Regional Innovation Research Articles

Boosting Regional Innovation through Co-creation for Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Stakeholders’ Perspective on the Start for Future Initiative

Boosting Regional Innovation through Co-creation for Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Stakeholders’ Perspective on the Start for Future Initiative

Assessing Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS3) Through Competitive Public Project Networks: The Case of Aragón 2014–2020

This study evaluates the effectiveness of Aragón’s Regional Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization (RIS3) 2014–2020 by applying Social Network Analysis (SNA) to a comprehensive dataset of regional, national, and European competitive public projects involving Aragonese entities between 2014 and 2023. The analysis explores how collaborative structures—weighted by funding amounts—impact knowledge transfer, stakeholder participation, and strategic alignment within Aragón’s innovation ecosystem. Findings reveal a significant concentration of funding in European projects (86% of total ecosystem investment), contrasted with varying degrees of local and national involvement. Cohesion metrics show the high connectivity and closure of the European network, whereas regional calls, though exhibiting tighter density, remain comparatively fragmented and reliant on public research centres and universities. Centrality measures identify key bridging institutions, which facilitate advanced knowledge diffusion but also expose potential over-dependence on a small subset of actors. The analysis results highlight the value of integrating SNA metrics into RIS3 evaluations to better capture how resources, governance mechanisms, and institutional pressures interact. By offering a data-driven methodology that can be monitored continuously and policy recommendations, it aims to guide Aragón and other regions in refining their regional innovation strategies towards more inclusive, resilient, and globally competitive ecosystems.

Novel Innovation Measures for Regional Development: A Review of Digital-Only Approaches

Traditional measures of regional innovation draw on social, economic, and technological data to construct indexes relevant to policymakers. While useful, such measures contain important drawbacks, such as time lags and high costs. A recent report by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on the development of sub-national indicators of innovation highlights alternative methods to measure regional innovation. These digital-only measures utilize open-access, web-based data sources and can be used to inform and support policy via studies and the construction of indexes. Such approaches can augment traditional measures, potentially addressing some of the drawbacks.

Research on the influence of digital culture on regional innovation performance based on threshold effect

ABSTRACT With the digital revolution, there is a growing body of academic research on digital culture and innovation. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial regions in China from 2013 to 2021, the analytic hierarchy process was used to measure the development level of digital culture. Using research methods such as fixed effect model and threshold model, and taking the level of technological innovation as the threshold variable, the impact of digital culture on regional innovation performance is empirically analysed. It is found that there is a facilitating effect of digital culture on regional innovation performance with a non-linear relationship. There is a double threshold effect. When the level of technological innovation is lower than the first threshold, the level of digital culture has a significant negative effect on regional innovation performance. When the level of technological innovation is higher than the second threshold, digital culture can significantly enhance regional innovation performance. When the level of technological innovation is between the two, the positive effect of digital culture on regional innovation performance is not obvious. The results of the subgroup threshold regressions indicate significant heterogeneity, with low-level digital culture areas having more pronounced facilitation.

Effects of financial misappropriation on regional innovation efficiency: new evidence from China

PurposeFinancial misappropriation is a significant challenge to China’s innovation-driven growth model. This paper investigates the impact of regional-level financial misappropriation on innovation efficiency across 30 provinces and administrative municipalities in China.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the Data Envelopment Analysis method to estimate the innovation efficiency at regional level, then, employs panel Tobit and indirect-transmission-channel models to analyze the direct and indirect impact of financial misappropriation on regional innovation efficiency in China.FindingsThe findings of the paper suggest that financial misappropriation significantly reduces regional innovation efficiency in China both directly and indirectly. Financial misappropriation hinders the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and, at the same time, it retards high-tech industrial development.Research limitations/implicationsThe research adopted the non-parametric approach over the parametric approach due to limitations of data availability. Both approaches have their own criticisms. However, the focus in this generates the efficiency scores that could be used for the analysis principal question of this research.Practical implicationsThe results show if the innovation efficiency issues are not addressed at regional levels the national efficiency objecting may achieve suboptimal results.Social implicationsThe benefits of innovation may not flow on to regional economies creating social disparity.Originality/valueThis paper is the first of its nature empirically testing the direct and indirect effects of financial misappropriation on regional innovation efficiency in China by using regional financial corruption data of 30 Chinese provinces and administrative cities.

