This dissertation examines the role of public investments in inducing small firms to develop risky, early-stage technologies. It contributes to expanding our understanding of the consequences of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship policies and programs by investigating in more depth the effect of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program on the innovation effort, ability to attract external capital, and other metrics of post-entry performance of small business start-ups using a new sample and estimation approach. Unlike prior R&D subsidy studies that concentrated almost exclusively on European countries, this dissertation focused on small business start-ups in the United States using a new scientific survey of new firms. It integrated the Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS) from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation with the SBIR recipient dataset from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and used advances in statistical matching to achieve better comparability between the treated and control groups of small business start-ups. The integrated KFS-SBA dataset, which contains both recipient and non-recipient small firms, and statistical matching allowed us to empirically construct the counterfactual outcomes of SBIR recipients. This dissertation balanced the pre-treatment characteristics of SBIR recipients and non-recipients through propensity score matching (PSM). It constructed the comparison sample by identifying non-recipients with nearly identical propensity scores as those of SBIR recipients. Consistent with the propensity score theorem, observations with the same distribution of propensity scores have the same distribution of observable characteristics. PSM made the comparison and treatment samples homogenous except in SBIR program exposure, making the fundamental assumption of ignorability of treatment assignment more plausible. Using the realized outcomes of observationally similar non-recipient start-ups as the counterfactual outcomes of SBIR recipients, we found empirical evidence of the input additionality effect of the SBIR program. Had they not applied for and granted SBIR R&D subsidies, recipient start-ups would have spent only $185,000 in R&D, but with SBIR their R&D effort was significantly increased to $663,000, on average. The treatment effects analyses also found a significant positive effect of SBIR on innovation propensity and employment. However, it appears that public co-financing of commercial R&D has crowded-out privately financed R&D of small business start-ups in the United States. A dollar of SBIR subsidy decreased firm-financed R&D by about $0.16. Contrary to prior SBIR studies, we did not find any significant "halo effect" or "certification effect" of receiving an SBIR award on attracting external capital. However, we discovered a different certification effect of the SBIR program: SBIR grantees are more likely to attract external patents. This finding also confirms that innovation requires a portfolio of internal and external knowledge assets as theorized by David Teece and his colleagues. This dissertation's empirical results may be relevant to the Small Business Administration, SBIR participating agencies, the U.S. Congress, other federal, state and local policymakers, small high-tech start-ups, and scholars in the field of science, technology, and innovation policy.

This dissertation examines the role of public investments in inducing small firms to develop risky, early-stage technologies. It contributes to expanding our understanding of the consequences of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship policies and programs by investigating in more depth the effect of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program on the innovation effort, ability to attract external capital, and other metrics of post-entry performance of small business start-ups using a new sample and estimation approach. This study integrated the Kauffman Firm Survey from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation with the SBIR recipient dataset from the U.S. Small Business Administration and used advances in the micro-econometrics of program evaluation to empirically construct the counterfactual outcomes of SBIR recipients. We found empirical evidence of the input additionality effect of the SBIR program. The treatment effects analyses also found a significant positive effect of SBIR on innovation propensity and employment. However, it appears that public co-financing of commercial R&D has crowded-out privately financed R&D of small business start-ups in the United States. A dollar of SBIR subsidy decreased firm-financed R&D by about $0.16. Contrary to prior SBIR studies, we did not find any significant “halo effect” or “certification effect” of receiving an SBIR award on attracting external capital. What we discovered is a different certification effect of the SBIR program: SBIR grantees are more likely to attract external patents. This finding confirms that innovation requires a portfolio of internal and external knowledge assets as theorized by David Teece and his colleagues.

