Geography Of Innovation Research Articles

Amenities and the geography of innovation: evidence from Chinese cities

Studies in the regional innovation literature have largely focused on the role of economic, structural, demographic, and institutional factors, but very few studies shed light on the role of amenities. This paper investigates this question by examining how amenities shape the geography of innovation in China. The empirical results based on city-level data suggest that both natural and consumer amenities are positively associated with regional innovation. Specifically, amenities related to air quality, sunshine, public transportation, educational resources, and healthcare services matter most. Further, the analysis suggests the influence of amenities on innovation is closely linked to city characteristics such as income, density, and human capital. Therefore, to formulate innovation-driven growth, these results suggest that more attention should be paid to the role of amenities and amenity-related strategies should be tailored to city characteristics.

Theoretical and Practical Issues of Innovation Research: Social Innovation in Hungary

In recent decades, innovation research has played an important role in exploring the drivers of local and regional economic development. Nowadays, it is part of the generally accepted scientific canon that various forms of innovation (technological, business and social innovation) play a defining role in the economic development and competitiveness of cities, regions and countries. The context above points out that innovation is an important factor in the spatiality of society, but at the same time geography, more precisely geographical distance or proximity, is a determining element of innovation. In the present study, we provide an overview of the latest theoretical and empirical research developments in the “geography of innovation”, more precisely in the “geography of social innovation”, with application in Hungary. Keywords: social innovation, social innovation geography, regional development, geographical proximity

Epistemic prejudice and geographies of innovation

This article seeks to understand how and why certain locations are excluded from or seen as foreclosed as places of innovation and knowledge production in health research and practice. Rooted in several years of collaborative ethnographic research in Mississippi, we develop this conceptual framework to understand the persistence of – and often ineffective response to – racialized and classed health disparities. We define our concept of epistemic prejudice as a structural inability or resistance to seeing certain places, bodies, and locations as capable of knowledge production and innovation. The history of the community health center movement, paired with the portrayal of Mississippi in contemporary media representations, helps us develop our concept. We use an interface ethnography method as Mississippi scholars to demonstrate the importance of this model of research in understanding persistent inequality in places of ‘lack’, noting that the challenges of addressing health problems in Mississippi stem in part from epistemic prejudice of scholars, health care practitioners, and policy-makers. Epistemic prejudice has broader implications for how global health initiatives are implemented, how postcolonial frameworks still shape knowledge production, and how knowledge is generated and taken as authoritative.

Le « rêvalisable » : entreprendre l’innovation au service du territoire ?

En 2010, le cluster culturel des Articulteurs est lauréat du prix « grappes d’entreprises » décerné par la DATAR. Il ambitionne alors de donner corps au concept du « rêvalisable » en soutenant un projet de laboratoire expérimental d’entrepreneuriat collectif solidaire au service du développement du territoire rural. À l’étude de ce cas particulier, nous cherchons à comprendre comment un collectif peut entreprendre une innovation au service du territoire en « milieu solidaire ». Pour ce faire, nous démontrons que si la géographie de l’innovation est susceptible de nous apporter des éléments de compréhension, elle nécessite en complément une étude de la nature et des conditions d’évolution de l’entrepreneuriat collectif. Cet article rejoint, pour partie, une analyse critique des travaux de l’École de la Géographie Economique Evolutionniste.

Evolving geographies of innovation: existing paradigms, critiques and possible alternatives

ABSTRACTTheory development on the geographies of innovation has been very successful in incorporating the changing patterns of knowledge dynamics due to globalization, lifting the gaze beyond processes of localized learning and increasingly acknowledging the multilevel, multiscalar governance of innovation. Arguably less attention has been directed to the changing qualities and impacts of innovation as a result of globalization, notably in view of social polarization and climate change. The aim of the article is to provide suggestions for how research on the geography of innovation can be improved by engaging with a more capacious understanding of innovation and territorial development. The authors explore how socio-ecological innovation can be introduced in contemporary discussions and practices of place-based smart specialization policy. They conclude by suggesting that future research should address and interrogate (1) the rise of the foundational economy as an expression of place-based innovation, which entails new forms of co-governance, and (2) the challenge of experimentalism in the public sector, a sector that looms large in lagging regions and the places that were deemed not to matter until they took their revenge on the mainstream political system.

