Explanatory models of regional innovation performance in Europe: policy implications for regions

Abstract

Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization (RIS3) was integrated as a key piece of the cohesion policy for the European Union (EU) for 2014-2020. A RIS3 is an innovative approach that seeks to increase economic growth and to create jobs in Europe by enabling regions to identify and develop their competitive advantages. During the recent years, more than 120 RIS3 have been developed, being a large-scale EU experience aimed to develop innovation-driven economic transformations at national and regional levels. The objective of this article is to explore the models that best explain innovative employment and the emergence of new markets in Europe's regions. For that purpose, the latest dataset of the Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2019 was used, and regressions performed to identify the main factors behind the impact of regional innovation. The results unveil the 'double edge role' that some variables have on regional innovation, indicating the difficulties of managing different trade-offs and of a standalone innovation policy strategy. Policy measures are discussed to best manage these critical compromises and increase the impact of RIS3.

Potential for Frugal Innovation in a Brazilian Regional System: A Study Based on a Multicriteria Approach

“…These implications meet the findings by Silva et al [73], which emphasize the challenges of implementing a standalone RIS, the need for a quality-focused education system, the importance of human resource development, and the role of R&D in high-tech employment and innovation. It also highlights the necessity of additional policies to address RIS limitations.…”

Do New Firms Boost Local Innovation? Evidence From Turkey

“…While market based incentives are crucial to understand local differences in innovation, public policy and the flexible incentive regimes to support innovation are also vital (Gössling and Rutten 2007; Antonioli et al 2014; Sanso-Navarro and Vera-Cabello 2018; Silva et al 2021). We have to highlight that market and public incentives to boost innovation are effective under certain conditions.…”

“…Cooke et al (2002) also argue that urbanization is an additional dimension that needs attention for constructing policies to boost local innovation. Additionally, market based externalities (Kogler et al 2018) and public incentives (Gössling and Rutten 2007; Silva et al 2021) are crucial aspects of innovation disparities. On the other hand, contemporary discussions also underline that firm and region level networks (Whittington et al 2009; Breschi and Lenzi 2016) and technological relatedness, complexity (Castaldi et al 2015; Pinheiro et al 2022; Boschma et al 2023) are also important factors affecting the local innovation.…”

Coesão e Inovação Territorial

“…Embora a mudança seja permanente, os últimos anos têm sido particularmente intensos na velocidade e complexidade da transformação, com compressão espacial (Harvey, 1990), aceleração temporal (Giddens, 1999(Giddens, /2006, crescente mobilidade e tempos de lazer (Madanipour, 2017) e as pandemias COVID-19 a desempenharem um papel decisivo. No entanto, o ritmo e intensidade das mudanças, bem como um conjunto de respostas inadequadas ou insuficientes por parte das entidades públicas que governam e planeiam, tem promovido assimetrias de natureza diversa, reforçando a importância de políticas públicas mais eficazes e eficientes, orientadas para a promoção da inovação e coesão territorial (Balland et al, 2015;Pires et al, 2020;Sá Marques et al, 2018;Silva et al, 2021).…”