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This conceptual and descriptive study examines the critical issues, challenges and priorities for European higher education (HE) leaders, drawing upon the theory, practice and experience of leaders inside and outside the open and distance learning (ODL) field. Focussing on the emerging vantage points of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), global trends and the post-pandemic HE landscape, the article discusses their impact on organisational architecture and the emerging leadership roles for driving organisational values, change and sustainability. The authors argue that to maintain institutional stability and agility, leaders must interpret the current zeitgeist to set priorities, build decision-action packages and embrace a new organisational architecture: one characterised by flexible structures, a clear vision of the desired future, a culture of trust and openness, a comprehensive and deep understanding and optimum application of employee skill and talent, and the effective implementation of digital tools and curriculum structures in pedagogically meaningful ways. Leaders must be adaptable, agile and innovative, with the capacity to understand, identify and support the forms of leadership appropriate to their strategic objectives and institutional culture. The paper concludes by targeting critical priorities and actions that leaders must navigate to create innovative and dynamic futures for their institutions.

Economic regulation is an instrument of the state or other institutions to correct market failures, rectify the business environment, or protect consumers. Regulation can be a major driver of innovation, and it has proven to be so in the past. On the other hand, there are also documented cases of ineffective regulation due to information delays or shortcomings in government decision-making. The complexity of the impact of regulatory changes on innovation can currently be observed in the medical device market in Europe. Regulation (EU) 2017/745 whose main idea is to ensure greater safety and health protection for consumers, is a challenge for originator, manufacturer, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises. The regulation is associated with an increase in the cost of developing and maintaining the product on the market. We can now gradually begin to analyze whether it can be ranked among those that have become drivers of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic asset seeking foreign direct investment has undergone tremendous growth over the past decade. This paper first attempts to evaluate the location choice of such investments in Europe. We find that Chinese companies target strategic assets in Europe. The paper then moves to understand the efficacy of these investments in terms of the creation of strategic assets in the Chinese parent company. Our results show the intangible assets of Chinese domestic parent firms significantly increase in the wake of their investments. For greenfield investments, there is a longer time-lag in creation of intangible strategic assets than for acquisitions. However, greenfield investments result in a larger increase in intangible asset creation than acquisition investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have a great importance in Europe, but the dynamic nature of market has created a competitive incentive among companies requiring them to improve their critical area of knowledge management (KM) and corresponding skills to create new business. More entrepreneurs, more innovation and growth are necessary and this could be realized particularly by supporting young people who would like to be entrepreneurs but the existing education and training programmes are insufficient. Mentoring is in comparison with coaching/counselling a special form of active supporting of entrepreneurship competence, a "natural support" helping also young people with special needs to believe in themselves and boost her confidence. The mentoring approach helps young people giving them practical entrepreneurial support and SMEs to improve the transfer and use of strategic knowledge. Knowledge is the key for all organizations and the success of many of them depends on the effective deployment and continual enhancement of their knowledge base so as to be innovative and to remain/become competitive. The paper first describes the areas of research, mentoring, entrepreneurship education and KM and then used methods and results. Examples for projects supporting the improvement of young entrepreneurship education and KM also by using mentoring are given.