Economic geography of innovation in India: an empirical investigation

ABSTRACT Theory points toward geographical clustering of economic activity as an important determinant of innovation. A stylized fact about the Indian economy is the geographic concentration of both economic activity and innovation. The paper first analyses the spatial pattern of patent applications across Indian districts. Considering innovation to be a complex and collaborative process, this paper investigates the relevance of economic geography for innovation for all Indian districts. We estimate agglomeration economies by creating Herfindahl index, localization index and Access index for all districts. Using the count data model, we estimate the effect of agglomeration economies, knowledge spillovers along with other variables including R&D expenditure, human capital, institution and infrastructure in creating innovation. The results show a strong and statistically significant effect of the agglomeration variables on innovative activity in a district. R&D expenditures in own district and neighbouring districts also have a positive relationship with the number of patent applications. Moreover, institutions, infrastructure and local socio-economic conditions do matter for innovative activity.

Visual Analysis of Venture Similarity in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Entrepreneurial ecosystems are vital sources of innovation and critical engines for economic growth. In this study, we use text-based analysis, network visualizations, and topic modeling of nearly 60 000 venture business descriptions-i.e., how ventures present technologies and products to key stakeholders including customers, employees, and investors-to examine the structure of 35 global entrepreneurial ecosystems. Rather than using predefined industry classifications, we allow the structural configurations to emerge endogenously revealing a more variegated perspective of venture strategic positioning in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Our study makes several important contributions. First, by examining strategic positioning statements of geographically defined ventures, we contribute and advance our understanding of the geography of innovation and structure of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Our results indicate that there are wide differences in entrepreneurial ecosystem size, structure, composition, and venture strategic positioning. Second, methodologically, we use novel computational approaches and introduce visualization as a powerful means to understand entrepreneurial ecosystems. Third, our results show that ventures from widely different industries often use similar position statements, thus highlighting that ecosystems are indeed not just defined by industries, but also strategic positioning. We conclude with theoretical and managerial implications.

The New Geography of Innovation

As the lead for Digital Transformation of Industries at the World Economic Forum, Mehran Gul is examining the forces behind the emergence of innovation hubs.The United States has been the center of...

The peripheral systems of eco-innovation: Evidence from eco-innovative agro-food projects in a French rural area

Abstract A growing literature highlights the development of specific innovative patterns in peripheral areas and the need to better understand how and why firms can innovate despite the absence of agglomeration effects. These peripheral areas can, among other things, offer local resources (material and immaterial) for developing environmental innovations. Thus, the aim of this article is to gain a more in-depth understanding of innovation processes in peripheral areas by analyzing the dynamics of utilization of local (i.e. place-based) and extra-local resources for the building and development of eco-innovative projects. We adopt an evolutionary framework inspired by the literature on eco-innovation and geography of innovation, which articulates internal organizational factors and those external to eco-innovative organizations, including place-based factors. We use and enhance a mixed method borrowed from economic sociology that enables us to quantify the external resources utilized throughout the innovation process (nature, means of acquisition and location), through narrative analysis. We analyze five agro-food projects located in rural areas. Based on in-depth interviews, we identify 196 external resources that were utilized for developing these projects. We find that these projects are strongly embedded in their local environment and rely, to a large extent, on local resources and networks, which shows that, even in peripheral areas, the local context can be conducive to innovation. However, these eco-innovation processes are not confined to the local sphere; indeed, their stakeholders are able to tap into specific, more-distantly located resources and market opportunities, and do so increasingly as the projects develop. The results also point to the different roles of institutional and market actors in the acquisition of resources, according to their nature and location, and highlight the importance of institutional actors at the regional level.

Russian Technograds: The Technological Profiles of the Cities

The paper discusses the technological specialization and patent portfolios of the Russian ‘technograds’ - the cities which are the key actors in contributing to the development of new technologies in the country.A patent analysis used for the study allowed us to identify technological domains where these cities have a significant competitive advantage and high potential for further growth. According to the research-intensity of the domains prevailing in their technological specialization, the technograds might be divided into three categories: oriented towards mostly high technologies (Moscow, St Petersburg, Tomsk), low technologies (Krasnodar, Perm), and those with mixed specialization including both high and low tech (Voronezh, Ufa, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, and Samara). To achieve the aim of the research, a new methodological approach was elaborated upon to analyze patent data for individual cities and other smaller geographical units. As a result, the paper might be of interest not only for practitioners and decision makers on the regional and municipal levels, but also for researchers in the fields of regional economics, economic geography, and economics of science, technology, and innovation.

