Despite of the deeply rooted belief of politicians from all over the world in the important role of Mittelstand firms, there has been surprisingly little empirical research on this issue, yet. This article contributes to the literature by studying whether the relative regional importance of...

The study of the determinants of innovation processes has received great attention in both the economics and the business literature. However, only few contributions have proposed a comprehensive framework able to bring together different but not mutually exclusive research approaches. This...

The aim of this study is to clarify what factors affect the innovation activity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and especially the effect of regional factors. Innovations are seen as central phenomena on both micro and macro levels in economy. However, we know little about the...

Global Value Chains (GVCs) provide an important opportunity to become member of the global economy. Gaining access to GVCs and the possibility of developing linkages with major suppliers and customers enables the prospect to upgrade products and production processes via knowledge and...

In this paper we empirically analyze the effects of collaboration in innovation with universities on the firm's innovative performance. Using data from the Technological Innovation Panel dataset (PITEC for its acronym in Spanish) we have constructed a database of 4643 innovative firms in Spain,...

The literature on trust, control and knowledge creation in seems to be moving towards a consensus. Trust is necessary to create an open atmosphere for knowledge creation while control acts as a safeguard against malfeasance. Networks that neglect either one often create less knowledge, such as...

This paper analyzes the role of regional characteristics on innovation persistency among firms. Using five waves of the Community Innovation Survey in Sweden, we have traced the innovative behavior of firms over a ten-year period, i.e. between 2002 and 2012. On the one hand, we distinguish...

This paper focuses on the efficiency of innovation intermediary organizations and also reviews the connections of intermediaries with regional and local actors emphasizing the human side of innovation. In the beginning I define the organizations and the innovation process as a special market,...

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) account for about 99% of all enterprises in Croatia as well as in the EU economy. In most industries, SMEs attribute to much of the capital stock, employment, and a significant fraction of innovations. Among all SMEs, those that are growth-oriented make...