Inducement prizes-where cash rewards are given to motivate the attainment of targets--have been long used to encourage scientific research, develop technological innovations, or stimulate individuals, groups, and communities to accomplish diverse goals. Lately, prizes have increasingly attracted the attention of policy-makers, among others, due to their potential to induce path-breaking innovations and accomplish related goals. Academic research, however, has barely investigated these prizes in spite of their long history, recent popularity, and notable potential. This research investigates prizes and the means by which they induce innovation. It uses an empirical, multiple case-study methodology, a new model of innovation applied to prizes, and multiple data sources to investigate three cases of recent aerospace technology prizes: a main case study, the Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) for robotic Moon exploration; and two pilot cases, the Ansari X Prize (AXP) for the first private reusable manned spacecraft and the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge (NGLLC) for flights of reusable rocket-powered vehicles. The investigation unveils the dynamics of prizes and contributes a better understanding of their potential and disadvantages in a context in which more traditional mechanisms are used to induce innovation. This research shows that prizes are a more complex mechanism and their investigation requires analyzing entrant- and context-level factors generally not considered by the literature. Prizes complement and not replace patents and other incentive mechanisms. The incentives offered by prizes attract entrants with diverse characteristics, including unconventional entrants--individuals and organizations generally not involved with the prize technologies. Entrants are generally attracted by the non-monetary benefits of participation and the potential market value of the technologies involved in competitions. Many more volunteers, collaborators, and partners also participate indirectly and support official entries as they also perceive opportunities to accomplish their personal and organizational goals. The monetary reward is important to position the competition in the media and disseminate the idea of the prize. Prizes can induce increasing R&D activities and re-direct industry projects to target diverse technological goals, yet the evolution of prize competitions and quality of the technological outputs is generally difficult to anticipate. The overall organization of prize R&D activities and their outputs depend on entrant-level factors and can only be indirectly influenced by setting specific competition rules. The most remarkable characteristic of prize R&D activities is their interaction with fundraising efforts which, in some circumstances, may constrain the activities of entrants. Prizes can also induce innovation over and above what would have occurred anyway, yet their overall effect depends significantly on the characteristics of the prize entrants and the evolution of the context of the competition. The ability of prizes to induce innovation is larger when there are larger prize incentives, more significant technology gaps implicit in the prize challenge, and open-ended challenge definitions. To successfully induce technological breakthroughs, prizes may require complementary incentives (e.g. commitments to purchase technology) or support (e.g. seed funding.) Prizes are particularly appropriate to, for example, explore new, experimental methods and technologies that imply high-risk R&D; induce technological development to break critical technological barriers; accelerate technological development to achieve higher performance standards; and, accelerate diffusion, adoption, and/or commercialization of technologies. They involve, however, higher programmatic risks than other more traditional mechanisms and their routine use, and/or challenge definitions that overlap, can weaken the incentive power of the mechanism. Successful implementation of competitions requires many parameters to be properly set.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South African science shows a decline in its global competitiveness in that its scholarly publication rate has not kept pace with that of other countries, both developed and developing. This, together with a decline in publication rate especially among junior South African scholars, suggests a structural problem in the South African national system of innovation. A declining publication rate indicates a problem of knowledge diffusion for South Africa, and hints at a possible knowledge generation problem. This assignment limits itself to the dynamics of knowledge diffusion with specific reference to Open Access scholarly communication. Open Access scholarly communication is an overt intervention regarding knowledge diffusion. The marginalisation of science in and of developing countries, leading to a state of knowledge imperialism and knowledge dependence, is addressed, and it is argued that knowledge diffusion and generation are at the heart of longterm economic growth. This assignment has been