Abstract

Innovation systems are not bound by administrative or political boundaries. Using information theory, we measure innovation-systemness as synergy among size-classes, postal addresses, and technological classes (NACE-codes) of firm-level data collected by Statistics Italy at different scales. Italy is organized in twenty regions, but there is also a traditional divide between the North and the South of the country. At which levels is how much innovation-systemness indicated? The greatest synergy is retrieved by considering the country in terms of Northern and Southern Italy as two sub-systems, with Tuscany included as part of Northern Italy. We suggest that separate innovation strategies could be developed for these two parts of the country. The current focus on regions for innovation policies may to some extent be an artifact of the statistics and EU policies. In terms of sectors, both medium- and high-tech manufacturing (MHTM) and knowledge-intensive services (KIS) are proportionally integrated in the various regions

Full document

The PDF file did not load properly or your web browser does not support viewing PDF files. Download directly to your device: Download PDF document

References

Antonioli, Davide; Marzucchi, Alberto; Montresor, Sandro (2014). “Regional innovation policy and innovative behaviour: Looking for additional effects”. European planning studies, v. 22, n. 1, pp. 64-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2012.722977

Ashby, W. Ross (1958). “Requisite variety and its implications for the control of complex systems”. Cybernetica, v. 1, n. 2, pp. 83-89. http://134.184.131.111/Books/AshbyReqVar.pdf

Asheim, Bjørn T.; Coenen, Lars (2006). “Contextualising regional innovation systems in a globalising learning economy: On knowledge bases and institutional frameworks”. Journal of technology transfer, v. 31, n. 1, pp. 163-173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-005-5028-0

Balconi, Margherita; Breschi, Stefano; Lissoni, Francesco (2004). “Networks of inventors and the role of academia: an exploration of Italian patent data”. Research policy, v. 33, n. 1, pp. 127-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(03)00108-2

Bathelt, Harald (2003). “Geographies of production: growth regimes in spatial perspective 1-innovation, institutions and social systems”. Progress in human geography, v. 27, n. 6, pp. 789-804. https://doi.org/10.1191/0309132503ph462pr

Becattini, Giacomo; Bellandi, Marco; Ottati, Gabi-Dei; Sforzi, Fabio (2003). From industrial districts to local development: An itinerary of research. Cheltenham, UK / Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar. ISBN: 978 1 84376 159 4

Belussi, Fiorenza; Sammarra, Alessia; Sedita, Silvia-Rita (2010). “Learning at the boundaries in an ‘Open regional innovation system’: A focus on firms’ innovation strategies in the Emilia Romagna life science industry”. Research policy, v. 39, n. 6, pp. 710-721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.014

Bertamino, Federica; Bronzini, Raffaello; De-Maggio, Marco; Revelli, Davide (2017). “Regional policies for innovation: the case of technology districts in Italy”. Regional studies, v. 51, n. 12, pp. 1826-1839. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2016.1255321

Biggiero, Lucio (1998). “Italian industrial districts: a Triple Helix pattern of problem solving”. Industry and higher education, v. 12, n. 4, pp. 227-234. https://doi.org/10.1177/095042229801200408

Blau, Peter M.; Schoenherr, Richard A. (1971). The structure of organizations. New York: Basic Books. ISBN: 978 0 465082407

Braczyk, Hans-Joachim; Cooke, Philip; Heidenreich, Martin (eds.). (1998). Regional innovation systems. London / Bristol PA: University College London Press. ISBN: 978 0 415303699

Brancati, Raffaele (ed.) (2015). Le strategie per la crescita. Imprese, mercati, governi. Rapporto MET 2015, Donzelli Editore. ISBN: 978 88 6843 230 0

Brooks, Daniel R.; Wiley, Edward O. (1986). Evolution as entropy. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 978 0 226075815

Bruckner, Eberhard; Ebeling, Werner; Jiménez-Montaño, Miguel A.; Scharnhorst, Andrea (1996). “Nonlinear stochastic effects of substitution —an evolutionary approach”. Journal of evolutionary economics, v. 6, n. 1, pp. 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01202370

Cappellin, Riccardo; Marelli, Enrico; Rullani, Enzo; Sterlacchini, Alessandro (2014). “Introduzione: linee guida per il rilancio della politica industriale e regionale”. In: Cappellin, R.; Marelli, E.; Rullani, E.; Sterlacchin, A. (eds.). Crescita, investimento e territorio: il ruolo delle politiche industriali e regionali, eBook Scienze Regionali 2014/1.

