Abstract
This chapter studies innovation in Southern European countries by applying the concept of territorial patterns of innovation, defined as spatial breakdowns of variants of the knowledge—invention—innovation logical path according to the presence/absence of territorial preconditions for knowledge and innovation creation and attraction. Despite investing less than the EU average in R&D and formal knowledge creation activities, these countries demonstrate substantial innovative activities, especially in the form of process innovation. Their dominant innovation pattern is based on the exploitation of informal knowledge embedded in professional capabilities rather than in formal knowledge produced through research activities. This innovation mode allows regions to achieve high total factor productivity, GDP and employment growth, therefore taking advantage of their innovative patterns much more than is generally thought. The need for smart innovation policies, tailored to regions’ innovation patterns, is finally underlined.
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- 1.
The data applied are presented in details in Appendix 1.
- 2.
The indicators used were the regional EU share of total patents, the regional share of firms introducing product and/or process innovation, and the regional share of firms introducing marketing and/or organizational innovation. For further details on the variables used in the cluster analysis and the variables representing the key territorial distinctive traits of the different groups of regions see Capello and Lenzi (2013).
- 3.
Comparisons were implemented only for the Smart technological application group (only between Spain and Italy) and the Smart and creative diversification group (among all countries) because of the very low number of regions in the other patterns.
- 4.
Differences are statistically significant at conventional levels. T-tests are available upon request.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: The NUTS2 Database for the Empirical Analysis
Appendix 2: Selected Additional Results
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Capello, R., Lenzi, C. (2017). Do Southern European Regions Really Lag Behind in Their Innovation Trends?. In: Fonseca, M., Fratesi, U. (eds) Regional Upgrading in Southern Europe. Advances in Spatial Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49818-8_4
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