This paper reviews approaches used for evaluating the performance of local or regional innovation systems. This evaluation is performed by a benchmarking approach in which a frontier production function can be determined, based on a knowledge production function relating innovation inputs and...

This paper analyses the effects of innovation networks on product and pro-cess innovation and sales growth of high technology SMEs. Innovation net-works are positively related to both product and process innovation, i.e. know-ledge creation. One exception is the negative effect of innovation...

If one cluster increases local competitiveness, can politicians, by interlinking clusters, achieve an even better effect at the state level? To answer this question, the paper analyzes the Cluster Initiative introduced in 1999 by the Bavarian State Government. The purpose of the initiative was...

The literature on Innovation Systems is divided into several directories. Dif- ferences occur through the definition of the system's borders. This paper intro- duces a methodology how to differentiate between regional and technological effects of cooperative innovation activities and analyzes...