structured around two core sections, a theoretical framework based in the literature, and empirical study. The central concepts of scholarly communication and Open Access, national information policy (NIP), and national system of innovation (NSI) are elaborated upon in the theoretical framework (Chapters 2 and 3). The empirical part of this study (Chapters 4 and 5) in turn consist of two parts. Both parts used the survey method, however the first part made use of a questionnaire instrument, and the second part made use of a structured record review. Both empirical studies were used to assess levels of activity and extent of adoption of Open Access within a defined South African scholarly community, one discipline-based, the other institution-based. The aims of this study were two-fold: to assess levels of awareness of and investment in Open Access modes of scholarly communication within defined scholarly communities; and to create a benchmark document of South Africa's involvement to date in various Open Access initiatives. The argument is made for the openness of scholarly systems, and furthermore that the disparate and uncoordinated nature of Open Access in South Africa needs a policy intervention. The policy intervention so identified would exist within an enabling policy environment and would be minimally disruptive to the South African science system. Said policy intervention would constitute a National Information Policy since it would address the storage, dissemination, and retrieval of scholarly research output. This assignment recommends the amendment of the current statutory reporting mechanism - used by scholars to report and obtain publication rate subsidies - which would require that scholars make their research available via an Open Access mode of scholarly communication, and moreover, would require scholars to report on having done so. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die wetenskap as praktyk in Suid-Afrika toon 'n afname in internasionale mededingendheid. Laasgenoemde is sigbaar in die tempo waarteen Suid-Afrikaanse vakpublikasies nie tred hou met dié van ander nasies nie, beide ontwikkelde en ontwikkelende lande. Hierdie afname, gepaardgaande met 'n afname in publikasiegetalle van veral junior navorsers, sou kon dui op 'n strukturele probleem in Suid-Afrika se nasionale innovasiestelsel. 'n Afname in die vakpublikasietempo dui daarop dat Suid Afrika 'n probleem het ten opsigte van die distribusie van kennis. Hierdie werkstuk is beperk tot die dinamiek van kennisdistribusie met spesifieke verwysing na 'Open Access' wetenskaplike kommunikasie. 'Open Access' wetenskaplike kommunikasie is 'n eksplisiete intervensie gemik op kennisdistribusie. Wetenskap binne en vanuit ontwikkelende lande word al hoe meer onbelangrik geag en kennis-imperialisme and kennis-afhanklikheid neem toe. Aan hierdie laasgenoemde aspekte word ook aandag geskenk. 'n Deel van die argument wat geopper word is dat kennisdistribusie en kennis-generering kern aspekte van langtermyn ekonomiese groei is. Hierdie werkstuk bestaan uit twee kern afdelings: 'n teoretiese raamwerk gebaseer op 'n literatuuroorsig, en 'n empiriese studie. Die sentrale konsepte van wetenskaplike kommunikasie en 'Open Access', nasionale inligtingsbeleid, en nasionale innovasiestelsels word beskryf in die teoretiese raamwerk (Hoofstukke 2 en 3). Die empiriese deel van hierdie studie (Hoofstukke 4 en 5) bestaan uit twee dele. Beide laasgenoemde dele maak gebruik van 'n opname as metodiek, maar die eerste deel het gebruik gemaak van 'n vraelys, en die tweede deel het gebruik gemaak van gestruktureerde studie van rekords (in die vorm van Webtuistes). Albei empiriese studies was gebruik om die vlak en mate van aktiwiteit rondom 'Open Access' binne 'n beperkte Suid-Afrikaanse wetenskaplike gemeenskap vas te stel. Hierdie gemeenskappe is gedefinieer óf volgens dissipline óf volgens instansie. Die doel van hierdie werkstuk was veelvoudig: om die vlak van kennis van en betrokkenheid by 'Open Access' inisiatiewe vas te stel binne Suid-Afrika; sowel as om 'n basis-dokument te skep insake Suid-Afrika se betrokkenheid tot op hede by verskeie 'Open Access' inisiatiewe. Die argument vir 'n oop wetenskaplike stelsel word gestel. Verder word geargumenteer dat die lukrake en ongekoordineerde manier waarop 'Open Access' tot dusver in Suid-Afrika bevorder is, daarop dui dat 'n intervensie op die vlak van beleid benodig word. Laasgenoemde beleid sou binne die bestaande beleidsomgewing geformuleer word, en sou relatief min ontwrigting meebring in die huidige Suid-Afrikaanse navorsingsopset. Die spesifieke beleid wat ter sprake is, is die nasionale inligtingsbeleid aangesien dit regulasies daarstel ten opsigte van die berging, distribusie, en herwinning van navorsingsuitsette. Hierdie werkstuk stel voor 'n verandering van die huidige statutêre verslagdoeningsmeganisme - wat gebruik word deur wetenskaplikes om verslag te doen oor hul gepubliseerde navorsing om navorsingsubsidie te kry - wat sou vereis dat wetenskaplikes hul navorsingsuitsette beskikbaar stel via 'n 'Open Access' kanaal, en verder, dat navorsers verslag doen oor laasgenoemde.

