This paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing debate concerning the role of heterogeneity for the innovative capability of industrial districts. With this aim, using a knowledge-based approach, the paper focuses on different sources of industrial district knowledge heterogeneity and studies how...

This paper analyses the effect of variety and intensity of knowledge on the innovative capability of regions. Employing data for Swedish functional regions, the paper tests the role of the variety (related and unrelated) and intensity of (i) internal knowledge generated within the region and...

We analyze the effects of captive off-shoring of innovation activities on the firms’ ability to adapt its organizational structures. Basing our arguments on complexity theory, we use three consecutive waves of the German part of the Community Innovation Survey to test our hypotheses. We find...

In the past century we have witnessed worldwide a growing flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which have attracted the attention of economists, international business and development scholars. In this scenario, two trends have recently gained momentum: the increasing relevance of...

The objective of this paper is to discuss the relationship between competences and the global innovation networks in the Swedish ICT industry using both survey data and information from a case company- TELEQUIP. The paper portrays the interplay between the availability of competences in the home...

This paper explores the geography and structure of global innovation networks (GINs) of two multinational companies belonging to industries with different knowledge bases. It contributes to existing literature on knowledge bases, by studying both intra-firm and inter-firm GINs. By means of...

The proximity concept refers to types of inter-organizational relationships that are expected to facilitate interactive learning and collaborative innovation. Different forms of proximity include geographical, cognitive, social, institutional and organizational proximity. Following an extensive...

This paper has three aims. Firstly, to provide a critical review of previous conceptualizations of the knowledge base approach in the research fields of innovation studies and economic geography. Secondly, to propose a broadened interpretation of the knowledge base approach which allows for...

Institutions (including regulations) are constitutive elements of innovation systems, and therefore cornerstones of innovation policy. Focusing on (soft and hard) regulation, the paper identifies the most salient regulatory areas from the perspective of the innovation system. When asking about...

The access to global innovation networks (GINs) has been extremely unequal across regions around the globe. While certain regions are considered knowledge hubs, able to link to global knowledge flow, other still remain marginalized, pointing out to the role of regional innovation systems in the...