Carlsson, Bo (2006). “Internationalization of innovation systems: A survey of the literature”. Research policy, v. 35, n. 1, pp. 56-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2005.08.003

Carlsson, Bo (2013). “Knowledge flows in high-tech industry clusters: Dissemination mechanisms and innovation regimes”. In: E. S. Andersen; A. Pyka (eds.). Long term economic development: Demand, finance, organization, policy and innovation in Schumpeterian perspective (pp. 191-222). Berlin / Heidelberg: Springer Verlag.

Carlsson, Bo; Stankiewicz, Rikard (1991). “On the nature, function, and composition of technological systems”. Journal of evolutionary economics, v. 1, n. 2, pp. 93-118. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0145-5_2

Commission of the European Community (2000). Towards a European research area. Brussels, 18 January 2000. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2000:0006:FIN:en:PDF

Cooke, Philip (1998). “Introduction. The origins of the concept”. In: P. Cooke; M. Heidenreich; H.-J. Braczyk (eds.). Regional innovation systems (pp. 2-25). London/ Bristol, PA: University College London Press. ISBN: 0 415 38369 9

Cooke, Philip (2002). Knowledge economies. London: Routledge. ISBN: 978 1 134712571

Cooke, Philip; Leydesdorff, Loet (2006). “Regional development in the knowledge-based economy: The construction of advantage”. Journal of technology transfer, v. 31, n. 1, pp. 5-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-005-5009-3

Cucco, Ivan; Leydesdorff, Loet (2014). “Measuring synergies in the Italian innovation system: A comparison of Amadeus™ and administrative data”. In: 11th Wageningen intl conf on chain and network management, 4-6 June 2014, Capri.

Dei-Ottati, Gabi (2003). “Local governance and industrial districts: Competitive advantage”. In: G. Beccatini; M. Bellandi; G. D. Ottati; F. Sforzi (eds.), From industrial districts to local development: an itinerary of research (pp. 184-209). Cheltenham, UK / Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar. ISBN: 978 1 843761594

De-Marchi, Valentina; Grandinetti, Roberto (2017). “Regional innovation systems or innovative regions? Evidence from Italy”. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, v. 108, n. 2, pp. 234-249. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12217

D’Este, Pablo; Iammarino, Simona (2010). “The spatial profile of university-business research partnerships”. Papers in regional science, v. 89, n. 2, pp. 335-350. https://www.academia.edu/21113133/The_spatial_profile_of_university-business_research_partnerships

Etzkowitz, Henry; Klofsten, Magnus (2005). “The innovating region: toward a theory of knowledge-based regional development”. R&D management, v. 35, n. 3, pp. 243-255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2005.00387.x

Eurostat/OECD (2011). High technology and knowledge-intensive sectors. December 2011. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/Annexes/htec_esms_an3.pdf

Feldman, Maryann; Storper, Michael (2016). “Economic growth and economic development: geographic dimensions, definitions and disparities”. In: G. L. Clark, M. P. Feldman, M. S. Gertler; D. Wójcik (eds.). The new Oxford handbook of economic geography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978 0 198755609

Florida, Richard (2002). “Bohemia and economic geography”. Journal of economic geography, v. 2, n. 1, pp. 55-71. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/2.1.55

Foray, Dominique; Lundvall, Bengt-Åke (1996). “The knowledge-based economy: From the economics of knowledge to the learning economy”. In: Employment and growth in the knowledge-based economy (pp. 11-32). Paris: OECD.

Freeman, Christopher (1987). Technology policy and economic performance: Lessons from Japan. London: Pinter. ISBN: 0861879287

Freeman, Christopher; Pérez, Carlota (1988). “Structural crises of adjustment, business cycles and investment behaviour”. In: G. Dosi, C. Freeman, R. Nelson, G. Silverberg; L. Soete (eds.). Technical change and economic theory (pp. 38-66). London: Pinter.