Knowledge Spillovers: An Evidence from The European Regions

The article deals with the issue of knowledge spillovers in the European regions. For this purpose, a standard Knowledge Production Function (KPF) approach was extended by the application of spatial econometrics methods. Our analysis started from the construction of the alternative structures of the spatial weight matrices. These matrices were based on technological and institutional proximities, which represent compelling alternatives to geographic proximity regarded as a kind of all-encompassing connectivity measure. The next step in our analysis was the modeling of regional knowledge generation processes. We treated R&D expenditures and human resources in science and technology as the input measures and patent applications to the European Patent Office as the output measure in our basic and extended models. The results show that the scope and direction of knowledge spillovers are sensitive to the type of knowledge (tacit vs. codified) and proximity dimension engaged. These findings contribute to the current debate in the geography of innovation and economics of knowledge literature.

Absorptive Capacity and Regional Innovation in China: an Analysis of Patent Applications, 2000–2015

Absorptive capacity is viewed as a critical “moderator” in the process of knowledge creation, while inadequate focus has yet been directed to systematically inspect the role of regional absorptive capacity in shaping the geography of innovation. By incorporating the conceptual framework of absorptive capacity into regional innovation studies, this paper moves a step forward by re-evaluating the determinants behind regional innovation in the context of China, especially focusing on the moderating effect of regional absorptive capacity and its heterogeneity across cities. Empirically, this study first traces the spatiotemporal dynamics of innovation in China from 2000 to 2015 with the aid of a multi-scalar Markov chain analysis. Next, it unveils the extent to which regional absorptive capacity moderates the relationships between regional innovation and its major determinants by running a set of panel quantile regressions. Results uncover that regional absorptive capacity - especially for industrial R&D, government support and FDI, also proved as the most critical factors that facilitate regional innovation in China - is revealed only in highly innovative cities but not in less innovative ones. In this light, regional absorptive capacity in China unexpectedly serves as a self-reinforcing mechanism solely for highly innovative cities, which further advances the current understanding of the rising regional inequality of innovation in China.

The Geography of Innovation in the Luxembourg Metropolitan Region: An Intra-Regional Approach

The main objective of the paper is to analyse the local determinants of innovation in the Luxembourg metropolitan region. We are particularly interested in the impact of the local milieu and characteristics of firms. Our paper addresses two specific research questions. Firstly, we examine the extent to which geographic space is a determinant of innovation for five intra-regional units based on an aggregation of municipalities. Secondly, we investigate whether innovation is dependent on accessibility to the mean centre. In both cases, we examine innovation propensity and innovation output using microdata from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS 2006) carried out in Luxembourg. The paper shows that space matters both in terms of spatial units and accessibility within the intra-regional context of Luxembourg. It provides, in particular, first evidence of a close link between the effects on innovation at the intra-regional level of firms‟ profiles and agglomeration externalities. Both favour innovation for firms from Luxembourg-City and, to a lesser extent, from the Suburban Area.

The Limits to Collaboration Across Four of the Most Innovative UK Industries

AbstractThis study demonstrates the importance and limits to external knowledge collaboration across different geographical dimensions and the most innovative UK industries (knowledge‐intensive business services (KIBS), high‐tech manufacturing, information and communication technologies (ICT), creative industries). Traditionally, this issue has presented a challenge for the geography of innovation, external knowledge sourcing and open innovation literatures, in terms of first identifying the phenomenon and second measuring it. We propose and estimate a structural model that estimates the knowledge production function with innovation inputs and outputs at the firm level. Our sample includes 19,510 observations and 17,859 firms, mainly from the UK Innovation Survey and the Business Registry. We demonstrate that external collaboration may bestow a significant advantage for innovation developed by the firm and in collaboration with other businesses, but there are limits to collaboration. They are likely to be better offset by firms in knowledge‐intense sectors (KIS), while they remain consistent across collaboration with partners across four geographical regions. Our findings call for further research on innovation and revision of national and regional innovation policies.

Urban geography and scaling of contemporary Indian cities.

