Innovation and ICT use by firms and households in the EU

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existence of patterns that combine innovation and information and communication technologies (ICT) use, and the factors explaining them in the European Union. Design/methodology/approach The authors use data for firms and households at the regional level in the EU-27. Factorial and cluster analyses are used to the determine combined patterns for both dimensions and to elaborate a taxonomy of the European regions, respectively. Finally, the multiple discriminant analysis serves to identify the factors that characterize the patterns detected. Findings The results show the existence of three regional clusters that capture different combinations of patenting and ICT use. Research and development (R&D) expenditure in the business sector, government quality, gross domestic product per capita, the number of researchers, and employment by the highest level of education attained are the key variables explaining the disparities in innovation and ICT use in the European regions. Research limitations/implications The conclusions point to the key role played by business R&D and knowledge resources within an institutional framework that facilitates actions oriented to benefiting regions through both knowledge creation and knowledge diffusion derived from the combined activities of innovation and ICT use. Originality/value The paper provides for the first time a characterization of the European regions that jointly considers innovation and ICT use. It also contributes to the literature by exploring differences in ICT use by households and firms, and the factors explaining them. The study can provide new insights into the design of public policies that may consider the common factors that explain combinations of innovation and technology use.

Measurement and characterisation of the Digital Divide of Spanish regions at enterprise level. A comparative analysis with the European context

“…However, as explained in the introduction, the regional studies (NUTS2) in Europe on the level of adoption and use of ICTs in enterprises and, therefore, of the DD are very scarce. In this context, the recent contributions of Billon et al (2016Billon et al ( , 2017aBillon et al ( and 2017b are highlighted. They address, at NUTS1 regional scale, the use of ICTs by households and enterprises providing geographic patterns both of the association between the use of ICTs in households and enterprises in the regions and the relationship between the use of ICTs and regional innovation.…”

“…This information is used as indicator of the ICTs of European enterprises (Martin and Omrani 2015). Billon et al (2016Billon et al ( , 2017aBillon et al ( and 2017b point out that only 2 variables can be used to measure the ICTs in the enterprises at NUTS1 scale: "Employees regularly using a computer at work" (percentage of individuals); "Employees regularly using Internet at work" (percentage of individuals). For this last indicator, the authors show: a) the presence of differences in the use of internet by enterprises among European regions (NUTS 1); b) that a clear geographic pattern cannot be identified between north/south and east/west European regions.…”

Technological, institutional, and geographical peripheries: regional development and risk of poverty in the European regions

“…To this end, the first set of studies considered technology and R&D activities as the main factors that may lead lagging regions to increase growth. Despite the consideration of technology as a growth driver, studies on ICT use at the regional level have not considered the existence of heterogeneous agents (i.e., households, firms, and governments) that may result in different ICT trajectories and asymmetric regional growth (Billon et al 2017 ). Martínez and Rodríguez ( 2009 ) study the impact of ICT-related equipment on regional economic growth for the case of Andalusia, a Spanish Southern region, during the period between 1995 and 2006 and find that ICT has contributed to increasing both GDP and labor productivity.…”

“…Therefore, it is necessary to complement this variable with other indicators of ICT penetration in the region. Second, we follow other studies (Vicente and López 2011 ; Billón et al 2017 ) by using ICT variables related to households: the percentage of households with access to the Internet—to measure the quantity—and the percentage of households with broadband access—as a measure of the quality (speed).…”

How Efficient Is the Implementation of Structural Funds Committed to Enhancing ICT Adoption in SMEs?

“…Because of the absence of data on ICT adoption at the firm level from traditional data sources at the NUTS2 level [50,55,57], we ended up using, in the second stage of the analysis, indicators available from the Regional Innovation Scoreboard in 2021 [75]. The indicators were selected according to the literature review on the main determinants that influence ICT adoption in EU SMEs (see Table 1).…”