Platforms as Proximity Enablers for Regional Development

This study offers a theoretical contribution exploring the interplay between platforms, proximity, and regional development and highlighting platforms’ crucial role in transforming routines and enhancing regional capabilities. It argues that routines, defining regional organization and adaptability, exhibit high transformative potential through platforms. Additionally, the study outlines a five-phase platform integration process in the regional context—sensing, patterns, categories, relations, and sequences—emphasizing the progression from vague platform comprehension to nuanced perception. This symbiotic relationship between platform utilization and routine development reinforces regional adaptability, innovation, and success in a connected landscape, shaping new opportunities for proximity-driven development.

Impact of regional finance reform and innovation policies on green innovation in pilot cities: A quasi-natural experiment

Impact of regional finance reform and innovation policies on green innovation in pilot cities: A quasi-natural experiment

Regional innovation policy mix complexity and enterprise technology innovation: evidence from China

Regional innovation policy mix complexity and enterprise technology innovation: evidence from China

Risk Assessment and Coping Strategies for The Coordinated Development of Digital Finance and Green Finance

In the contemporary era characterized by rapid technological advancements, the digital economy has emerged as a pivotal force reshaping the global economic landscape. Based on the digital economy development index meticulously measured through principal component analysis, this paper undertakes an in - depth exploration. It makes use of the panel data of municipal samples spanning from 2011 to 2020. The core objective is to rigorously test the impact and underlying mechanisms of the digital economy on regional green technology innovation. Specifically, the research delves into this relationship from two crucial perspectives: industrial structure and educational human capital. The industrial structure perspective focuses on how the digital economy reconfigures traditional industrial frameworks, fostering new forms of production and resource allocation that are conducive to green technology innovation. Regarding educational human capital, it examines how the digital economy influences the cultivation and utilization of high - quality human resources, which in turn drive the development of green - tech innovation in regions. This comprehensive analysis is expected to provide valuable insights for promoting sustainable development in the digital age.

A classification of approaches to the formation of regional development innovation programmes

Subject. This article discusses the issues of unlocking the scientific, technical, production and technological potential of Russia and developing the innovative infrastructure of the country's regions. Objectives. The article aims to develop a classification of approaches to the formation of innovation programmes for the regional development. Methods. For the study, we used the general scientific research methods. Results. The article presents an author-developed two-level classification of approaches to the formation of innovation programmes for the development of regions. Conclusions and Relevance. The article concludes that the risk-based approach that helps make timely decisions in case of significant deviations from the planned performance indicators, and revise the goals and objectives of the innovative development of the region, taking into account the dynamically changing external and internal environment, is the most effective one. The results of the study can be taken into account when developing programmes for the innovative development of Russian regions.

Research on Regional Collaborative Governance Between Central and Local Governments Under the Background of Green Innovation

In the current context of increasingly severe global environmental problems, green innovation policies have attracted much attention as an important means to promote sustainable economic development, achieve efficient resource utilization, and be environmentally friendly. Since green innovation involves various factors such as technology research and development and policy support, active cooperation and coordination among governments at all levels are required. Therefore, the theoretical analysis of the game strategy of green innovation among regional governments is particularly important. This paper focuses on inter-governmental collaboration, constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model between the central government and different local governments, analyzes the revenue situation of each party under different policy tendencies, and studies the impact of changes in different factors such as local government green innovation revenue and central government tax revenue on the stability of green innovation policy through simulation analysis. The results show that the adoption of punitive policies by the central government is more conducive to the formation of a stable collaborative governance mechanism. In addition to direct governance costs and benefits, the tax coefficient of local governments and the reduction in local enterprise profits are also key factors affecting regional collaborative governance. On this basis, this paper discusses the game strategies of different regional governments in promoting green innovation from the perspectives of the central government and local governments and puts forward policy recommendations to promote regional collaborative green innovation at the mechanism construction and specific operational levels, providing theoretical guidance for inter-governmental green innovation cooperation.

Turning Technological Relatedness into Industrial Strategy: The Productivity Effects of Smart Specialization in Europe

In this article we evaluate the impact of smart specialization policies on European regional economies. We propose a novel analytical framework that considers the policy prescription defined by the entrepreneurial discovery process (EDP) in the identification of new growth opportunities and the role that technological relatedness plays in choosing the new industrial specialization priorities. We then estimate the effects of the policy by using an instrumental variables estimation approach to address endogeneity problems. We apply it to an extensive data set of 102 NUTS-2 regions extracted from the European Commission Smart Specialisation Portal. The results reveal that smart specialization strategies increased labor productivity as long as the priorities were set in sectors related to preexisting technological capabilities, indicating the fundamental importance of path dependency in diversification choices. The findings deepen our understanding of regional development and innovation strategies, and have relevant implications for the implementation of appropriate policy instruments.

