Regional advantage and the geography of networks: Explaining global–local knowledge sourcing patterns

Abstract

There is a dearth of systematic evidence concerning the extent to which being located in economically advantaged regions assists firms in accessing knowledge from global sources. This paper explores the issue by utilizing data from a survey of firms in the UK. It shows that local knowledge sourcing widely assists firms in economically advantaged regions by acting as a springboard for international knowledge sourcing, whilst this is not the case for their counterparts in disadvantaged regions. The analysis suggests that the springboard effect and the geography of external knowledge networks are associated with regional economic context.

Hierarchical Characteristics and Proximity Mechanism of Intercity Innovation Networks: A Case of 290 Cities in China

“…Innovation is a process of strong interactive learning and communication along with the obvious characteristics of knowledge exchange and transfer, particularly tacit knowledge, and requires frequent face-to-face interactions among innovation actors [41,42]. Huggins et al [43] also pointed out that the springboard effect and the geography of external knowledge networks are associated with the regional economic context, Capone and Lazzeretti [12]; Knoben [44] underlined the heterogeneous impact of various forms of proximity on the different relationships and the strong impact of social ties on innovation.…”

Unpacking the provision of the industrial commons in Industry 4.0 cluster

“…At the same time, fresh outside input, for instance, thanks to the arrival of MNEs can boost the IC's regeneration. These commons, or more broadly, the regional economic context, can act as a springboard in external knowledge networks (Huggins, Izushi, & Prokop, 2019). The more advanced the commons in a given region, the better they are equipped to tap into foreign advanced regions and their sources.…”

Speed dating: an effective tool for technology transfer in a fragmented regional innovation system?

“…Most of the current conceptual approaches in the sphere of regional development deal with the collaboration between companies and research organizations (including universities). Such conceptual approaches include, for example, the concept of 'differentiated knowledge bases' (Asheim and Getler 2005;Asheim et al 2007;Boschma 2017;Květoň and Kadlec 2018;Grillitsch et al 2019b), local buzz and global pipelines (Bathelt et al 2004;Bathelt 2007;Huggins et al 2019;Grillitsch et al 2019a), or Triple Helix (Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff 2000;Leydesdorff 2018). However, the regional innovation systems approach (Cooke et al 1997;Cooke 2007;Coenen et al 2017;Isaksen et al 2018) seems particularly useful in terms of research and practice, as this approach to a large extent represents the synthesis of the above-mentioned approaches.…”