Freeman, Christopher; Soete, Luc (1997). The economics of industrial innovation (3rd ed.). London: Pinter. ISBN: 978 0 262561136

Fritsch, Michael (2004). “Cooperation and the efficiency of regional R&D activities”. Cambridge journal of economics, v. 28, n. 6, pp. 829-846. https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/beh039

Fritsch, Michael; Schwirten, Christian (1999). “Enterprise-university co-operation and the role of public research institutions in regional innovation systems”. Industry and innovation, v. 6, pp. 69-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/13662719900000005

Griliches, Zvi (1994). “Productivity, R&D and the data constraint”. The American economic review, v. 84, n. 1, pp. 1-23. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2117968

Ivanova, Inga A.; Leydesdorff, Loet (2014). “Rotational symmetry and the transformation of innovation systems in a Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government relations”. Technological forecasting and social change, v. 86, pp. 143-156. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.08.022

Krippendorff, Klaus (2009). “Information of interactions in complex systems”. International journal of general systems, v. 38, n. 6, pp. 669-680. https://doi.org/10.1080/03081070902993160

Laafia, Ibrahim (2002). “Employment in high tech and knowledge intensive sectors in the EU continued to grow in 2001”. Statistics in focus: Science and technology, Theme, v. 9, n. 4. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3433488/5504500/KS-NS-02-004-EN.PDF

Laursen, Keld; Reichstein, Toke; Salter, Ammon (2011). “Exploring the effect of geographical proximity and university quality on university–industry collaboration in the United Kingdom”. Regional studies, v. 45, n. 4, pp. 507-523. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343400903401618

Lew, Yong-Kyu; Khan, Zaheer; Cozzio, Sara (2018). “Gravitating toward the quadruple helix: international connections for the enhancement of a regional innovation system in Northeast Italy”. R&D management, v. 48, n. 1, pp. 44-59. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12227

Leydesdorff, Loet (2003). “The mutual information of university-industry-government relations: An indicator of the Triple Helix dynamics”. Scientometrics, v. 58, n. 2, pp. 445-467. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026253130577

Leydesdorff, Loet (2018). “Synergy in knowledge-based innovation systems at national and regional levels: The Triple-Helix model and the Fourth industrial revolution”. Journal of open innovation, technology, markets, and complexity (JoItmc), v. 4, n. 2. https://www.mdpi.com/2199-8531/4/2/16/pdf

Leydesdorff, Loet; Dolfsma, Wilfred; Van-der-Panne, Gerben (2006). “Measuring the knowledge base of an economy in terms of triple-helix relations among ‘technology, organization, and territory’. Research policy, v. 35, n. 2, pp. 181-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2005.09.001

Leydesdorff, Loet; Fritsch, Michael (2006). “Measuring the knowledge base of regional innovation systems in Germany in terms of a Triple Helix dynamics”. Research policy, v. 35, n. 10, pp. 1538-1553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2006.09.027

Leydesdorff, Loet; Ivanova, Inga; Meyer, Martin S. (2019, in press). “The measurement of synergy in innovation systems: Redundancy generation in a Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government relations”. In: W. Glänzel, H. Moed, U. Schmoch; M. Thelwall (eds.). Springer handbook of science and technology indicators. Heidelberg, etc.: Springer. ISBN: 978 3 030 02510 6

Leydesdorff, Loet; Perevodchikov, Evgeniy; Uvarov, Alexander (2015). “Measuring triple-helix synergy in the Russian innovation systems at regional, provincial, and national levels”. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, v. 66, n. 6, pp. 1229-1238. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23258

Leydesdorff, Loet; Porto-Gómez, Igono (2019). “Measuring the expected synergy in Spanish regional and national systems of innovation”. Journal of technology transfer, v. 44, n. 1, pp. 189-209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-017-9618-4

Leydesdorff, Loet; Strand, Øivind (2013). “The Swedish system of innovation: Regional synergies in a knowledge-based economy”. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, v. 64, n. 9, pp. 1890-1902. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.22895

Leydesdorff, Loet; Wagner, Caroline S.; Porto-Gómez, Igone; Comins, Jordan A.; Phillips, Fred (in press). “Synergy in the knowledge base of U.S. innovation systems at national, state, and regional levels: The contributions of high-tech manufacturing and knowledge-intensive services”. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology.

