Simona Iammarino

Related Variety, Trade Linkages, and Regional Growth in Italy

Abstract This article presents estimates of the impact of regional variety and trade linkages on regional economic growth by means of export and import data by Italian province (NUTS 3) and sector (three-digit) for the period 1995–2003. Our results show strong evidence that related variety contributes to regional economic growth. Thus, Italian regions that are well endowed with sectors that are complementary in terms of competences (i.e., that show related variety) perform better. The article also assesses the effects of the breadth and relatedness of international trade linkages on regional growth, since they may bring new and related variety to a region. Our analysis demonstrates that regional growth is not affected by simply being well connected to the outside world or having a high variety of knowledge flowing into the region. Rather, we found evidence of related extraregional knowledge sparking intersectoral learning across regions. When the cognitive proximity between the extraregional knowledge and the knowledge base of a region is neither too small nor too large, real learning opportunities are present, and the external knowledge contributes to growth in regional employment.

An evolutionary integrated view of Regional Systems of Innovation: Concepts, measures and historical perspectives

ABSTRACT The literature on geographical systems of innovation has traditionally shown a ‘national-bias’ that has strongly affected the identification of actors, relationships and attributes operating at the sub-national scale. Indeed, the historical evolution of the regional dimension has rarely been considered (implying that history really matters only at the national level). Modes of governance have also mostly been examined from a country perspective, which neglects the complexity, heterogeneity and path dependency of multi-level governance in current innovation systems. This paper reviews the main literature on the concept of Regional Systems of Innovation (RSI), adopting an integrated view that brings together both top-down and bottom-up characteristics and evolutionary mechanisms for the purpose of identifying RSIs. After discussing conceptual problems, and the relevance and applicability of an evolutionary integrated view of RSI, the case of Italy is employed to support the argument that the historical perspective on regional cultures is often unavoidable in order to assess future opportunities for regional development.

The globalization of technological innovation: definition and evidence

The concept of globalization of innovation is the zip between two fundamental phenomena of modern economies: the increased international integration of economic activities and the raising importance of knowledge in economic processes. The paper singles out three different components of the globalization of innovation: (1) the international exploitation of nationally generated innovations; (2) the global generation of innovations by MNEs; and (3) global techno-scientific collaborations. Empirical evidence on these three categories is here presented, suggesting that the relevance of global forces in innovation is rapidly increasing, although at a different pace for each of the three ongoing processes.

Looking for Regional Systems of Innovation: Evidence from the Italian Innovation Survey

The empirical target of this article is two-fold: exploring the variety of regional innovative patterns in Italy; and assessing whether innovation systems can be found, and how they operate, at a sub-national scale. The empirical analysis is based on an in-depth analysis of the data provided by the first Community Innovation Survey (CIS). The article shows that the traditional north-south distinction does not give full account of the wider spectrum of regional patterns in Italy. In particular, regional innovative patterns differ not only according to the specific strategies and technological performances of firms, but also according to the relevance of systemic interactions and the presence of contextual factors favourable to innovation. However, proper regional systems of innovation are found only in a few well-defined areas. In most regions, systemic interactions and knowledge flows between the relevant actors are simply too sparse and too weak to reveal the presence of systems of innovation at work.

MNCs, Technological Innovation and Regional Systems in the EU: Some Evidence in the Italian Case

The increasing appreciation of the role of multinational corporations (MNCs) in the generation of technology across national boundaries has been facilitated by the recent trend for MNCs to establish internal and external networks for innovation. The development of cross-border corporate integration and intra-border inter-company sectoral integration makes it increasingly important to examine where and how innovative activity by MNCs is internationally dispersed and regionally concentrated. By using patents granted to the largest industrial firms for innovation located abroad-arranged by the host region-we test the nature of the relationship between the foreign-owned and the indigenous company profiles of technological specialisation in the Italian regions. We argue the MNC networks for innovation in Europe conform to a geographical hierarchy of regional centres. Accordingly, the technological specialisation of foreign-owned affiliates in different regional locations depends upon the position of the region in the hierarchy, i.e. whether the regional system is at the top of the hierarchy (higher order location) or is a lower order regional centre.

Measuring the regional dimension of innovation. Lessons from the Italian Innovation Survey

The aim of this paper is to assess whether and to what extent data gathered by the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) are able to grasp regional specificities in the innovation process, and to propose a specific set of technological indicators which can be used for such a purpose. The evidence presented, based on the Italian case, shows that CIS data, and the set of proposed indicators, are able to quantify the contribution of the different regions to the National System of Innovation, to identify the different technological profiles of regions and to measure the technological performances of regional systems in a broad sense, that is taking into account the basic structural characteristics of regional industries, the innovative performances of firms and the density and quality of systemic interactions between the main institutional actors. Some suggestions on how to improve the CIS framework for analysing the regional dimension of innovation activities are also provided.

Multinationals and Economic Geography

After more than fifty years of systematic research on multinational enterprises (MNEs) what is apparent is that there is, as yet, no unified or dominant theory of the MNE. The objective of this book is to bring into focus one particular dimension of MNE behaviour and activity that has been relatively under-researched – namely the geography of the multinational enterprise – as understood through the lens of innovation and technological change. The authors clearly demonstrate that geography is becoming increasingly important for MNEs and, in turn, MNEs are becoming progressively more important for economic geography. The pivot on which this vital relationship turns is the creation, diffusion and management of new knowledge.

Multinationals and economic geography: location, technology and innovation

This is a very rich book — rich in content and rich as a source of ideas for researchers. It is clearly structured and knit together, carefully and widely researched, argued and developed. The aim of the book is to present an integrated perspective on the following three key elements of the contemporary economic and business world: the firm, specifically the multinational enterprise (MNE); space and geography, specifically localization and regionalism; and knowledge, innovation and technology.

Foreign Direct Investment and 'Less Favoured Regions': Greek FDI in Bulgaria and Romania:

During the process of industrialization and afterwards (1960-80), Greek outward investment to Western and developing countries had been marginal, and government policy had only emphasized inward investment. But since the beginning of the nineties the opportunities arising from new investment in Eastern European Countries (EECs) have completely changed the scene. The aim of this article is to shed some light on the foreign direcf investment (FD1) flows from a peripheral European Union (EU) economy such as Greece, to two Less Favoured Regions of Eastern Europe, namely Bulgaria and Romania. In particular, on the basis of the empirical results gathered from a survey carried out in 1995-96, the objective is to analyze key criteria underlying investment choices by Greek firms, in order to help identify their role in the restructuring process and the impact that outward flows might have on the Greek economy.

Sticky places in slippery space – the location of innovation by MNCs in the European regions

The changing nature of international production and business means that the competitive advantage of firms lies increasingly in their ability to create a coherent set of new capabilities and source technological knowledge internationally (Cantwell, 1989; Teece et al., 1994; Cantwell and Piscitello, 1999a). Although the majority of multinational corporations (MNCs) continue to locate a large proportion of their RD Fors, 1998; Dunning and Lundan, 1998; Kuemmerle, 1999; Cantwell and Piscitello, 2000). The pertinent issue for host economies attempting to entice such high value added activity, is to understand what renders a location attractive or ‘sticky in such slippery space’ (Markusen, 1996).