Javier Revilla Diez

Metropolitan Innovation Systems: A Comparison between Barcelona, Stockholm, and Vienna

This article uses data from the European Regional Innovation Survey to provide insights into the innovative activity and innovation networking of the most important innovation actors, namely manufacturing firms, producer service firms, and research institutes. The innovation capacities of the metropolitan innovation systems differ markedly. In respect to cooperation partners, vertical relationships predominate. Only in Stockholm do research institutes play a significant role in assisting innovation processes in manufacturing firms. Spatial proximity of cooperation partners is very important, confirming the concept of territorially based systems of innovation. At the same time, the actors surveyed cooperate intensively with cooperation partners outside the region.

Innovative networks in manufacturing: some empirical evidence from the metropolitan area of Barcelona

Abstract In order to make an evaluation of the regional innovation potential, which is decisively influenced by the existing relationships between the different actors of innovative networks within and/or outside the region, a written questionnaire was sent to firms of the manufacturing industry in the autumn of 1997. The focal point of the analysis lay in determining innovative activities within individual firms and cooperative relationships between different firms. After a short discussion about theoretical aspects of innovation-orientated regional development, this paper provides a brief introduction to the main characteristics of the responding firms as well as selected results concerning innovative activities within the firms, innovative cooperation, as well as obstacles to innovation and regional framework conditions. The results indicate that regional proximity matters differently. Innovative relationships with producer services and research institutions are stronger within the region, those with suppliers, customers and competitors more with other regions in Spain and Europe. In short, the surveyed firms in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona tend to cooperate more on a vertical basis and on a less international scale when it comes to innovation.

Do firms require an efficient innovation system to develop innovative technological capabilities? Empirical evidence from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand

Technological change in firms in late-industrialising countries is very much a process of acquiring and improving technological capabilities. The paper reviews some literatures on technological capabilities, technological learning and systems of innovation to prepare the ground for the investigation of the following questions: Do firms with high technological capabilities, in terms of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to Own Brand Manufacturing (OBM) framework, also have high innovation and linkage capabilities? And does the quality of the national and regional innovation system positively influence these capabilities? In order to answer these questions, the paper compares groups of firms with different capabilities in Bangkok (Thailand), Penang (Malaysia) and Singapore. Finding evidence in favour of both questions, we argue that the quality of the innovation system is highly important for learning and innovation, even though figures for Penang suggest that firms can do better than the quality of their respective National Innovation System (NIS) would predict. Nevertheless, the influence of the innovation system is clearly stronger than the level of technological capabilities – at least in the classification used in our study. Hence, we additionally assert that more subtle classification methods for the assessment of technological capabilities should be used in future research.

‘Recession push’ and ‘prosperity pull’ entrepreneurship in a rural developing context

In this paper, the ‘recession push’ and the ‘prosperity pull’ hypotheses are used to analyse the effect of growing non-farm wage employment on entrepreneurship in a rural developing context. Data are collected in a rural household survey in 110 communes in central Vietnam which includes subjective owner assessments of reasons for starting non-farm businesses. This way it is possible to separately test the two hypotheses by distinguishing opportunity and necessity entrepreneurs. We use clustered probit regression analyses and control for possible endogeneity in order to predict participation in entrepreneurship. The results show that better access to non-farm wage employment increases the likelihood of becoming an opportunity entrepreneur but has no effect on necessity entrepreneurship. This, therefore, supports the ‘prosperity pull’ hypothesis but not the ‘recession push’ hypothesis. The growing non-farm economy is likely to accelerate the emergence of opportunity entrepreneurship in rural areas. However, necessity entrepreneurs are suffering from a lack of individual and household assets which pushes them into entrepreneurship regardless of non-farm job opportunities in the surrounding area.

Socio-Economic Development in the Mekong Delta: Between the Prospects for Progress and the Realms of Reality

Socio-economic development in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta is shaped by a complex web of interacting and dynamic trends. Based on the analysis of statistical data, special reports, planning documents and scientific literature, the chapter examines the key dimensions of such trends, paying particular attention to agricultural transformation, industrialization, migration and urbanization. It is argued that changes in these fields have been producing ambiguous economic net-effects and socially stratified development outcomes over the last decades. On the one hand, the agricultural sector in the Mekong Delta has been experiencing profound production gains due to de-collectivization, expansion, intensification and diversification. This has contributed to overall poverty reduction in the Delta and to the economic progress of the entire country. On the other hand, the Mekong Delta lags behind the national average in terms of many development indicators in the socio-economic sphere (e.g. education levels or housing conditions). Under stress from multiple economic and environmental pressures and risks, small-scale farmers increasingly have difficulties securing a minimum level of profitability and a stable livelihood base. Rising inequalities, high incidences of landlessness, and labour migration, notably into urban areas, are among the most significant consequences. At the same time, industrial development falls short of earlier expectations. The Delta’s secondary and tertiary sectors are presently unable to sufficiently absorb the former agricultural labour force. As a result, strong outmigration occurs, most importantly to Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbouring provinces. Guided by development theory we argue that next to the neoclassical expansion of conventional capital stocks for fostering endogenous growth potentials, development in the Mekong Delta heavily depends on institutional factors, enabling social and economic development. Aspects such as the need for improved access to land or for extended education and professional training, more integrated planning, and intensified promotion of economic innovations are discussed in detail.

