Tomi Tura

Social capital in building regional innovative capability

Tura T. and Harmaakorpi V. (2005) Social capital in building regional innovative capability, Regional Studies 39 , 1111–1125. The paper focuses on the relation of social capital and regional innovative capability. It examines the social nature of the innovative processes placing demands on the regional innovation environment and underlining the importance of social capital. The paper analyses the concept of social capital and problems connected to it. It introduces a conception of social capital defining it functionally as a field‐specific social resource of an actor. This conception is applied to analyse social capital as a central element in enhancing regional innovative capability. The relation between social capital and innovation capability is not, however, without problems. This still controversial relation is discussed.

Breaking inside the black box: towards a dynamic evaluation framework for regional innovative capability

Alongside theories of innovation, different measures of innovativeness and innovative capability have been developed. However, there are problems with the existing evaluation tools, especially when considering the dynamics of innovation processes. The measurement of the innovativeness of regions is particularly challenging. This paper describes recent changes in regional innovation policy models. It is argued that these policy models demand new tools for evaluating regional innovative capability. This paper tries to overcome some of the problems of the current evaluation tools. It outlines a framework for the network-based innovative capability evaluation matrix for evaluating and developing regional innovation policies. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Clashes as potential for innovation in public service sector reform

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the ongoing dynamics of the public service sector reform through an embedding process of a municipal enterprise from the field of basic social and health care services – a pilot model in Finland.Design/methodology/approach – The framework of a multi‐level perspective on transitions is used to describe the change process. At the lowest level of this perspective are the experimental niches acting as “seeds of change” represented by the case organisation, a municipal enterprise operating in the basic social and health care sector. The data consist of 16 thematic interviews with the key persons of the operating system, analysed with the principles of content analysis.Findings – The examination uncovers diverse pressures affecting niche level innovations and manifesting as clashes and controversies between old and new ways of thinking, but these clashes can also act as a platform for innovations when opened up, analysed and facilitated.Practical implications – ...

Policies of related variety in practice: the case Innovation Session Method

ABSTRACT The article describes the foundations of related-variety policies in practice, delineating the roles that related variety and fruitful distances may play in innovation policy. The main focus is on methods of managing related variety. Three types of regional collaboration and renewal processes are identified. By presenting empirical research on the Innovation Session Method developed in the Lahti region of Finland, the article provides insights into the practical implementation of innovation policy based on related variety. This study finds that Innovation Sessions appear to function quite well in the related-variety context, serving as a practical implementation of innovation policy that is in transition. The role of an optimal combination of distances is highlighted. This study contributes to the development of effective methods for innovation policy.

Advisory Professorship Model as a Tool for Practice-Based Regional University–Industry Cooperation

Abstract The growing importance of “practice-based innovation models” has challenged the current consensus on the role of universities as main drivers of regional innovation systems. New models are needed to ensure the efficiency of co-operation between the region and universities. In this article, we present and analyse the effects of one practice-based innovation tool, the advisory professorship model, developed in the Lahti region, Finland. The Lahti region is relatively big by Finnish standards, but has no university of its own, which makes new types of knowledge transfer necessary. The empirical analysis is based on interviews of the companies that participated in the materials technology advisory professorship programme, developed and operated by Tampere University of Technology. In the analysis, we utilize the conceptual framework and analytical matrix developed by Tura et al. [(2008) Breaking inside the black box: Towards a dynamic evaluation framework of regional innovative capability, Science and Public Policy, 35(10), pp. 733–744] in the measuring of regional innovation capability. The study approach is based on regional and industrial viewpoints. In the light of the study, the programme had positive impacts on the innovation capability and innovation processes of companies. The advisory professorship model can be considered a useful practice-based innovation tool for regional university–industry co-operation with some limitations.