Global and Regional Dynamics in Knowledge Flows and Innovation

Global and Regional Dynamics in Knowledge Flows and Innovation
Author: Chris Van Egeraat
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2015-10-14
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1317682106

Innovation, which in essence is the generation of knowledge and its subsequent application in the marketplace in the form of novel products and processes, has become the key concept in inquiries concerning the contemporary knowledge based economy. Geography plays a decisive role in the underlying processes that enable and support knowledge formation and diffusion activities. Place specific characteristics are considered especially important in this context, however, more recently investigation into innovative capacity of places has also turned its attention to external knowledge inputs through innovation networks, and increasingly recognize the evolutionary character of the processes that lead to knowledge creation and subsequent application in the marketplace. The chapters that comprise this book are embedded at the intersection of the dynamic processes of knowledge production and creative destruction. The first three contributions all discuss the role of global innovation networks, in the context of territorial and/or sectoral dynamics, while the following two chapters investigate the evolution of regional or metropolitan knowledge economies. The final three contributions adopt a knowledge base approach in order to provide insight into the organisation of innovation networks and spatiality of knowledge flows. This book was published in a special issue of European Planning Studies.

Platforms of Innovation

Platforms of Innovation
Author: Philip Cooke
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1849806578

This is a book of high interest for scholars, practitioners and policymakers interested in innovation, knowledge flows and respective policies. A number of well known authors investigate drivers of innovation, the dynamics of networks, and the role of platforms in both high and low-tech sectors applying a framework of knowledge capability, knowledge phases and "worlds of production" amongst others. Investigated sectors include food and drinks, tourism, automotive industry, ICT, media, KIBS, and biotechnology. Examples of private and public policy platforms illustrate the theme

When is Regional “Beautiful”?

When is Regional “Beautiful”?
Author: Bjorn Asheim
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2013-10-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317982185

This book focuses on the importance of geography and space in explaining knowledge flows, entrepreneurship and innovation. During the last few decades spatial perspectives have enjoyed a growing attention outside the specific discipline of geography both in academic economics and among practitioners of policy and planning. This book constitutes a selection of empirical contributions based on data from Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The studies address issues of the characteristics of intra- vs. interregional knowledge flows (Weterings and Ponds), the restructural process when a large pharmaceutical (Pharmacia) closes activities (Dahlgren and Valentin), the different structure of university-industry relationships in three countries with differential types of universities (Broström, McKelvey and Sandström), the locational organization of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) in a metropolitan region (Shearmur and Doloreux), the background of individuals in KIBS start-ups (Andersson and Hellerstedt) and give a critical scrutiny of attempts to create Regional Innovation Systems (Nuur, Gustavsson and Laestadius). The contributions thus address relevant contemporary issues regarding the structure of the service economy, the role of academia, and renewal of industries. They provide valuable information, useful to policy-makers, planners and academics.

The Economics of Knowledge Generation and Distribution

The Economics of Knowledge Generation and Distribution
Author: Pier Paolo Patrucco
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2014-09-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1136755276

Contemporary capitalistic systems have been undergoing profound transformations determined by the transition towards the so-called knowledge based economy, i.e. a competitive system based on the capabilities firms have to create, use and circulate knowledge. These transformations concern both the characteristics of productive and innovative processes, and the resources used in these activities. This book captures these changes, where traditional R&D investments undertaken internally by firms are increasingly and strategically complemented by external sources of innovation and new knowledge. Collaborations between firms, and between firms and other organizations, as well as the mobility of human capital, are strategic processes in order to share and circulate knowledge and competencies. They are also key determinants in the creation of new knowledge and innovation, and ultimately in growth dynamics. The circulation and distribution of knowledge is now a key input in the production of knowledge. Knowledge and innovation are understood as the result of collective and interactive processes at the system level, and less at the micro level. In other words, new knowledge production is less and less the result of individualistic behaviours of the firms and much more the effect of explicit and pro-active interactions and transactions put in place by local networks of innovators. In this perspective, economic space is much more defined by the quality of the interactions among actors rather than by their mere technological, sectoral or geographical proximity. This book brings together new conceptual and empirical contributions and blends the analysis of the technological and geographical spaces in which innovation and knowledge are produced.

