James Karlsen

Different Modes of Innovation and the Challenge of Connecting Universities and Industry: Case Studies of Two Regional Industries in Norway

The paper argues that no single formula exists for how universities can stimulate innovation activity and industrial development in a particular region. The type of university–industry cooperation must be fined-tuned according to the knowledge base of the university and to the dominant mode of innovation in the regional industry. This article discusses two different modes of innovation: science, technology, innovation (STI) and doing, using, interacting (DUI). The unit of analysis is innovation and cooperation with universities in two regional industries in Norway, which are dominated by the two modes of innovation: STI (marine biotechnology in Tromsø) and DUI (oil and gas equipment suppliers in Agder). The empirical analyses demonstrate the different roles that universities play in these two regional industries. The University of Tromsø is the main organization behind the development of the marine biotechnology industry in Tromsø and is an important knowledge node and source of biotechnology spin-offs. Equipment suppliers in Agder have become world leaders in some niches, almost without research cooperation with universities. A general lesson is that the dominant mode of innovation in a regional industry makes a difference to the role universities can play in stimulating the development of the industry.

The challenge of constructing regional advantages in peripheral areas: The case of marine biotechnology in Tromsø, Norway

The idea of constructing regional advantage (CRA) has recently been emphasized by scholars as a new way for firms to gain competitiveness in a globalizing learning economy. The rationale behind the idea is that advantages in a regional industry can be constructed by proactive public–private partnership. This article uses, and examines the relevance of, the CRA framework in analysing the development and functioning of the marine biotechnology industry in Tromsø, which is a fairly peripheral region in Norway. Despite the fact that much effort has been put into education and R&D at the University of Tromsø and related research institutes, and the fact that many public policy tools have intended to create a blooming marine biotechnology industry in the area, the results have so far been meagre. This article explains the rather weak results in terms of the number of firms and jobs in the marine biotechnology industry in Tromsø as being due to a lack of synthetic knowledge on how to industrialize research results and little spillover of market knowledge. With regard to more general theoretical lessons linked to the CRA framework, this article argues for seeing the concept of related variety in a broader industrial and geographical sense in peripheral regions.

Combined and Complex Mode of Innovation in Regional Cluster Development: Analysis of the Light-Weight Material Cluster in Raufoss, Norway

This chapter introduces the concept of combined and complex innovation (CCI). The concept intends to describe complex innovation processes in regional clusters, where different kinds of knowledge are combined in innovation activities. The combination occurs inside firms and in collaboration between firms and knowledge organizations found in and beyond the regional cluster. The conceptualization of the CCI mode builds on main arguments in the regional innovation system (RIS) literature, which underline that complex innovation processes most often include collaboration among many different actors (such as different kinds of firm and research organization) in order to solve technological, organizational, and other challenges. Different kinds of knowledge are used and combined in innovation processes, and collaboration and knowledge flow are stimulated by geographical and other types of proximity (Boschma, 2005). The combination of the different types of knowledge is, thus, a complex process as it includes actors in different firms and organizations, who need to develop cognitive proximity.

What Is Regional in Regional Clusters? The Case of the Globally Oriented Oil and Gas Cluster in Agder, Norway

This paper focuses on the question to what extent knowledge sources in regional clusters stimulate the innovation activity of cluster firms. In doing so we contribute to the literature by combining two analytical approaches: by (1) distinguishing firms dominated by different innovation modes; and (2) differentiating between inter-organizational linkages and open knowledge environments as two distinct knowledge sources. Based on data from the Agder equipment supplier industry we demonstrate that mobility of labour, local buzz and inter-organizational linkages are key regional knowledge sources, but clearly more so for some types of firms than others.

Strategic agency and institutional change: investigating the role of universities in regional innovation systems (RISs)

ABSTRACT Strategic agency and institutional change: investigating the role of universities in regional innovation systems (RISs). Regional Studies. Past analyses rooted in the thick description of regions successful in constructing regional innovation systems have given way to analyses more focused on the intentionality in these processes, and how actors in regions with their own wider networks can shape these high-level changes in regional fortunes. As part of this, place-based leadership has emerged as a promising concept to restore both agency and territory to these discussions, but it remains under-theorized in key areas. This paper contributes to these debates by arguing that there remains a reduction of agency to organizations, and that place-based leadership research needs to take into account organizational dynamics and interests in for bettering our understanding of the dynamics of place-based leadership in regional innovation systems.

