The role of geographical proximity in fostering connections and knowledge flows between innovative actors ranks among the most controversial themes in the research of innovation systems, regional networks and new economic geography. While there is ample empirical evidence on the constituent...

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...

The last decades saw a pronounced shift in innovation policy in Germany and many other countries towards increased funding of cooperative R&D. Over the last years, competitions between regional initiatives pushed this trend even further by adding a regional perspective, by increasing the scope...

Cluster studies have shown that innovation can be understood as the result of an inter- organizational process, where a division of labor with regard to exploration and exploitation exists among the actors inside the cluster. A cluster is ambidextrous if it manages to balance innovative...

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...