In front of escalating resource limitations in agriculture, this study emphasizes the critical need for efficient crop cultivation. Focusing particularly on tomatoes, a staple in global diets, the research aims to sustenably enhance productivity. Recognizing productivity as a key economic indicator, the study highlights the pivotal role of energyefficient practices in addressing challenges posed by climate change and depleting natural resources. By optimizing energy use in agricultural processes, this research not only improves economic efficiency but also positions the sector for resilience and innovation in a resource-constrained environment. Through an in-depth analysis of data from Eurostat covering the 2014-2022 period, we trace the trends in greenhouse tomato cultivation across Europe, evaluating changes in cultivation areas and productivity. This research offers insights into how different European countries have adapted their agricultural practices in response to environmental and economic pressures and in the same time, it underscores the need for continued innovation and adaptation in agricultural practices to meet the demands of a growing global population under increasingly constrained environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2015, one of the largest healthcare companies in the world committed to phasing out from all its products and processes worldwide any substances declared by the European Chemicals Agency to be of very high concern. Since then, extended practical experience was gained in the phasing out of substances of concern. Results: We report in detail on a company-wide programme to phase out substances of concern, the challenges of and the approaches to the phase-out. The paper provides concrete ideas of how to address the legitimate urge to remove substances of concern from economic activities in a holistic way, taking into account the broad diversity of aspects of sustainability. The present paper also reviews the regulatory and societal environment in which substances of concern are being phased out. The paper attempts to contribute to the ongoing discussion of how to improve the chemicals policy in Europe and beyond. Conclusions: Phasing out substances of concern, substance selection for new products and processes, and the avoidance of regrettable substitutions while maintaining the pace of genuine innovation will stay a major challenge for our industry in the years ahead whereby not only toxicological and ecotoxicological hazards have to be considered in the selection and deselection of substances, but also other sustainability criteria characterising the entire life cycle will play an increasingly important role. Legislators and industry need to pay more attention to how this is implemented while avoiding slowing down innovation, making essential products unnecessarily more expensive, and further pushing material production out of highly regulated countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on innovation and profitability in large European firms.Design/methodology/approach Using information from a unique micro-longitudinal database of top European R&D investors and information from the European Commission (EC) Merger Control Authority, dynamic panel estimations with firm-level fixed effects are performed. Moreover, the paper presents a qualitative case study of a merger in the European electronic and electrical equipment industry.Findings The analysis of a sample of 562 M&As authorized by the EC Merger Control Authority shows that mergers positively influence the R&D intensity and profitability of top companies in the European Union over the period 2004–2012. Furthermore, empirical evidence shows that the timing and magnitude of these effects differs. In particular, the positive effect of mergers on R&D intensity is found for the short and large term while they influence profitability only in the large term.Originality/value This paper makes several contributions. First, unlike other studies on this topic, it investigates the effects of M&As using firm-level panel data on the top 1,000 European R&D companies instead of only examining a case study. Second, a unique data set has been used, which collects information on large European firms from the European Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard and the EC antitrust authority. Finally, the paper accounts for the casual link between innovation effort and profitability when evaluating the potential effect of M&As on the R&D intensity and profitability of large European firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to introduce the contributions in this special issue on "Unemployment, innovation and R&D", and provide a brief outline of the international conference organised by the Applied Econometrics Association on "Policies against Unemployment". Design/methodology/approach - The paper is descriptive in nature. Findings - The papers presented in this special issue shed some light on the key determinants of unemployment levels, and help to identify policies that can tackle unemployment successfully. Originality/value - Some radically different approaches to the issue of tackling unemployment are presented. The special issue, of which this paper is a part, provides further new evidence on the impact of innovation and R&D on employment/unemployment and unemployment persistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers in Regional Science is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the manner in which technological innovation in the European electrical-grid sector has developed by focusing, in particular, on the effect of public policy on innovation. To achieve this aim, this paper highlights how technological innovation and development progressed from the 1960s to the 1980s, and contrasts this period with the deregulated/privatization environment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a series of in-depth multiple company case studies of grid companies, some of their suppliers and other actors in their broader business network. Empirical data were collected through 55 interviews. Findings – The authors find that a phase of mutual collaboration was encouraged