La France, comme d’autres pays, cherche à valoriser son excellence scientifique et à augmenter la compétitivité de ses petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) pour tirer plein profit de l’innovation et soutenir la croissance économique et l’emploi. Il n’y a pas, ni en France ni ailleurs, une politique spécifique de soutien à l’innovation dans les PME mais des politiques scientifiques et de la recherche industrielle, en particulier en faveur des petites entreprises, et des politiques d’innovation, dans lesquelles peuvent être identifiées des mesures spécifiques visant à promouvoir le développement technologique et l’innovation dans les PME. Cette étude s’intéresse à la façon dont en France, à travers les différentes époques, ces politiques publiques sont définies et organisées et s’interroge sur l’efficacité et l’impact des interventions publiques dans le développement de capacité d’innovation des PME françaises. Elle se déroule en trois parties, en respectant une chronologie historique correspondant aux grandes étapes de l’évolution des politiques depuis les années 1960-1970 jusqu’à présent. Ces trois parties analytiques sont enrichies par l’analyse du cas de l’Agence nationale de valorisation de la recherche (Anvar). A la fin de ce travail, nous suggérons que la France entre dans une phase critique où des réformes structurelles doivent être menées pour assurer le développement de la compétitivité des PME et de l’innovation. / France, like other countries, seeks to promote its scientific excellence and to increase the competitiveness of its small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by taking full advantage of innovation to sustain economic growth and employment. In France as in other countries, there is no specific policy to support innovation in SMEs but both science and industrial research policies, especially for small businesses, and innovation policies, in which can be identified specific measures to promote technological development and innovation in SMEs. This study focuses on "how", in France, such public policies are defined and organized through different periods and it questions the effectiveness and impact of public interventions aimed at developing French SMEs’ innovation capacity. The study is divided in three parts, following a historical chronology corresponding to major stages of political evolution from the years 1960-1970 till now. These three analytical parts are enriched by a case analysis of the French National Agency for Valorisation of the Research (Anvar). At the end of this study, we suggest that France is now entering a critical phase in which structural reforms have to be undertaken in order to ensure French SMEs’ innovation and competitiveness.

Cette thèse porte sur les processus de gestion des connaissances et des pratiques associées, en situation de coopération inter-organisationnelle. En s'appuyant sur une démarche d'enquête relevant de l'artisanat intellectuel, nous étudions le cas du domaine des nanosciences et des nanotechnologies (NCT), caractérisé par la participation de diverses organisations relevant de plusieurs domaines d'expertise. A partir de l'étude des connaissances saisies à partir des pratiques dans trois cas (un réseau de groupes de recherche en Colombie, un projet européen et un laboratoire de sciences des matériaux au sein d'un grand pôle de recherche en micro et nanotechnologies à Grenoble (France)), la thèse apporte quatre contributions théoriques portant respectivement sur : 1) La relation entre les pratiques de gestion des connaissances entre organisations et des politiques favorisant les arrangements interinstitutionnels ; 2) La proximité comme espace de convergence et de divergence dans la gestion des connaissances dans les « zones franches » ; 3) La temporalité et les points d'ancrage des relations inter-organisationnelles ; et 4) la médiation de collectifs sociotechniques. Enfin, nous proposons une contribution sur la pratique vue comme constituant un espace de gestion, qui permet de rendre compte des différences dans les temporalités et d'évaluer la médiation des outils destinés à soutenir les processus de gestion des connaissances. / The thesis deals with knowledge management processes and associated practices in interorganizational contexts. With an insight of intellectual craftsmanship, we focus on the case study of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NST) that involves a wide diversity of participant organizations and knowledge fields. By studying three specific contexts –a Colombian network of research groups, a European collaborative project, and a laboratory of materials belonging to a micro and nanotechnology cluster of Grenoble (France); we present four main theoretical contributions through a knowing in practice approach: 1) A description of relationships between interorganizational knowledge management practices and policies that foster cross-institutional agreements, 2) An insight of proximity as a point of convergence and divergence in boundary-related knowledge management, 3) An understanding of temporality and anchor points related to cross-organizational relationships, and 4) The dynamics of mediation of the socio-technical collectives. On the other hand, we put forward an approach to the concept of practice as managerial space, which allows to account for differences in the temporary nature of relationships and assess effective