Innovation Poles

Abstract

Innovative activities have dual impacts – known as the ‘process of creative destruction’. Innovations ‘destroy’ traditional production opportunities, but ‘create’ new ones. To organize innovation activities into an evolutionary process, it is necessary to investigate how to coordinate them. This includes analysis of the synergistic effects of different technological activities in specific areas or institutions. In this paper, starting from the concept of economic growth poles, the general economic arguments for innovation poles as a means of using synergy and coordinating innovation activities are outlined. The opportunities and problems in applying the concept of innovation poles in practical economic policy are then demonstrated, with empirical data from Japan and Germany. The research on which this paper is based was carried out in light of the promising experiences of R&D and technology transfer in Japan and the need for innovation and risk capital investment in Germany, especially in East Germany.