System Failures, Knowledge Bases and Regional Innovation Policies

Abstract

Regional innovation strategies rank on the top of public policy agendas today. There is a widespread consensus in both academic and policy circles that standardised "best practice" innovation policy models suffer from severe limitations and major shortcomings. The recent literature is replete with claims that regional innovation policies should be place-based and context-sensitive, taking into consideration the specificities of regions and their distinctive preconditions and capacities for innovation. Various conceptual approaches and theories support such a view. This paper discusses two concepts, which have a particularly strong potential for informing a differentiated regional innovation policy approach; the regional innovation system (RIS) theory and the knowledge base concept. The RIS literature highlights the importance of the organisational and institutional setting of a region and suggests that system deficiencies or failures should constitute the starting point for designing regional innovation policies. The differentiated knowledge base approach stresses that regional industries differ strongly in the underlying knowledge bases and, as a consequence, in their policy needs. We elaborate on the policy implications that originate from these concepts and argue that tailor-made regional innovation policies should consider both region-specific institutional setups and knowledge bases.

Female entrepreneurs in nature-based businesses: working conditions, well-being, and everyday life situation

“…This finding is similar to that of previous studies by Tödtling andTrippl (2011) andNauwelaers (2011). In line with Martin and Trippl (2014), regional innovation policies must adopt a holistic approach where the peculiarities and capacities of the region are taken into account.…”

“…These results indicate that the support system in Sweden, which almost exclusively is targeted at innovative entrepreneurs (Martin & Trippl, 2014), will apply only to a minority of the entrepreneurs within nature-based businesses.…”

“…According to Cooke et al (2011), innovation as a competitive strategy has never been more important than it is today. Martin and Trippl (2014) emphasise, however, the importance of a holistic approach and highlight that regional innovation policy must take into account the context and the peculiarities of the region when providing funding. It might be problematic to find an innovation system that has a "one-size-fitsall" policy (Nauwelaers, 2011;Tödtling & Trippl, 2011).…”

Avaliación do impacto do Programa Fondo Tecnolóxico 2007-2013 en Galicia: resultados, concentración das axudas e fugas de recursos

“…Na literatura de sistemas rexionais de innovación está claramente asentada a idea de que a dimensión rexional permite definir políticas de innovación máis acaídas para apoiar a competitividade do seu tecido produtivo, debido a que conta cun mellor coñecemento das súas necesidades e capacidades, o que permite afinar os instrumentos e medidas para reforzar a interacción entre o tecido industrial e os demais elementos do sistema rexional de innovación (Brujin e Lagendijk, 2005;Cooke, 1998;Martin e Trippl, 2013;Vence, 1998Vence, , 2007. Así mesmo, existe un consenso xeneralizado de que non existe unha política de innovación estándar que poida ser aplicada a todo tipo de rexións (Asheim, Moodysson e Tödtling, 2011;Boschma, 2009;Camagni e Capello, 2012;Foray, David e Hall, 2009;Foray e Van Ark, 2007;Isaksen, 2001;McCann e Ortega-Argilés, 2011;Nauwelaers e Wintjes, 2003;Tödtling e Trippl, 2005).…”

Capabilities in knowledge-based regional development – towards a dynamic framework

“…Secondly, according to our interviews, an increasingly important issue on the organizational level is to have versatile, complementary sets of knowledge. As recent literature suggests, regions and various industries differ in terms of the type of knowledge that is critical to innovation, and so, it tends to be characterized with different degrees by these knowledge bases (see Asheim, Boschma, & Cooke, 2011;Asheim & Coenen, 2005;Martin & Trippl, 2014). The interviewees note that recognition of different knowledge bases and how these are linked to innovation activities and actors in the region is very critical for effective policies (cf.…”