The Role of Universities in the Innovation Systems in the Developing Countries

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to present the organizational and economic potential of innovative entrepreneurship in the strategic development of the regional economy. Methodology of the research. The following research methods are used to achieve such purpose: theoretical synthesis, analysis, abstract and logical - to reveal the relationship of entrepreneurship, innovation and strategic development of regions in the context of achieving sustainable development goals; interpretation and comparison - to determine the prospects for increasing the innovative activity of enterprises in the region; tabular and graphical - for a visual presentation of Ukraine's ranking of GII, the dynamics of training highly qualified scientific personnel and the cost of research and development. Findings. It has been established that dreams about the transition of Ukraine from a low-tech resource to a high-tech innovative economy are pinned on innovative entrepreneurship, which ensures qualitative structural changes in the economy in favour of knowledge-intensive types of economic activity. It is substantiated that, unfortunately, Ukraine is inferior to neighbouring states in terms of innovative indicators, taking 30th place among 39 European countries. There is a growing gap between the national economy and European countries. The main indicators of the innovative potential of the regions, which correspond to the trends, of the rating of Ukraine according to the global index of innovations are analysed. The expediency of the formation and development of entrepreneurial regional innovation systems has been determined. Originality. The substantiation of the feasibility of the development of entrepreneurial regional innovation systems, the feature of which is mobility and the ability to quickly and adequately respond to changes in external conditions of functioning, was further developed. Practical value. Proposals substantiated in the research can be used by authorities, educational institutions and business structures for the development of regional innovation systems. Key words: potential, innovation, entrepreneurship, competition, strategy, regions.

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses the role of smart specialization in catalyzing the development of early-stage regional innovation systems in less advanced regions, either by facilitating the emergence of some defining elements that were lacking or accelerating the development of others, such as: a regional knowledge base and a dynamic learning process, institutional structures, network integration mechanisms among key innovation actors, regional industrial specializations, and collective identities. The paper exemplifies this process with the case of Romania, a country where the research and innovation system is centralized at national level and regional innovation systems are in the early days. The transformations taking place in the Romanian regions within the process of implementing smart specialization, assisted by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre in the project “Targeted Support to Smart Specialization in Romania”, suggest a dynamic coagulation of institutional, financial, policy, and human factors that catalyzed the development of regional innovation systems in the country and introduced a novel approach to innovation policy.

This paper develops a framework for analysing the role of innovation policy in regional innovation system (RIS) development. It specifically focuses on the influence of policy on a set of enabling conditions for RIS that have not been taken fully into account in previous innovation policy studies. Drawing on relevant literature on innovation systems, such as innovation policy, triple helix and policy mix etc., the enabling conditions for RIS development identified include both tangible and intangible dimensions of regional contexts, hinging around a range of wider institutional backdrops. The framework proposed provides an effective analytical tool for innovation policy evaluation and for designing innovation policies.

The gradual transformation of the regional economy has led to the creation of innovative systems. Innovative systems are an important link in the modification of the regional economy. Firstly, innovative systems form the technological economy. Secondly, innovative systems provide the necessary level of development of the region. These circumstances shape the relevance of the topic of a scientific article. The purpose of the scientific article is to consider the ways of formation and development of regional innovation systems. The objectives of a scientific article are to examine the methodological level of research of regional innovation systems; to define the definitional gradation of the notion “regional innovation system”; to identify the features of the regional innovation system; to suggest ways of forming regional innovation systems; to form the ways of implementation of regional innovation systems. The methodical research tools based on basic and additional scientific methods. The basic scientific methods include the definition and bibliographic method, the axiomatic method, the method of species structurization, the method of implication of circumstances. The additional scientific methods include the method of conceptual gradation, the method of systematic exposure, and the method of complex energy.

Regional innovation systems (RIS) have made a considerable contribution on the one hand to a scientific understanding of how innovation occurs and on the other hand as a political tool for stimulation of regional development. The aim of the article is to illuminate this theoretical approach by discussing the role of regional innovation systems in promoting innovation in the dairy (meieri) industry in Norway, and further, by discussing regional consequences of the development of regional innovation systems. The main conclusion is that it is hard to find regional innovation systems within the dairy industry in Norway; the mainstream milk sector is nationally oriented. Within farm processing and a few ‘countercurrent’ dairy firms, however, a stronger relation to regional networks emerges. Development of regional innovation systems is a kind of endogenous development that presupposes there are local and regional resources available, which often is not the case. Hence, a one-sided commitment to regional innovation systems will result in regional disparities in economic growth. Varied strategies for innovation and for regional development can compensate for these disparities.