Luhmann, Niklas (1997). “Limits of steering”. Theory, culture & society, v. 14, n. 1, pp. 41-57. https://doi.org/10.1177/026327697014001003

Lundvall, Bengt-Åke (1988). “Innovation as an interactive process: from user-producer interaction to the national system of innovation”. In: G. Dosi, C. Freeman, R. Nelson, G. Silverberg; L. Soete (eds.). Technical change and economic theory (pp. 349-369). London: Pinter. ISBN: 978 0 861878949

Lundvall, Bengt-Åke (ed.) (1992). National systems of innovation. London: Pinter. ISBN: 978 1 843318668

Malerba, Franco (1993). “The national system of innovation: Italy”. In: R. R. Nelson (ed.). National innovation systems: A comparative analysis (pp. 230-259). Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978 0 195076172

Mameli, Francesca; Faggian, Alessandra; McCann, Philip (2009). “Employment growth in italian local labour systems: Issues of model specification and sectoral aggregation”. Spatial economic analysis, v. 3, n. 3, pp. 343-360. https://doi.org/10.1080/17421770802353030

McGill, William J. (1954). “Multivariate information transmission”. Psychometrika, v. 19, n. 2, pp. 97-116. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02289159

Nelson, Richard R. (ed.) (1993). National innovation systems: A comparative analysis. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978 0 195076172

Nuvolari, Alessandro; Vasta, Michelangelo (2015). “The ghost in the attic? The Italian national innovation system in historical perspective, 1861-2011”. Enterprise & society, v. 16, n. 02, pp. 270-290. https://doi.org/10.1017/eso.2014.25

OECD. (2009). OECD Reviews of regional innovation: Piedmont, Italy. Paris: OECD. ISBN: 978 92 64039162

Oh, Deog-Seong; Phillips, Fred-Young; Park, Sehee; Lee, Eunghyun (2016). “Innovation ecosystems: A critical examination”. Technovation, v. 54, pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2016.02.004

Paci, Raffaele; Usai, Stefano (1999). “Externalities, knowledge spillovers and the spatial distribution of innovation”. GeoJournal, v. 49, n. 4, pp. 381-390. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007192313098

Petersen, Alexander M.; Rotolo, Daniele; Leydesdorff, Loet (2016). “A Triple Helix model of medical innovations: Supply, demand, and technological capabilities in terms of Medical Subject Headings”. Research policy, v. 45, n. 3, pp. 666-681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2015.12.004

Prota, Francesco; Viesti, Gianfranco (2013). Senza cassa. Le politiche per lo sviluppo del Mezzogiorno dopo l’intervento straordinario. Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN: 978 88 15239808

Pugh, Derek S.; Hickson, David J.; Hinings, C. Robert (1969). “An empirical taxonomy of structures of work organizations”. Administrative science quarterly, v. 14, n. 1, pp. 115-126.

Rocha, Frederico (1999). “Inter-firm technological cooperation: effects of absorptive capacity, firm-size and specialization”. Economics of innovation and new technology, v. 8, n. 3, pp. 253-271. https://doi.org/10.1080/10438599900000011

Rolfo, Secondo; Calabrese, Giuseppe (2006). “From national to regional approach in R&D policies: the case of Italy”. International journal of foresight and innovation policy, v. 2, n. 3-4, pp. 345-362. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJFIP.2006.010408

Rotolo, Daniele; Rafols, Ismael; Hopkins, Michael M.; Leydesdorff, Loet (2017). “Strategic intelligence on emerging technologies: Scientometric overlay mapping”. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, v. 68, n. 1, pp. 214-233. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23631

Shannon, Claude E. (1948). “A mathematical theory of communication”. Bell System technical journal, v. 27, n. 3, July and October, pp. 379-423 and 623-656. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x

Storper, Michael (1997). The regional world – territorial development in a global economy. New York: Guilford Press. ISBN: 978 1 572303157

Storper, Michael; Kemeny, Thomas; Makarem, Naji; Osman, Taner (2015). The rise and fall of urban economies. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN: 978 0 804789400

Theil, Henri (1972). Statistical decomposition analysis. Amsterdam / London: North-Holland. ISBN: 978 0 444103789

Vernon, Raymond (1979). “The product cycle hypothesis in a new international environment”. Oxford bulletin of economics and statistics, v. 41, n. 4, pp. 255-267. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0084.1979.mp41004002.x

Yeung, Raymond W. (2008). Information theory and network coding. New York, NY: Springer. ISBN: 978 0 387 79234 7

Back to Top

Document information

Published on 13/04/19
Accepted on 13/04/19
Submitted on 13/04/19

Volume 28, Issue 2, 2019
DOI: 10.3145/epi.2019.mar.14
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA license

Document Score

0

Views 14
Recommendations 0

Share this document

claim authorship

Are you one of the authors of this document?