mediation of available tools for supporting knowledge management processes. / Esta tesis trata sobre procesos de gestión de conocimiento en ámbitos inter-organizacionales y las prácticas asociadas. Con un enfoque de artesanía intelectual, tomamos como estudio de caso el campo de las Nanociencias y Nanotecnologías (NCT), caracterizado por la participación de diversidad de organizaciones y áreas de conocimiento. Estudiando tres contextos, una red de grupos de investigación en Colombia, un proyecto europeo de colaboración y un laboratorio de materiales en un polo de micro y nanotecnologías en Grenoble (Francia), desde una perspectiva de conocimiento como práctica, presentamos cuatro aportes teóricos: 1) Relación entre prácticas de gestión de conocimiento inter-organizacional y políticas que fomentan arreglos inter-institucionales, 2) Proximidad como espacio de convergencia y divergencia en la gestión del conocimiento en las zonas fronterizas, 3) Temporalidad y puntos de anclaje de las relaciones inter-organizacionales, y 4) La mediación de los colectivos sociotécnicos.Por otra parte, planteamos una contribución para abordar la práctica como espacio de gestión, lo cual permite dar cuenta de las diferencias en las temporalidades y evaluar las mediaciones efectivas de las herramientas dispuestas para el soporte de los procesos de gestión de conocimiento.

Submitted by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-27T14:02:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGRO.pdf: 1949409 bytes, checksum: db095c27a40ca0db42bd9916c024e4e8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-27T14:03:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGRO.pdf: 1949409 bytes, checksum: db095c27a40ca0db42bd9916c024e4e8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-27T14:03:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGRO.pdf: 1949409 bytes, checksum: db095c27a40ca0db42bd9916c024e4e8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-27T14:03:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGRO.pdf: 1949409 bytes, checksum: db095c27a40ca0db42bd9916c024e4e8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-20 / Não recebi financiamento / Brazil is a country with a wide range of socais problems that need to be resolved so that it can be considered a developed nation. In this sense many social problems could be studied by public research in order to mitigate social inequality. This research aims to identify and understand the obstacles and possibilities for the formation of the research agenda of the public university demands from the local community. The methodology was qualitative and exploratory, which is outlined in literature and literature. The literature encompassed thematic as science, technology and innovation policy (PCT&I); channels of communication between university and society; social technology; and territorial development. The result of the survey pointed out as an obstacle to the construction of the university agenda based on the demands of local communities PCT&I developed based on international models; political control centered in the hands of a few actors, especially scientists; research agenda aimed at an international science, business or particular demands; lack of communication channels and strategies and exchange of knowledge between universities and local communities; little research on the research agenda of Brazilian scientists. As possibilities the search result pointed adherence by the PCT&I concepts such as: social technology; regional development; solidarity economy; social technology park; sustainable development; and actions as public policy development: municipalities, states (master plan) and urban planning. / O Brasil é um país com um vasto leque de problemas socais que precisam ser resolvidos para que ele possa ser considerado uma nação desenvolvida. Nesse sentido muitos problemas sociais poderiam ser estudados pelas pesquisas públicas a fim de amenizar a desigualdade social. A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo identificar e compreender os obstáculos e as possibilidades para a formação da agenda de pesquisa da universidade pública a partir de demandas da comunidade local. A metodologia adotada foi a qualitativa e exploratória, sendo esta delineada em levantamento bibliográfico e pesquisa bibliográfica. O levantamento bibliográfico abarcou tematicas como: política científica, tecnológica e de inovação (PCT&I); canais de comunicação entre universidade e sociedade; tecnologia social; e desenvolvimento territorial. O resultado da pesquisa apontou como obstáculo para a construção da agenda da universidade com base nas demandas das comunidades locais: PCT&I elaborada com base em modelos internacionais; controle político centrado na mão de poucos atores, com destaque aos cientistas; agenda de pesquisa direcionada a uma ciência internacional, ou as demandas particulares empresariais; falta de canais e estratégias de comunicação e troca de conhecimento entre universidade e comunidades locais; poucas pesquisas sobre a agenda de pesquisa dos cientistas brasileiros. Como possibilidades o resultado da pesquisa apontou a adesão por parte da PCT&I de conceitos como: tecnologia social; desenvolvimento territorial; economia solidária; parque tecnológico social; desenvolvimento sustentável; e ações como elaboração de políticas públicas: municípios, estados (plano diretor) e planejamento urbano.