in the first period, which led to strong technological innovation with a focus on product quality and the development of functionality. Buyers played a pivotal role in the development of products and posed technical requirements. In contrast, the current role of the buyer has transformed principally into one of evaluating competing bids for specific projects. Today, buyers face increasing pressure to substantially lower CO2 emissions and transform the energy grid system. These goals are difficult to achieve without a new way of thinking about innovation. Research limitations/implications – Models to achieve innovation must not only focus on individual research projects; instead, the innovation should be factored into normal business dealings in the supply chain. Practical implications – We propose that policymakers and regulators need to: accommodate for innovation and address the collaborative elements of innovation when developing policies and regulations. Furthermore, regulators have the option of either developing a strategic vision for the electrical-grid network or incorporating sustainability into the evaluation of electrical grids and, thus, consumers’ willingness to pay. Originality/value – This paper makes a distinctive contribution in the area of innovation for electrical grids. Our paper shows how innovation and the development of new technology for electrical grids changed over time. Furthermore, this paper describes the energy sector in terms of a business network comprising the different actors involved in innovation and development and, thus, their role in the energy supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food value chain businesses form alliances with horizontal and/or vertical partners to take collective action to either overcome or ameliorate chain failure, or to take advantage of new opportunities available due to innovations in products or processes. The desired outcomes from the collective action would no t be possible to achieve if these businesses acted independently. While such alliances and collaborations may take many forms, depending on the degree of commitment, the kind of governance and infrastructure linkages, they can often be thought of as "clubs" for the purpose of economic analysis. Several different types of clubs can be identified, thus the path to collective action chosen by clubs may vary according to existing capabilities and the scope for collaboration, particularly in relation to the potential for value-creating innovation. The result of the collective action is the provision of a chain good or service, which usually leads to greater and more valuable chain coordination. By collectively identifying, funding and acting to capture positive externalities associated with innovation, businesses in many parts of a food value chain can widen opportunities to increase whole-of-chain surplus as well as private profits. In this paper five mini-case studies are presented to demonstrate the breadth of past collective actions undertaken by businesses in food value chains, two in Europe and three in Australia. These are the Euro Pool System, and Global Standards certification in Europe and globally, as well as Meat Standards Australia, an Australian beef organic producer alliance (OBE Organic®), and the supply of food to households during Covid-19 lockdown in Australia. Each case study yields insights into the rationale of how businesses in different food value chains in different countries have acted as a club to use their joint resources to internalise positive innovation and coordination externalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Comparative Economic Research is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose – For many decades, European national governments sought to stamp out undeclared work using a repressive approach. In the changing economic context of declining employment participation rates, however, the European Commission has called for a new approach to transform undeclared work into declared work. This necessitates public policy innovations. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the degree to which this European Commission call for policy innovation has been adopted by European national governments. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate this, the results are reported of an e-survey conducted in 2010 of 104 senior stakeholders from government departments, trade unions and employer organisations in 31 European countries, and 24 follow-up in-depth interviews. Findings – The finding is that although European nations have responded to the changing economic context and the resultant call by the European Commission for a new approach by adopting an array of innovative new policy measures to facilitate the declaration of undeclared work, stamping out such endeavour through repression measures remains the principal approach in most nations. Research limitations/implications – Until now, few studies have evaluated critically the different policy approaches adopted by European national governments to tackle undeclared work. This paper fills that gap. Practical implications – This paper reveals that if undeclared jobs are to be transformed into declared jobs and economic inclusion promoted, national governments will need to accord more priority to innovative new policy measures to legitimise declared work than is currently the case. Originality/value – This is the first critical evaluation of whether the European Commission call for innovative new policy measures when tackling undeclared work has been implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation has become a very popular concept over the twentieth century. However, few have stopped to study the origins of the category and to critically examine the studies produced on innovation. This paper conducts such an analysis on one type of innovation, namely technological innovation. The study of technological innovation is over one hundred years old. From the early 1900s onward, anthropologists, sociologists, historians, and economists began theorizing about technological innovation, each from his own respective disciplinary framework. However, in the last