The Dynamics of Global Technology and Knowledge Flows

The Dynamics of Global Technology and Knowledge Flows
Author: Jennifer Brant
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre:
ISBN:

This paper is intended to provide policymakers with an overview of how technology and knowledge flow at the regional and global levels. After presenting the economic role of knowledge as well as a number of basic concepts related to its dissemination, this paper identifies certain pre-requisites for successful knowledge transfer. It subsequently discusses various channels for transfer and diffusion, including integration by firms in global value chains, participation by public and private actors in knowledge networks, and the movement of skilled individuals among institutions and across geographic regions. Throughout, the paper highlights the gradual nature of knowledge diffusion, as well as the role of collaboration in the generation, dissemination, and adaptation of innovative solutions. Finally, the paper identifies the types of policy environments that may best attract and accelerate knowledge flows, suggesting certain actions that policymakers can take to improve their region's innovative capacity.

Regions, Globalization, and the Knowledge-Based Economy

Regions, Globalization, and the Knowledge-Based Economy
Author: John H. Dunning
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 521
Release: 2000-09-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0191522473

What are the links between the impact of increasing globalization and the advent of the knowledge economy on the spatial distribution of economic activity? How can we explain the paradox of growing trans-nationalization of the production of goods and services and the tendency for certain kinds of activity–particularly knowledge intensive activities - to be concentrated or clustered in one place? In this changing environment how do firms make decisions about location, and the development and deployment of their distinctive capabilities? These are some of the important questions addressed in this volume by a team of leading international scholars looking at these dynamics in broad scope. The book presents different disciplinary approaches to the knowledge economy viewed from an international perspective, and includes detailed case analysis of its impact in different parts of the world. It moves between the supra- national macro region and the micro cluster, as well as looking at associated infrastructural and policy responses. This is a rich and informative book that attempts to explain some of the key dynamics and characteristics of the new global economy. It will be essential reading for academics in business, economics, geography and political science wanting to get to grips with current thinking and developments.

Working Regions

Working Regions
Author: Jennifer Clark
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2013-05-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1135923841

Working Regions focuses on policy aimed at building sustainable and resilient regional economies in the wake of the global recession. Using examples of four ‘working regions’ — regions where research and design functions and manufacturing still coexist in the same cities — the book argues for a new approach to regional economic development. It does this by highlighting policies that foster innovation and manufacturing in small firms, focus research centers on pushing innovation down the supply chain, and support dynamic, design-driven firm networks. This book traces several key themes underlying the core proposition that for a region to work, it has to link research and manufacturing activities — namely, innovation and production — in the same place. Among the topics discussed in this volume are the issues of how the location of research and development infrastructure produces a clear role of the state in innovation and production systems, and how policy emphasis on pre-production processes in the 1990s has obscured the financialization of intellectual property. Throughout the book, the author draws on examples from diverse industries, including the medical devices industry and the US photonics industry, in order to illustrate the different themes of working regions and the various institutional models operating in various countries and regions.

Knowledge Externalities, Innovation Clusters and Regional Development

Knowledge Externalities, Innovation Clusters and Regional Development
Author: Jordi Suriñach
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1847207170

This book begins with a theoretical examination of regional innovation systems, agglomeration economics and knowledge spillovers, before going on to examine the same concepts within an empirical framework. Special emphasis is given to the importance of proximity in the formation of regional innovation systems. It concludes by considering innovation and human capital as determinants of regional economic growth. The concept of knowledge spillovers is used within the book to explain a number of major economic phenomena, including the geographical clustering of inventions; the social returns to R&D that significantly exceed private returns; and the sizeable disproportions that exist between firms in terms of their R&D inputs and outputs. The contributors identify that small firms are responsible for far more product innovations than large firms relative to their measurable knowledge resources. The book also stresses the importance of a catch-up mechanism that sees technological improvement as the combination of two distinct types of activity: innovation and imitation. In this way, the impact of human capital and other types of knowledge acquisition on economic growth is measured. The conclusions of the contributors are invaluably oriented to policy implications. This book will appeal to researchers and postgraduate students of regional science and innovation and knowledge, as well as policymakers.