Michel Quéré

The Governance of Interactive Learning within Innovation Systems

The generation of new technological knowledge is the result of a variety of interactions : market transactions are only a subset of a much wider flow of knowledge interactions and technological communication. Specific governance mechanisms are necessary to make technological interactions and technological communication possible. Dedicated governance mechanisms emerge under the influence of the types of knowledge, products, markets, organisation of firms and institutions involved. Geographical space plays a key role in such a context.

Innovative Networks and the Technopolis Phenomenon: The Case of Sophia-Antipolis

An attempt is made, first, to assess the technopolis project of Sophia-Antipolis, and, second, to propose a qualitative means of understanding local systems of innovation. A quantitative analysis based on the evaluation of the Sophia-Antipolis development indicates success, but seems to be insufficient to give an indication of the economic strength of the project. A theoretical analysis of local systems of production and innovation appears to be necessary; such an analysis is carried out, and ends with the definition of a concept of innovative network that is based on the coordination modes of local activities and the related incentive schemes. This framework is then applied to Sophia-Antipolis, and allows a qualitative assessment of the project, revealing some weaknesses in the local context.

Basic research inside the firm: Lessons from an in-depth case study☆

Abstract The economic analysis of basic research in firms has been a growing concern, but only a few attempts have been made to understand the realities which characterize the implementation of this activity. In an in-depth case study, this paper considers the organisational specificities of basic research inside the firm and emphasizes the strategic role of human resources. It shows that the process of innovation, which was seen in the 1970s as a stock of information to be managed, became, during the 1980s, a sequential learning process which covers a variety of different but complementary organizational designs in the basic research unit. On this basis, some analytical implications for technology and innovation processes are suggested. As the production process is a sequential learning process, an innovative firm strategy is defined as one which is able to balance short and long terms requirements with regard to profitability. This appears as an out-of-equilibrium problem where the crucial determinant is the organizational design chosen by the firm in order to generate and implement new learning and skills.

The 'Industrialisation' of Venture Capital: New Challenges for Intermediation Issues

This comparative study examines the U.S. and Europeanventure capital (VC) industries. Presenting data about the macroeconomicimportance of venture capital investment in major countries throughout theworld, the authors show that Europe lags behind the United States in terms ofVC investment compared with GDP. Emphasizing the dual function or phasesof the venture capital industry highlights its role as intermediary indeveloping new products and opening markets. The comparison demonstratesthat the U.S. VC industry is more market-driven, while the European VC marketis more research-driven. Five items are presented to set out the U.S./Europe differences: (1) theimportance of firms that have benefited from VC investments; (2) thespecialized financial markets; (3) the importance of pension funds; (4) thespecific product markets for high-tech industries; and (5) the importance ofpublicly-financed R&D. Four major dimensions of VC industries arediscussed: (1) quantitative importance and sectoral distribution, (2) VC stages(from seed to development), (3) degree of internalization, and (4) duration andexit mechanisms. Other factors explaining the diversity of VC include the industrial domainand the institutional context. A comprehensive approach to the VC industry isproposed, which insists on the economic implications of its currentindustrialization. The function of intermediation is characterized by itssectoral and institutional dimensions. Distinguishing between diverse VCindustries is also instrumental in developing appropriate benchmarks, complyingwith national and local requirements and formulating policy recommendations.(CBS)

The Diversity of European Regions and the Conditions for a Sustainable Economic Growth

We intend in this paper to understand the problems underlying the obvious empirical diversity of economic growth within European regions. More especially, the focus will be on the institutional and organisational determinants of this territorial diversity in a global context that exhibits nevertheless a continuous and sustained economic growth. In a first part, we discuss some analytical implications of this diversity and focus on an analytical framework aiming at defining the conditions at which a sustainable economic growth can be obtained for European regions. In a second part, we provide some empirical illustration, based on recent research financed by the MONITOR/FAST European programme.

The Austrian Theory of Institutions Applied to Science-Industry Relationships: The Relevance of Innovative Institutions

This contribution aims at using an Austrian approach of institutions to discuss specific institutional arrangements in the current working of science-industry relationships. By combining distinctive characteristics between Mengers and Hayeks research programs, we establish a typology of institutions that goes beyond the usual way to approach business institutions and allows us to identify transitory types of institutional arrangements called “innovative institutions”. We apply that Austrian approach of institutions and address its relevance to highlight some puzzling issues derived from empirical evidence. Then, innovative institutions reveal particularly suited to understand how public and private research work together in science-industry relationships.

Economic cohesion and innovation systems in Europe

This paper leads to apply some recent developments in the economic literature dealing with the concept of innovation systems to the problem of economic cohesion in Europe. Starting from a definition of innovation systems, it allows to consider firms and sets of intstitutions as two main but different types of innovation systems. This distinction is the source of a discussion about the nature of the coordination problems which appear when considering the European diversity of innovation systems. The different combinations between innovation systems developed in the paper are a useful means of discussing European policy intervention and its ability to favour (or not) economic cohesion.

Introduction. Industrial Dynamics, Productivity and Growth

“Economics is like photography in this respect, that under-exposure is less desirable than no exposure at all” (Boulding, 1941, p. xv). This might be the case with the so-called new growth theory, which has benefited in the two last decades from a huge renewal mostly based on extensive developments in the modelling of imperfect competition, but which nevertheless is being affected by under exposure, making it necessary to explore more deeply the relation between innovation, competition and growth.