The Law of Technological Innovation established the obligation of Institutions of Science and Technology (ICTs) has a Center for Technological Innovation (NIT) to manage its innovation policy. The creation of NITs resulted in the growth of the number of requests for protection of Intellectual Property (IP) derived from Brazilian universities. The Federal University of Reconcavo of Bahia (UFRB), despite having existed Coordination of Science and Technological Innovation in 2006 and an NIT since 2007, its innovation policy was not enhanced enough to strengthen the culture of IP protection in technology transfer (TT) and the approach the University with the industrial sector. This study aimed to map and proposes strategies to enhance the protection of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer (IP&TT) in UFRB. Thus, we carried out a literature survey to identify strategies already used by other institutions, desk research to identify the strategies adopted by UFRB to consolidate its innovation policy, a survey of scientific and technological production to develop indicators that production and identify their potential in Research, Development and Innovation, and finally, the application of semi-structured interviews with managers UFRB to analyze the perception of these managers on innovation policy of the University. It was found that the UFRB scientificize has a production of 407 publications (between 2006 and 2012) and a technological production of 11 patents in the National Institute of Industrial Property that period. On its policy of innovation, UFRB tries to establish it since 2006, but has trouble finding its intensification as, for example, lack of trained human resources, the difficulty of inserting a culture of protection of IP rights among academics and the gap with the business sector. Whereas the number of projects covered by the Scholarship Program Started in Technological Development and Innovation (PIBITI) reached 56 and the defenses of dissertations and theses reached the number of 252 performances, UFRB has a scientific productivity that has not been protected by IP rights and could have resulted in many products, processes or services with innovative potential. In 2014, despite the creation of the Coordination of Creation and Innovation (CINOVA), is additionally necessary to adopt other strategies to strengthen innovation policy at the University such as the creation of a Commission of IP&TT; expansion in the number of servers and; actions to enhance the culture of IP&TT between academics and businesses; the inclusion, at undergraduate and postgraduate, discussions on IP rights and; monitoring of projects with innovative potential. / A Lei de Inovação Tecnológica estabeleceu a obrigatoriedade das Instituições de Ciência e Tecnologia (ICTs) dispor de um Núcleo de Inovação Tecnológica (NIT) para gerir sua política de inovação. A criação dos NITs resultou no crescimento do número de pedidos de proteção da Propriedade Intelectual (PI) proveniente de universidades brasileiras. Na Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia (UFRB), apesar de ter existido a Coordenação de Ciência e Inovação Tecnológica já em 2006 e um NIT desde 2007, sua política de inovação não foi intensificada o suficiente para fortalecer a cultura de proteção da PI, de transferência de tecnologia (TT) e a aproximação da Universidade com o setor industrial. O presente estudo teve como objetivo mapear e propor estratégias para intensificar a proteção da Propriedade Intelectual e a Transferência de Tecnologia (PI&TT) na UFRB. Dessa forma, fez-se um levantamento bibliográfico para identificar estratégias já utilizadas por outras instituições, uma pesquisa documental para identificar as estratégias adotadas pela UFRB para consolidar sua política de inovação, um levantamento de sua produção científica e tecnológica para elaborar indicadores dessa produção e identificar seu potencial em Pesquisa, Desenvolvimento e Inovação e, por fim, a aplicação de entrevistas semiestruturadas com gestores da UFRB para analisar a percepção desses gestores sobre a política de inovação da Universidade. Verificou-se que a UFRB tem uma produção cientificar de 407 publicações (entre 2006 e 2012) e uma produção tecnológica de 11 patentes depositadas no Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial nesse período. Sobre sua política de inovação, a UFRB tenta estabelecê-la desde 2006, mas vem encontrando problemas para sua intensificação como, por exemplo, a falta de recursos humanos capacitados, a dificuldade de inserir uma cultura de proteção dos direitos de PI entre os acadêmicos e o distanciamento com o setor empresarial. Considerando que o número de projetos contemplados pelo Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação em Desenvolvimento Tecnológico e Inovação (PIBITI) chegou a 56 e as defesas de dissertações e teses atingiu o número de 252 apresentações, a UFRB tem uma produtividade científica que não tem sido protegida por direitos de PI e poderia ter resultado em muitos produtos, processos ou serviços com potencial inovador. Em, 2014, apesar da criação da Coordenação de Criação e Inovação (CINOVA), adicionalmente é preciso adotar outras estratégias para fortalecer a política de inovação na Universidade como: a criação de uma Comissão de PI&TT; ampliação do quadro de servidores e; ações para intensificar a cultura de PI&TT entre os acadêmicos e empresas; a inclusão, na graduação e na pós-graduação, de discussões sobre direitos de PI e; acompanhamento dos projetos com potencial inovador.