Impact of Environmental Regulation on Regional Innovation in China from the Perspective of Heterogeneous Regulatory Tools and Pollution Reduction

The relationship between environmental regulation and regional innovation has been disputed. This paper analyzes data at the provincial level in China between 2009 and 2020 using a fixed-effects model to investigate the relationship between environmental regulation and innovation. The baseline regression results suggest that market-based environmental regulatory instruments effectively promote regional innovation, while command-and-control environmental regulatory instruments hinder regional innovation. However, the impact of environmental regulation exhibits heterogeneity and non-linearity. The implementation of overly strict command-and-control environmental regulatory instruments hinders innovation, while the implementation of low-intensity command-and-control environmental regulatory instruments instead promotes innovation. In economically developed provinces, market-based environmental regulation promotes innovation, while in less economically developed provinces, market-based environmental regulation inhibits innovation instead. Further analysis from a pollution reduction perspective shows that environmental regulations that mitigate air pollution significantly promote regional innovation levels. This study not only enriches theoretical discourse but also offers practical policy recommendations for balancing environmental governance and innovation development in China.

Research on the Configuration Path of Regional Green Innovation in Space and Time: Dynamic QCA Analysis Based on Provincial Panel Data

Green innovation is an important starting point for implementing new developmental concepts and promoting high-quality development in the modern era. We construct an integrated analysis framework based on the environment–resource–subject configuration. Using 30 provinces and regions in China as an example, we employ the dynamic qualitative comparative analysis method to study the configuration path of multi-factor interactions affecting green innovation in an innovation ecosystem. The results indicate that (1) single factors are not necessary conditions for high regional green innovation. (2) The consistency level of the green financial environment exhibits a significant upward trend, demonstrating a clear temporal effect. (3) From the time dimension, three types of configuration paths exist for the interactive combination of environment, resources, and subjects to promote regional green innovation, and the consistency level of configuration between 2018 and 2022 fluctuates above 0.94. (4) From the spatial dimension perspective, clear differences exist in the paths driving the improvement of the green innovation level between the eastern, central, and western regions. This study broadens the scope of correlational research on green innovation, examining them across both temporal and spatial dimensions. It also provides enlightenment for regions seeking to enhance their green innovation.

The Influence of Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Culture on Job Satisfaction and Its Impact on Employee Performance

At the bureaucratic level, the use of information and communication technology has become a new trend, starting with the emergence of the issue of electronic government, namely electronic-based government. Currently, the ability of regional governments to develop, utilize and apply knowledge, including technology, is the key to successful development, so that the systematic development of regional innovation is very important and determines the success of the Communications, Informatics and Crypto Agency towards an economic era and a knowledgeable society. This research was conducted at the Communication, Informatics and Encryption Service, which is located on Jalan Jend.A.Yani NO.50 Bangkinang City. The aim of this research is to determine and analyze: 1) the effect of knowledge sharing on employee job satisfaction; 2) the direct influence of organizational culture on employee job satisfaction; 3) the direct influence of knowledge sharing on employee performance; 4) direct influence of organizational culture on employee performance; 5) the influence of job satisfaction on employee performance; 6) the direct influence of knowledge sharing on employee performance through job satisfaction and 7) the direct influence of organizational culture on employee performance through job satisfaction. The population of this study was all employees at the Kampar Regency Communication, Informatics and Encryption Service, totaling 35 people and all of them were used as samples. This research uses primary data and secondary data, which were obtained by conducting interviews, distributing questionnaires, observing and searching research files. The data analysis tool used is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and data processing is carried out using the SmartPLS version 3.0 program package. Hypothesis testing uses alpha 5%. The results of this research conclude that 1) knowledge sharing has been proven to have a significant effect on employee job satisfaction. 2) organizational culture is proven to have a significant effect on employee job satisfaction, 3) knowledge sharing is proven to have a significant direct effect on employee performance, 4) organizational culture is proven to have no direct significant effect on employee performance, 5) job satisfaction is proven to have a significant effect on employee performance, 6) knowledge sharing is proven to have a significant indirect effect on employee performance through job satisfaction, 7) organizational culture is proven to have a significant indirect effect on employee performance through job satisfaction