Development of regional innovation system (RIS) and its role in regional development is a debated research topic. Most of the theoretical and empirical works are traditionally focused on RIS situated within a national context and applies institutional theory. Recently the application of RIS concept was debated in relation to cross-border settings. Extending this line of research, we aim to study the role of entrepreneurship in one particular industry – cleantech – in the development of a cross-border RIS using the example of Øresund, Swedish-Danish transnational region. Eighteen interviews with regional stakeholders related to academia, business and administration were conducted. Our findings reveal that in order for innovations in cleantech to be realised, the efforts of entrepreneurs are necessary to promote knowledge spillover from research institutes and ‘locked’ systems into business environments. Further, encouraging research-based innovations related to social sciences significantly extends the possibility of building robust RIS.

Рассматривается задача определения устойчивость развития региональных инновационных систем с учетом влияния человеческого капитала. Рассматривается генезис теорий экономического развития, влияющий на формирование инновационного пути. Предлагается алгоритм оценки качества функционирования региональной инновационной системы. Разработаны и сгруппированы индикаторы анализа инновационного потенциала региона с учетом развития человеческого потенциала. Выявлен подход, позволяющий учесть, как в процедуре оценки положительное или отрицательное влияние оказывает тот или иной фактор на качество экономического развития региональных инновационных систем, роль влияния человеческого потенциала, исходя из смысла или природы относящегося к нему индикатора. Предложена методика количественной оценки качества экономического развития региональных инновационных систем с учетом влияния на формирование человеческого потенциала.

Amid growing inter-state competition, national innovation policies are increasingly seeking to promote the development of regional innovation systems to intensify innovative processes and to enhance the economic competitiveness of territories. An efficient regional innovation policy requires a territorial adaptive approach to the development of mechanisms for innovating socio-spatial systems. These mechanisms should take into account the specific features and inalienable resources of territories. Whereas regional innovation systems are becoming increasingly acknowledged in public administration as versatile, the stage of a system life cycle, which is an equally important factor, often escapes managerial attention. In this article, I analyse the innovation system of the Kaliningrad region at its inception. The Kaliningrad case is of considerable interest for a study into the patterns and characteristics of the governance of innovation systems — a management paradigm aimed to promote regional development during a change in their functioning mode. In this work, I analyse the current structure of the Kaliningrad regional innovation system, of which some elements date back to the Soviet period, paying particular attention to the subsequent change in the framework conditions. I show that a new innovation trajectory requires taking into account the economic and geographical position of the region, its level of socio-economic development and economic specialization. My findings could contribute to both improving the national policy on managing innovation processes in Russian regions and developing the concept of regional innovation systems as regards research into their life cycle stages.

The role of universities in regional innovation has evolved over the last 20 years. This evolution has seen the emergence of a third role of universities that has re-shaped and transformed their two traditional functions of teaching and research. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for analysing variation in the roles performed by universities in the development of regional innovation systems. This framework is based on the triple helix model of university, industry, government relations, the literature on university engagement and the innovation systems literature, more generally. The framework is applied to a comparative study of three non core-metropolitan universities in Australia. A number of insights and issues are drawn in regard to conceptualising the role of universities in regional systems.

This paper explores the state of the literature on the role that universities perform in the development of regional innovation systems. The predominant focus in the literature has been on institutional analysis of university-industry technology transfer. This is important but tends to underestimate the potentially broad-based 'third role' of universities in regional systems, as well as exploring the nature of, and possible explanations for, differences in the roles that uni-versities perform in different regional settings. An analytical framework is proposed for considering the nature of the role of universities in the development of regional innovation systems and explanation of variation in the roles performed by universities in different regional settings.

The article comprises a set of theoretical and practical suggestions about the development of regional innovation system in the Republic of Tatarstan and realization of regional innovation policy according to strengths and weak of the environment. To understand the opportunities and threats toTatarstan innovation system comparative analysis with Volga federal district regions was hold. As a result the overall ranking of Volga federal district regions was made. Further improvement of Tatarstan innovation system was described by SWOT-analysis. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1s3p317