In this introductory Chapter the rationale for this research is explained and an overview of the thesis is provided. This chapter serves as a concise introduction to the subject of the knowledge base and knowledge pipelines in a metropolis as Brussels, as well as providing an insight into the policy driven empirical research with additional focus on the appropriate spatial level of analysis to highlight the spatial inequality of innovation. The objectives of the thesis are reviewed by giving an overview of the research questions and the main hypotheses related to them. The theoretical background used in this thesis is briefly outlined. The structure of the thesis can be summarised as follows. The second chapter provides basic information about data on patents and scientific publications, the construction of indicators based on patents and scientific publications, as well as guidelines for the compilation and interpretation of patent and scientific publication indicators. The third chapter focuses on the determinants of the efficiency levels across regions in Belgium at different spatial levels. The fourth chapter builds on the research made in the previous chapters and focuses on the analysis of the impact of patent collaboration networks on the output growth of R&D active companies in Belgium. The fifth chapter analyses the impact of different collaboration ties on the productivity of innovative companies in Belgium, measured in several ways through the innovation survey and in terms of patents. The conclusion reported in the last chapter summarises the main findings and highlight possible suggestions for future research. / Benchmarking exercises are increasingly used as an assessment instrument to guide policy-makers. They contribute to policy-making in three broad ways: delineating and monitoring development and progress; facilitating the exchange and gathering of knowledge on practices and policies; and promoting the image and attractiveness of economies. This research complements existing information about the Brussels Regional Innovation System (BRIS) with additional data that is less frequently available through current channels or difficult to make public due to the number of data manipulations. This research illustrates the Brussels innovation system by focusing on various aspects related to intra- and interregional connections. The dataset is based on scientific publications and patents over the period 1993-2013 containing at least one author with an affiliation or one inventor located in the Brussels-Capital Region, Vienna and Berlin. Patents and scientific publications provide a clear picture of the nature of technological change and innovation. Moreover, these sources give some further indication of R&D activities in the field and the position and specialisation of countries. The main benefit of such indicators is the unique empirical characterization they provide of the way actors interact as a collective system of knowledge production and diffusion (OECD, 1996). The main objective of this work is to compare Brussels with Belgian regions, city agglomerations and districts, as well as with capital cities of metropolitan regions (Vienna and Berlin) in terms of patenting and producing scientific publications, in order to map and understand how knowledge exchange takes place when Brussels actors are involved and which partners, locations, scientific fields and technological sectors are preferred. The main focus is on providing basic information about patent and scientific publication data, the construction of indicators based on patents and scientific publications, as well as guidelines for the compilation and interpretation of patent and scientific publication indicators. / The topic of the spatial pattern in R&D activities was investigated by several scholars. It is worthwhile to explore the dynamism and change of R&D activities’ spatial spread as R&D activities are very much a dynamic phenomenon and the consequences in terms of past growth of these activities have painted the current relative position of the regions. Analysing the determinants of the efficiency levels across Belgian regions at different spatial levels (3 regions, 10 provinces, 43 districts, and city agglomerations), we derive a regression based on the measurement of regional output growth by estimating an extended Cobb-Douglas production function based on a representative sample of Belgian R&D active firms over the period 2000-2013. We investigate the role played by knowledge (private and public R&D stocks) on the output growth by applying spatial econometric methods that account for both heteroscedasticity and spatial autocorrelation. The chapter focuses on the comparison of obtained results with previous studies based on Belgium. It turns out that a large part of output growth differences across the Belgian regions are explained by disparities in the endowments of these determinants. / Although the literature on the relations