Die Gründung eines innovativen Unternehmens stellt eine Form der kommerziellen Verwer-tung von Wissen dar. Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über Ausmaß von Gründungen in wis-sensintensiven bzw. innovativen Branchen und deren Entwicklung. Da die Gründung eines Unternehmens wesentlich durch...

We describe and compare the development trajectories of two German regions, South Saxony and Mecklenburg, with a special focus on entrepreneurship and innovation. South Saxony has a long history of self-employment and knowledge generation that results in a persistent culture of innovative...

This paper summarizes the role of entrepreneurship in the East German transformation process that followed the breakdown of the socialist regime and subsequent unification with West Germany. The main aim of this exercise is to derive conclusions and recommendations for a potential unification of...

The development of inventor networks is characterized by the addition of a significant number of new inventors, while a considerable number of incumbent inventors discontinue. We estimate the persistence of knowledge in regional inventor networks using alternative assumptions about knowledge...

From a macro perspective, inventor networks are characterized by rather stable structures. However, the high levels of fluidity of inventors and their ties found in reality contradicts this macro pattern. In order to explain these contradicting patterns, we zoom in on the intermediate group...

We investigate the stability of cooperative relationships between inventors and consequences for the characteristics and patent productivity of the respective regional innovation systems (RIS). The empirical analysis is for nine German regions over a period of 15 years. We find a rather high...

From a macro perspective, inventor networks tend to generate remarkably stable structures over time. At the same time, we observe highly dynamic processes at the micro level, in terms of inventor entries and exits as well as formations and terminations of collaborative relationships between...

The emergence and solidification of network patterns is typically explained by the preferential attachment rule. The underlying logic is that a small number of actors which are characterized by an above average degree attract links at a higher rate than others. We raise the question as to what...

We analyze information and knowledge transfer in a sample of 16 German regional innovation networks with almost 300 firms and research organizations involved. The results indicate that strong ties are more beneficial for the exchange of knowledge and information than weak ties. Moreover, our...

Systemic innovation theory emphasizes that innovations are the result of an interdependent exchange process between different organizations. This is reflected in the current paradigm in European innovation policy, which aims at the support of collaborative R&D and innovation projects bringing...