Constructing regional advantage in non-metropolitan regions: A comparison between La Pocatière (Canada) and Tromsø (Norway)

The construction of regional advantage has recently been emphasized by scholars as a new way of increasing firms’ competitiveness in a globalizing and learning economy. This article compares the construction of regional advantage and the development paths of specific industries in two different types of non-metropolitan regions, La Pocatière in Canada and Tromsø in Norway. The authors observe a higher level of industrial dynamism in La Pocatière than in Tromsø. They find four explanations for this variation: (1) a narrower regional innovation system (RIS) in Tromsø; (2) the fact that the target industry in Tromsø (marine biotechnology) is, in general, more difficult to develop outside metropolitan regions than the diverse mechanical engineering industry found in La Pocatière; (3) a biased focus on the development of research-based knowledge and academic spin-offs in Tromsø compared with a more varied set of strategies used in La Pocatière; and (4) La Pocatières location in proximity to the Quebec metropolitan region.

When regional development becomes an institutional responsibility for universities: The need for a discussion about knowledge construction in relation to universities’ third role

The paper considers the role of universities as actors in regional development, and the implications for approaches to knowledge, including knowledge construction. The new role for universities requires the production of knowledge, which relates to the needs of the region. Particular attention was given to the Agder region of Norway, and Agder University College.

Moving context from the background to the forefront of policy learning: Reflections on a case in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country:

The article focuses on policy learning processes with the aim of sharing knowledge about how policy learning happens. In doing this, it considers conflict as a natural process in policy learning and proposes action research as a possible strategy to address it. By reflecting on a long-term action research process in the province of Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, Spain), the article proposes a change of focus in assessing the role of context. If we assume that policy learning is oriented towards changing the context, then context plays a more complex and important role than it is usually given in theory. At the core of this argument is the understanding that the cognitive frameworks of policy makers and researchers are also part of context and, when changing the context, participants in policy learning are involved in a change process which alters the very same cognitive frameworks that conditioned the initiation of policy learning.

Innovation in peripheral regions

The chapter discusses typical features of innovation activity in peripheral regions; regions located outside daily commuting distance from large cities. Such regions exhibit different place-specific conditions to those found in dynamic core regions, which cause peripherally located firms to innovate in certain ways. Many peripheral regions are characterized by organizationally thin regional innovation systems and bonding social capital. These are features that stimulate incremental innovations based on experience-based knowledge, which is typical of the Doing-Using-Interacting (DUI) innovation mode. Characteristics such as many DUI innovations, little local knowledge flow, low related variety of knowledge and technology and high levels of bonding social capital may result in peripheral regions becoming trapped in path extension: firms and industries strengthen their existing activity through incremental innovation, while the development of new activities through radical innovations is difficult to achieve. Firms in peripheral regions, in particular, need to source extra-regional knowledge in order to achieve more radical innovation activity. Reliance on extra-regional knowledge sources also points to the fact that external investments and policy initiatives are especially important for industrial development in peripheral regions. Firms in peripheral regions, however, need to develop organizational learning strategies in order to be able to exploit external knowledge from distant sources in their internal innovation processes.

Unfolding the relationship between resilient firms and the region

ABSTRACT This research explores organizational resilience in four manufacturing firms in four different regions of Norway. While regional resilience has gained attention in research, there have been few studies with a micro-level focus, investigating firms and their distinctive features of resilience. We chose a qualitative multiple-case study approach and employed a critical incident technique to study resilience in selected firms that had experienced external shocks and shifts in regard to changing markets, globalization and advances in technology. Each, however, had managed to continually develop resilience capacity over time. Our framework considered three dimensions of organizational resilience: the cognitive, the behavioural and the contextual. We address how resilience is sustained over time, the evolutionary nature of organizational resilience in firms and how resilient firms relate to the region. We found that all three dimensions of resilience capacity were evident in each firm, but appeared as a complex and unique blend. Furthermore, each dimension was supported by regional ties and affiliations. The findings suggest that organizational resilience is a dynamic capability conditioned by firm–region interactions, which are cultural, social and economic. Regional resilience is built through the contribution of the firm to the economic and social systems of the region.