The article is devoted to the problems of the study of regional innovation systems, the development of which is one of the most important factors of economic growth. Goal. Determine the most effective factors for the development of regional innovation systems in various theoretical and methodological concepts of territorial planning. Tasks. Analyze domestic and foreign approaches to the formation of regional innovation systems and their subsequent development. To identify the most relevant concepts of innovative development of regions, applicable in modern conditions of scientific and technological progress. Determine the possibilities of applying global theoretical approaches and practical experience in the construction of innovation systems in the regions of Russia. Methodology. In the course of the study, comparative and retrospective types of analysis were used in relation to the processes of theories and concepts of innovative development at the regional level. The methodological basis of the study was the concept of the «knowledge economy», the application of which made it possible to identify the high importance of building up and diffusion of knowledge in the regional innovation process. Results. It was revealed that for Russia and its regions to enter the next stage of economic development, innovations and innovative activities should play a leading role. One of the main priorities of regional development should be the formation of an innovative infrastructure, the basis will be the creation of conditions for supporting small and medium-sized innovative enterprises based on business incubators, venture financing, information, consulting and legal support for business entities. Direct support of the innovation system should include the introduction of preferential tax regimes for enterprises in this sector and the provision of state preferences. Conclusions. By now, there has already been a transition from understanding the dominant role of innovation in the development of any socio-economic system to the target formation of public and private institutions of innovation, called national and regional innovation systems. In this regard, it is necessary to further modernize management approaches and practices to the process of state support for innovation.

At the present stage one of the most important factors in the economic growth of Russian regions is the production processes modernization based on the best available technologies (hereinafter—BAT), ensuring the reduction of the negative impact on the environment in cost-effective ways. The most important conditions for the successful implementation of BAT at regional enterprises is the creation of general institutional conditions at the all-Russian level and the supply of enterprises with domestic technologies meeting the criteria of the best available technology. Over the past several years, large-scale work has been carried out in Russia to amend legislation, prepare BAT reference documents, and form the institutional conditions for their implementation. However, sustainable outcomes in specific regions will require the further development of regional innovation systems, consistent with the needs of local enterprises in BAT. The article proposes a general regional mechanism for managing the sustainable development of an innovation system based on BAT. For its successful implementation, a set of practical recommendations for the Rostov region has been formed. Within the framework of the innovation regional infrastructure it was proposed to create a new institute for the implementation of BAT—the Regional BAT competence center, priority areas for the development of potential and promising BAT in the region were identified, a general pattern of interaction of the Regional BAT competence center with other participants in the process was developed.

The main aim of this research was to search for relevant indicators and effective instruments for modeling the impact and institutional management of the regional innovation system for its balanced development. The objective of the study was to justify approaches for institutional management elaboration for balanced sustainable development of regional innovation systems regarding related factors and the needs of the region. The methodology of cognitive modeling and scenario impulse modeling are used for the analysis of the interconnection between the regional innovation system and higher education institutions and developing an instrument to diagnose the problems of no-congruence and improving the institutional management elaboration in the regional innovation policy. The analysis of system indicators of the cognitive map allowed to define the basic patterns in the regional system, determine the most significant factors and relationships for the economic system of the region and visualize them in the form of a cognitive map, identify the influence of the innovation environment elements on the target indicators, quantify its positive and negative impact, forecast and determine the directions of its improvement and enhancing the interaction of regional actors. The results of the study have practical value for use in improving institutional management in planning reforms and transformations of regional innovation systems.

The green technology innovation system is a fundamental method for China to achieve its goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Clarifying the relationship between two-way foreign direct investment (FDI) synergy and regional green technology innovation is key to the green transformation and sustainable development of regional innovation systems. Based on panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2009 to 2020, a threshold-panel-regression technique is used. Command-controlled environmental regulation (CER), market-incentive environmental regulation (MER), and public-participation environmental regulation (PER) are taken as threshold variables, and the threshold effect of two-way FDI synergy on regional green technology innovation under heterogeneous environmental regulation is empirically explored. The results show the following. (i) The effects of two-way FDI synergy on regional green technology innovation exhibit significant threshold characteristics with heterogeneous environmental regulation as a double threshold. (ii) As the threshold values of CER and PER increase, the promoting effect of two-way FDI synergy on regional green technology innovation first increases and then decreases. (iii) As the MER threshold value increases, the promoting effect of two-way FDI synergy on regional green technology innovation continues to increase. (iv) Under the medium-threshold condition of PER, the promoting effect of two-way FDI synergy reaches its greatest value. (v) The intensity of intellectual property protection, the number of regional innovation institutions, and the level of transportation infrastructure all have significant positive effects on regional green technology innovation, and the number of regional innovation institutions exhibits the greatest promoting effect. This study provides new insights into two-way FDI synergy and methods to promote green technology innovation, and these findings can help the government formulate future policies and strategies to promote regional green technology innovation.