Measuring Regional Innovation and Entrepreneurship Capabilities

Abstract

With the rise of internationalization and rapid industrial transformation, the maintenance of regional innovation and entrepreneurship has become an important issue, in the strategic planning of science parks. However, the measurement and prioritization of regional innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities has been largely neglected. Having reviewed four theoretical building blocks: (1) creative class, (2) intellectual capital, (3) regional innovation systems, and (4) industrial clusters, this paper develops an integrated FIEC framework, with four dimensions (financing, innovation and cluster, entrepreneurship and culture) and 15 indicators to measure regional innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities. Based on a dataset of 46 completed questionnaires, an overall 46% response rate, these dimensions and indicators were prioritized using AHP (analytic hierarchy process) analysis. The results show that: (1) the innovation and cluster dimension is the most important of the four dimensions; (2) the top three indicators “Completeness of upstream–downstream industries”, “Assistance of incubators” and “Abundance talent pools” are the most important of the 15 indicators; (3) within each dimension, “abundance of venture capital” is the most important indicator in the financing dimension, “completeness of upstream–downstream industries” is the most important indicator in the innovation and cluster dimension, “assistance of incubators” is the most important indicator in the entrepreneurship dimension and “self-employed culture” is the most important indicator in the regional culture dimension. These results show the importance of maintaining healthy regional innovation capabilities, for Science Park Administrations, on the island of Taiwan and elsewhere.