Proposals for building an informational system to guide regional innovation policy

Pour mener à bien une politique régionale d’innovation, les décideurs régionaux ont besoin d’un système informationnel performant leur permettant de caractériser finement leur territoire et d'identifier les opportunités de développement pertinentes. Dans cet article, nous proposons une grille méthodologique pour élaborer un tel système d’informations en insistant sur deux dimensions souvent négligées dans leur complémentarité : d’une part le type d’informations requis, et d’autre part les caractéristiques des données à collecter. Considérant que l’approche des Systèmes Régionaux d’Innovation constitue un référentiel théorique pertinent pour caractériser la première dimension, nous mobilisons les principes clés des démarches informationnelles d’aide à la décision pour identifier les caractéristiques souhaitables des données. La dernière section prend l’exemple des laboratoires de recherche afin de montrer le potentiel heuristique de la grille proposée.

Research on the Impact of the Digital Economy on Regional Economic Disparities

The digital economy is a new engine for China's economic growth and has played a crucial role in addressing the principal contradiction of unbalanced and inadequate development. It is of great significance to conduct an in - depth exploration of the impact of the digital economy on regional economic disparities for resolving the principal contradiction in China. Based on the balanced panel data of 284 prefecture - level and above cities in China from 2011 to 2021, this paper explores the impact of the digital economy on regional economic disparities through the two - way fixed effects model. The research findings indicate that during the sample period, the digital economy has exacerbated the unbalanced development of the regional economy, and this conclusion still holds after a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. The mechanism analysis reveals that the regional innovation capacity plays a decisive role in the impact of the digital economy on regional economic disparities. The higher the regional innovation capacity is, the greater the impact of the digital economy on regional economic disparities will be, while the agglomeration of production factors will inhibit this expanding impact. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the digital economy is conducive to the coordinated development of the eastern and central regions, and the impact of the digital economy on regional economic disparities is characterized by policy phasing and dynamics. The research conclusions of this paper have important implications for promoting the coordinated development of China's regional economy in the digital economy era.

The course to sustainability: the role of university-related intermediaries in providing directionality to regional innovation initiatives

The course to sustainability: the role of university-related intermediaries in providing directionality to regional innovation initiatives

Cross‐Border Regional Innovation Systems and Climate Adaptation: A Tripoint Viticultural Analysis

AbstractThis paper investigates sustainability transformations in the tripoint viticultural sectors of Luxembourg, Germany and France, employing the framework of Cross‐Border Regional Innovation Systems (CBRIS). Through qualitative data from semi‐structured interviews and extensive on‐site observations, the paper examines how viticulturists perceive and respond to climate change impacts and linked socio‐economic crises across national borders. The findings reveal diverse adaptation strategies, with German vintners showing a higher propensity for innovation and sustainable practices compared to their French and Luxembourgish counterparts. The study identifies key socio‐economic implications, including increased resilience and self‐reliance among climate‐friendly farmers and sheds a broader perspective on growth trajectories and cross‐border collaborations. Besides fostering knowledge exchange and regional sustainability, barriers such as financial constraints and knowledge gaps are also discussed. This research underscores the potential of analysing borders as dynamic entities under the CBRIS framework, adding to understanding of sustainability and resilience development in the regional economy and viticulture.

The impact of digital infrastructure on regional green innovation efficiency through industrial agglomeration and diversification

This study reveals the spatial impact of digital infrastructure (DI) on regional GIE, introducing two novel perspectives of industrial agglomeration - its concentration (IC) and diversification (ID). The results reveal that local DI significantly improves local GIE but has a “siphon effect” on neighboring areas, leading to an inhibitory effect. Local DI promotes local IC and ID, which enhances local GIE. However, local DI’s spillover effects decrease neighboring areas’ IC and ID, which reduces neighbors’ GIE. The spatial impact of DI on GIE exhibits heterogeneity among different city sizes, regional technological levels, and traditional infrastructure development. As regions’ DI develops, the siphon effect of DI on neighboring GIE gradually diminishes and thus DI promotes long-term GIE. Introducing LE and PE, this study provides rich empirical evidence for understanding the relationship between DI and GIE.