Abdelillah Hamdouch and Frank Moulaert
Knowledge Infrastructure, Innovation Dynamics and Knowlegde Creation/Diffusion/Accumulation Processes: A comparative institutional perspective
Abstract
Building on the main results from the TSER reports reviewed in the VALICORES project, this survey article focuses on the Knowledge Infrastructure (KI) and on the institutional-spatial dynamics that characterize innovation and knowledge creation/accumulation/diffusion processes within the developing knowledge-based economy and society. Its aim is threefold. Firstly, the paper seeks to disentangle some crucial issues linked to the nature of the KI and the various agents it involves, their patterns of behaviour and forms of interaction, and their roles in knowledge and innovation processes. The second aim is to determine the extent to which institutional and spatial configurations shape knowledge and innovation dynamics in the European context. Finally, the article advances an analytical framework which could help the understanding of the dynamic interplay of institutions, strategies and spatial scales in the structuring and the deployment of the KI.
Peter Wood
The regional significance of knowledge-intensive services in europe: Kisinn and After
Abstract
This article reviews the work of the ‘Knowledge-intensive Services and Innovation’ (KISINN) Network, which examined the regional incidence of ‘knowledge-intensive business services’ (KIBS) across eight European countries in 1996/97. The paper examines how far KIBS growth has influenced regional policy thinking since 1997, especially in relation to innovation processes. There still seems to be little recognition at this scale that innovation is fundamentally a service-based process. KIBS growth is also generally regarded as economically marginal, rather than as a key component of the corporate-dominated nexus of expertise exchange which now drives regional economic inequality. More inter-sectoral, urban-based policies are required to counter these trends. The example of the recent English ‘Core City’ initiative shows how such an approach to supporting regional knowledge economies might progress.
Jacqueline Senker
Reflections on the Transformation of European Public-Sector Research
Abstract
During the past 25 years there have been extensive changes to the organization and structure of public-sector research (PSR), with convergence between the functions of each sector of PSR. Common trends for managing research include the demand that PSR support industrial innovation, but the unintended side-effects of policies may in fact damage innovation. A review of various theories to explain the transformation of PSR and its impacts suggests we are witnessing part of a continuing pattern of adaptation that is aided by European diversity and policy flexibility.
Caroline Lanciano-Morandat, Hiroatsu Nohara, Eric Verdier
Higher education systems and industrial innovation: An interactive analysis involving actors, organizations and societal conventions
Abstract
This paper discusses the approach adopted in a European research project concerning the relationships between science and industry. The analysis uses the notion of actors as vectors for the creation and diffusion of competences and knowledge throughout the innovation process. From this perspective, the article presents some results on the strategic behaviour of firms at the micro level in five countries. An analytical framework in terms of ‘conventions’ addresses the interplay between micro and macro levels.
Lars Engwall and Matthias Kipping
Management Education, Media and Consulting and the Creation of European Management Practice
Abstract
European management practice is rapidly becoming standardized through the imitation of large actors and the interaction of institutions for management education, management media and management consulting. This process is reinforced by the fact that these three types of institutions are increasingly becoming more homogeneous. The CEMP research reported in this article provided evidence for these developments in terms of the structure of the different fields of management, marked by the development of a number of global actors, particularly of Anglo-American origin. However, our research also showed that the actual dissemination of ideas varies considerably between countries and between companies. Furthermore, the borders between the different fields of management have become blurred, with the various actors acting not solely as knowledge carriers but also as intermediaries and scrutinizers. These results have interesting implications for corporate governance and for the management of European companies in a globalized world.
Ronald J. Pohoryles
Innocult revisited: The impact of EU research programmes on national research policies, key actors and research collaboration
Abstract
This article discusses the findings of the INNOCULT project ‘Internationalization of Research: Institutional Innovation, Culture and Agency in the Framework of Competition and Cooperation’. The project examined the impact of the European research programmes on research policies against the background of multi-level governance, on key research actors such as universities and research organizations as well as on research collaboration and networking. The project's findings and conclusions, dating back to 2001, are revisited in view of recent developments in research programming at European level, more specifically those relating to the Sixth Framework Programme and the introduction of the so-called ‘New Instruments’ for creating the European Research Area.
David Charles
Universities as key knowledge infrastructures in regional innovation systems
Abstract
There are different dimensions to the role played by universities in regional innovation. One perspective is to examine the different forms of knowledge and knowledge transfer in the form of commodified knowledge, human capital and social capital. A second perspective is to look at different governance and policy contexts and consider national systems of higher education, national programmes for regional innovation as well as regionally specific interactions. Examples of university engagement in Europe across these different scales are presented. Overall, there is a need for integration and joining up of policies at the regional scale.
Brigitte Preissl
Research and technology organizations in the service economy: Developing analytical tools for changing innovation patterns
Abstract
This paper documents the conception and results of a research project on the changing roles of research organisations in Europe. Institutional settings and functional orientation of these organizations reflect the ongoing transformation of economies into service economies. Several analytical tools have been developed to study the dynamics of research organisations. These tools allow the positioning of research organisations in national systems of innovation and the interpretation of institutional reforms. They emphasise the service character of research activities and innovation policy and help to explain differences in the research landscapes across the EU.