between patents and output growth of R&D active companies has been widely investigated, there has been little research with respect to the impact of patent collaboration networks on the output growth of R&D active companies. Integrating theoretical developments from the literature, we propose and test a conceptual framework that allows us to explain to what extent patent collaboration networks affect output growth. Testing the framework by using a constructed company-level dataset for Belgium, the empirical analysis reveals that output growth is significantly influenced by patenting activities and by collaborative relations with respect to patents. The chapter focuses on two distinct spatial levels. First, the spatial reach of the patent collaboration network is considered. The findings show that output growth is higher when collaborative relations are internationally oriented. Second, the regional location of the company shows differences in patenting activity, patent collaboration, and the spatial reach of the patent collaboration network. / Inter-organisational relations are a crucial aspect of knowledge flows, which are at the same time an important engine for innovation. Collaboration has become an ever more important feature of entrepreneurial strategy to innovate. Network ties facilitate companies’ innovative capabilities by acting as key sources for innovations, helping to access the resources and boosting knowledge transfer. This chapter analyses the impact of different collaboration ties on the productivity of innovative companies in Belgium, measured in several ways through the innovation survey (Community Innovation Survey) and in terms of patents (Patstat). Patent statistics are used as an objective measure for innovation. Unlike patent data, innovation surveys measure innovation activities carried out in companies. This chapter is primarily concerned with the following research question: do collaboration networks, as measured by innovation surveys (CIS database) and by invention applications (Patstat database), impact productivity growth in the same way? Further, this chapter focuses on an alternative spatial approach in order to look into the role played by proximate and distant inter-organisational networks among organisations. The findings show that the collaboration ties between companies are contributing the most to productivity growth followed by collaboration ties involving universities and government, public or private research institutes. Second, the spatial reach of the inter-organisational networks shows divergent impact on productivity performance of innovating companies. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

National innovative capacity, a central driver of countries’ long-term economic growth, has been one of the focal points in innovation research for roughly thirty years. Initially proposed as an index to measure technologic invention over time, this concept has become the widely accepted standard for measuring the performance of (sub) national and sectoral innovation systems toward being an analytic tool attributed to innovation systems theory. Country comparison, knowledge flows, and R&D forecasting are in the center of analysis feeding the concrete practical use of innovation policy optimization. In this regard, a rich body of studies has contributed indispensable knowledge about the determinants of innovative capacity. However, the multi-dimensional interconnections have not been covered in depth. Thus, to gain a holistic understanding of the “DNA” behind national innovative capacity a new “comparative” view of these determinants is necessary. To this end, this dissertation proposes revisiting the focus, unit and parameters of analysis that predominate within current national innovative capacity studies and sets forth three interlinked academic articles that focus on different layers of innovative capacity in countries. Besides furthering academic discourse on the determinants of innovational outcome, this conceptual revision leads to a new approach on national innovation capacity research. Its intention is to make policy makers aware of certain pathways leading to the same outcome. This knowledge will enable them to pursue a dynamic approach of supporting the innovative processes in countries by defining appropriate innovation strategies that consider both the countries’ specific preconditions and the sub-systems perspective.:1. Introduction 2. The purpose of revisiting the NIC concept for innovation policy 3. The scientific contribution of this doctoral thesis 3.1 Article 1: Increasing the national innovative capacity: Identifying the pathways to success using a comparative method 3.2 Article 2: National Health Innovation Systems: Clustering the OECD countries by innovative output in healthcare using a multi-indicator approach 3.3 Article 3: Increasing the innovative capacity of European cities: Making use of proven concepts from the national level 4. References