This paper attempts to create a first comprehensive analysis of the integrated characteristics of contemporary Indian cities, using scaling and geographical analysis over a set of diverse indicators. We use data of urban agglomerations in India from the Census 2011 and from a few other sources to characterize patterns of urban population density, infrastructure, urban services, crime and technological innovation. Many of the results are in line with expectations from urban theory and with the behaviour of analogous quantities in other urban systems in both high and middle-income nations. India is a continental scale, fast developing urban system, and consequently there are also a number of interesting exceptions and surprises related to both particular quantities and strong regional patterns of variation. Specifically, these relate to the potential salience of gender and caste in driving sub-linear scaling of crime and to the geography of technological innovation. We characterize these patterns in detail for crime and invention, and connect them to the existing literature on their determinants in a specifically Indian context. The paucity of data at the urban level and the absence of official definitions for functional cities in India create a number of limitations and caveats to any present analysis. We discuss these shortcomings and spell out the challenge for a systematic statistical data collection relevant to cities and urban development in India.

Supporting the regional development in the knowledge economy: the adoption of a system dynamic approach in Ghana

The adoption of a systemic and dynamic approach to innovation is a significant feature in the debate on regional development in the knowledge economy. The innovation ecosystems arise as suitable environment to address the challenges for the competitiveness of national systems as well as their successful positioning in the geography of innovation. This highlights the need of pragmatic policies and effective collaborations of government-university-industry as stipulated by the triple helix. However, the dynamic comprehension and foresight of alternative evolutionary paths available are a further challenge for scientists and decision makers, called to afford the complexity and turbulence of a socio-economic context in continuous change. Aimed at contributing to the discussion on the knowledge-based development of countries, the paper focuses on Ghana by adopting a system dynamic approach for exploring the nature and impacts of the interactions between academia (university) and industry (market), by highlighting areas of causality, relationship and addictions.

Geographical differences in intellectual property strategies and outcomes: establishment-level analysis across the American settlement hierarchy

ABSTRACTThe wealth of utility patent data has made this form of intellectual property (IP) protection the primary focus of the economics and geography of innovation. However, in addition to utility patents, the IP expressed in a firm's products or processes may also be protected via design patents, trademarks, copyright, or in non-compete and non-disclosure agreements. Recent research suggests that mixed modes of technological and non-technological innovation are associated with the most rapid firm growth and, thus, mixed-mode IP strategies may provide important insight for understanding the geography of innovation. If non-technological IP is an important complement to technological IP, then analyses focusing solely on the impacts of patents are misspecified. In addition, if the capability for pursuing these various tactics differs across the settlement hierarchy, then our understanding of the geography of IP is similarly distorted by the singular focus on patents. The objectives of this study are to examine how these tactics of protection are combined into IP strategies, how these strategies vary over the settlement hierarchy, how the different strategies are associated with different economic outcomes, and how these different strategic orientations may differentiate entrepreneurial ecosystems across space.

Supporting the regional development in the knowledge economy: the adoption of a system dynamic approach in Ghana

The adoption of a systemic and dynamic approach to innovation is a significant feature in the debate on regional development in the knowledge economy. The innovation ecosystems arise as suitable environment to address the challenges for the competitiveness of national systems as well as their successful positioning in the geography of innovation. This highlights the need of pragmatic policies and effective collaborations of government-university-industry as stipulated by the triple helix. However, the dynamic comprehension and foresight of alternative evolutionary paths available are a further challenge for scientists and decision makers, called to afford the complexity and turbulence of a socio-economic context in continuous change. Aimed at contributing to the discussion on the knowledge-based development of countries, the paper focuses on Ghana by adopting a system dynamic approach for exploring the nature and impacts of the interactions between academia (university) and industry (market), by highlighting areas of causality, relationship and addictions.

Book Reviews

“The Economics of Immigration: Market-Based Approaches, Social Science, and Public Policy” is reviewed by Cathy Yang Liu. “Transport, Mobility, and the Production of Urban Space” is reviewed by Corey Young. “Creative Milieux: How Urban Design Nurtures Creative Clusters” is reviewed by Corey Young. “Handbook on the Geographies of Innovation” is reviewed by Margaret Bock.

Some words about the IGU 2018 Regional Congress August 6-10

The regional conference of the International Geographical Union (IGU) was held this year in Quebec, from August 6 to 10, 2018. The commission “Geography of information, innovation and technology - C16.13” was very well represented with 5 thematic sessions (heritage, city, economy of knowledge, autonomous vehicles and mobilities 2.0, digital cartography) totaling 30 presentations (plus 3 posters) from 12 different countries. Interventions take place over 3 days, leaving the opportunity for its...