Technological Capabilities and Innovation in Southeast Asia Results from Innovation Surveys in Singapore, Penang and Bangkok*

An essential part of the catching-up process by firms in late industrialising countries is the development of technological capabilities. It can be assumed that these capabilities correlate with firms’ innovation activities (including cooperation with external partners). At the same time, it can be assumed that the quality of the national or regional innovation system influences the development of firms’ technological capabilities. Consequently, this article compares groups of firms with different technological capabilities in three innovation systems. Analysing innovation activities, cooperation behaviour and the perception of the business environment, conspicuous differences between the innovation systems are found. Contrary, the comparison of the different technological capability-groups brings about less conclusive results, which indicate only a limited interrelation between technological capabilities and innovation-related activities.

REGIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS WITHIN A TRANSITIONAL CONTEXT: EVOLUTIONARY COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY IN SHENZHEN AND DONGGUAN SINCE THE OPENING OF CHINA

This paper, which is positioned in the interface of innovation economics and economic geography, contributes to the debate about the path‐dependent evolution of regional innovation systems (RIS) in emerging and transitional economies. Drawing on an empirical study conducted in Shenzhen and Dongguan, China, a path‐dependent nature of governance modality for initiating industrialization within the transitional context has been uncovered. The paper shows that the dirigiste globalized production system in Shenzhen, where the government exerted strong directive influence in the 1980s, has gradually evolved and reached a higher form of interactive RIS than the grassroots globalized production system in Dongguan, where innovation activities are few and are still passively managed by global players. The review of the evolutionary path of the electronics industry in Shenzhen and Dongguan reveals that the locational first‐mover advantage in Shenzhen is further strengthened by the institutional first‐mover advantage, incubating competitive and diversified firms in the business sector, which facilitate the interactive learning mechanism in RIS. Finally, policy implication is discussed for the construction of RIS under different governance modalities in the initial industrialization phase.

Can Host Innovation Systems in Late Industrializing Countries Benefit from the Presence of Transnational Corporations? Insights from Thailand's Manufacturing Industry

Innovation systems in late industrializing countries are said to be ill-developed and fragmented, lacking crucial key resources and access to technology and knowledge. At the same time these national innovation systems (NISs) host subsidiaries of transnational corporations, which could contribute to the development of the NIS due to their advanced technology and capabilities. This paper considers data from innovation surveys, self-assessment of technological capabilities and qualitative interview information in order to establish two things: firstly, the technological activities and capabilities of foreign affiliates and domestic firms in Thailand (as compared to Singapore, Penang and Europe), and secondly, the main mechanisms by which foreign affiliates foster upgrading in domestic firms and in the innovation systems themselves.

Hannover after the World Exhibition EXPO 2000--An Attempt to Establish an ICT-cluster

The Hannover Region is extremely interested in the development of an innovative information and communication technology (ICT) cluster through the continued use of the EXPO 2000 site. This article looks into the question of whether the potential for the successful development of an ICT cluster exists. The location factors considered by the ICT firms to be poor, such as cooperation with consulting and transfer facilities, the administration and educational facilities, the missing critical mass of related and supporting industries and R&D facilities, all indicate serious weaknesses in the ICT sector. But, the development of the Hannover EXPO Park into a nucleus of the regional ICT cluster, which was begun after the end of EXPO 2000, is counteracting these deficits

Technological change and regional development in Europe

1 Technological Change and Regional Development in Europe: An Introduction.- A: Innovation and Regional Development.- 2 The Spatial Pattern of Invention Activities in West Germany 1992-1994.- 3 R&D, Localised Knowledge Spillovers and Endogenous Regional Growth: Evidence from Germany.- 4 Spatial Structural Change: Evidence and Prospects.- 5 Machinery and Productivity: A Comparison of East and West German Manufacturing Plants.- 6 The Effect of Internationalisation on the Rate of Growth of High-Tech Start-Ups: Evidence for the UK and Germany.- 7 Survival, Growth, and Interfirm Collaboration of Start-Up Companies in High Technology Industries: A Case Study of Upper Bavaria.- 8 Are There Too Many Innovation Centres in Germany?.- B: The Network Paradigm and Regional Development.- 9 The Regional Impact of Innovation Networks.- 10 Innovation Activities and Networks in Metropolitan Systems of Innovation: Empirical Findings from Barcelona, Vienna and Stockholm.- 11 Networking of Small Firms: Is the Region a Knowledge Source for Innovation?.- 12 R&D Co-Operation Between Public Research Institutions: Magnitude, Motives and Spatial Dimension.- 13 Creative Milieus and Regional Networks: Local Strategies and Implementation in Case Studies in Bavaria.- 14 The Biotech Region of Munich and the Spatial Organisation of its Innovation Networks.- 15 Organisational Innovations in Different Systems of Innovation: A Comparison of Germany and UK.- 16 Environmental Management in Manufacturing Industry: A Comparison Between British and German Firms.- C: Sectoral Studies.- 17 Innovations and Regional Development: Human Capital and Knowledge Transfer as Driving Forces for Spatial Clustering in the Semiconductor Industries of East Germany.- 18 Correlation Between the Innovative Behaviour of Biotech Firms and Regional Development.- 19 Locational Effects of Innovations in Information and Communications Technology on Food Retailing in Germany.- 20 Technological Change in the German Packaging Industry: Structure, Behaviour and Performance.- 21 The Changing Organisation of Production in the European Horticultural Sector and the Influence of Technology.- 22 How Culture Determines Regional Economic Trajectories: The Changing Landscape of European Costume Jewellery Production.- List of Figures.- List of Tables.- List of Contributors.