Robertas Jucevičius

Assessing the Regional Innovation System’s Absorptive Capacity: The Approach of a Smart Region in a Small Country

Vitality of a smart region depends on the network of closely interconnected actors (individuals and institutions) seeking common goals of development and their capacities to ensure effective knowledge creation and exploitation. This network (a regional innovation system (RIS)) empowers processes of absorptive capacity—knowledge access, anchoring and diffusion, contributing to regional innovativeness and competitiveness. Absorptive capacity is considered an important object of scientific research. However, there is still a lack of research providing specific tools that are adaptable for assessing the regional absorptive capacity in a small country. Existing differences among countries and even regions inside a small country require adjusted and modified methods and instruments. Consequently, the goal of this research is to present and substantiate the methodological approach of assessing the RISs absorptive capacity giving evidence from a smart region (Kaunas County) of a small country (Lithuania). The mixed-method approach of the research (combining qualitative and quantitative research strategies) was used to substantiate the presented methodological approach. A smart region of a small country can be characterized by a denser institutional infrastructure and higher results (outcomes) of innovative activities. Smartness of the region can be understood as a consequence of the higher level of absorptive capacity.

The Evaluation of City’s Intelligence

There are only a few attempts in scientific literature trying to evaluate intelligence of the city and to find methods providing the better understanding of the phenomenon is still a big problem. The recent scientific literature is concerned mostly with describing the characteristics of the intelligent city, but points a little interest to the development of these features in a particular social system. The aim of the article is to propose criteria for evaluation of city’s intelligence. The article discusses the concept of city’s intelligence, the problem of its evaluation and provides the criteria for evaluation of city’s intelligence though understanding the developmental context in the external environment. The article points the need to evaluate intelligence of the city by using qualitative not only quantitative indicators with purpose to better understand not only the result of intelligence activities but also the mind-set by which that result came. Due to the complexity and ‘softness’ of the category the phenomenon of city’s intelligence can be better known only though integrated methodology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.13.3.8297

Development of Entrepreneurial Skills in a Post-Socialist Country.

The last decade has witnessed dramatic changes in the whole post-socialist world. The old Communist system in Central and Eastern Europe has been dismantled and free-market economies have been initiated. Despite the fact that Central and Eastern European countries were on different levels of socio-economic development, they had many things in common, including the problems. However, the countries of the former USSR encountered greater obstacles on their way to the free market. This also applies to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In contrast to East Germany, Poland, Hungary and former Yugoslavia, private property and entrepreneurship did not exist in these countries during the Soviet period. The purpose of this paper is to describe the most important theoretical problems concerning understanding of the phenomenon of entrepreneurship and to discuss different methods of developing entrepreneurial skills.