolutionary process to facilitate firms’ absorptive capacity. It is rather suggested that each system has individually negative and positive effects on the process. Firms’ absorptive capacity is facilitated by regional innovation systems as they provide firms with an environment driving similar knowledge and problem sets, being a source of complementary knowledge and social integration mechanisms. The process model provides implications for regional policy makers to facilitate optimal conditions for actors in their regions, as well as for firms active in regional innovation systems.

How new regional growth paths emerge and what policy concepts are most adequate for nurturing their evolution constitute recurring themes in regional innovation and development studies. New industrial paths are often portrayed as the result of market-driven processes and Schumpeterian entrepreneurial efforts. This view goes along with a neoliberal policy approach that restricts the role of public interventions to setting up a suitable regulatory frame and supporting an entrepreneurial climate. The theoretical underpinnings and policy perspectives of this approach have been challenged by the innovation system literature, which offers a systemic view on the rise of new growth paths and advocates a more proactive role of public policy. This paper investigates the role of policy models beyond these traditional ones. We contrast different variants of systemic and multi-scalar policy concepts for new regional industrial path development. Our literature-based study shows that more recent models go beyond new path development and growth per se, paying more attention to the direction of innovation and change, and to policy approaches for achieving more sustainable forms of development. We scrutinize the theoretical and empirical bases of these new policy models and discuss why they are superior to neoliberal and older systemic ones.