forty years an economic and 'dominant' understanding of technological innovation has developed: technological innovation defined as commercialized invention. This paper documents the origins of this representation and the tradition of research to which it gave rise: 'innovation studies.' More specifically, it analyzes what distinguishes this tradition from that concerned with technological change as the use of inventions in industrial production, and looks at why such a tradition originated in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, cultural diversity is being paid attention to by economists, signifying the importance of international allocation of human capital to world economic wellbeing. This paper attempts to understand how Europe can optimally benefit from cultural diversity while facing a spectrum of obstacles. Hypotheses tested by past studies are important but are generally limited by the multidimensional dynamics of the causality mechanism. This paper synthesizes the social, economic, and institutional element spiral within cultural diversity by proposing a culture–economy framework to understand economic prosperity. This paper is developed by three syntheses of the substantive literature: 1) identifying the research agenda of cultural diversity and economic prosperity, 2) conceptualizing the multidimensional dynamics from cultural diversity to economic prosperity, namely the culture–economy framework, and 3) understanding Asia–Europe relations with respect to cultural diversity and creative destruction. Intercultural learning amid complex interactions of identified elements between factor productivity and barriers was found to be the micro-foundation that links cultural diversity to economic prosperity in Europe. Cultural diversity was found to be the cause of richer ideas, heuristics, perspectives, and skills, suggesting the potential sustainability of economic prosperity with creativity-oriented policies in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge-intensive services (KIS) are assuming an increasing importance in innovation, to such an extent that they have even classified as "key agents" within innovation systems (Fischer, 2001). As one of the major features of KIS is coproduction, location is expected to play a significant role on the effects of KIS on regional innovation systems. The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between the location of KIS and the innovation performance of the European regions. Starting from the results reached by previous studies: Makun and McPherson (1997) for three New York regions, Muller and Zenker (1998) for five German and French regions, Drejer and Vinding (2003) for Danish urban areas or Simmie and Strambach (2006) for large cities of England and Germany, our aim is to widen the traditional scope of the analysis and evaluate the relationship between location of KIS and innovation performance on an European basis. More concretely we try to show that the spatial concentration of KIS in some regions (and particular in capital cities) contributes to foster innovation. To do so we carry out an exploratory spatial analysis for more than 100 European regions. We take as a proxy for the location of KIS the share of employment in KIS in every region. The results obtained support the hypothesis that KIS exert a positive impact on regional innovation performance, an impact that could spill over into the neighbouring regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the importance given to strategies for internationalization and research, two topics currently at the centre of European debate. What is made evident is the concept of investment in terms of capital human, knowledge, as well as economic -- to foster awareness of the fact that the growth of a society is closely linked to the production of knowledge and research. These are factors of primary importance for a society wanting to successfully deal with the challenge represented by the current crisis. Investing in the development of internationalization and research is one way of meeting this challenge. The paper outlines the different steps for carrying out the structural reforms needed to achieve the objectives set by the EU Communication 2020. In the same way, the progressive phases of the Directorate General for the Internationalization of Research (Ministry of Education) and other interested Ministries are also made evident in the Italian context. As part of these measures, the European Commission underlines the need to share a common European policy by integrating objectives, actors, strategies, actions and instruments, so that it can be implemented in the next Framework Programme -- "Horizon 2020-The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation". This review highlights the need to work jointly on important common objectives, regarding research, innovation and internationalization, aimed at achieving tangible results for public welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the role of higher education institutions within the framework of the knowledge triangle between academic education, scientific research and innovation, as it has gained importance in recent years as a framework for innovation policies especially in the OECD and Europe. First, complementary concepts of universities' outreach activities and extended role model such as 'third mission', 'triple helix', 'entrepreneurial or civic university' models and 'smart specialization' are reflected against their fit with the concept of the knowledge triangle, also with respect to new requirements for university governance. Second, a new understanding of spillovers between public sectors research and the business sector according to knowledge triangle is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge-based economy represents a consequence of technological and informational progress. The performances of the economies have lately depended on the way in which knowledge is capitalizing, and also on the innovation degree and the efficiency of information flows. The present paper aims to identify the importance, characteristics and main elements of the knowledge-based economy, but also the evolution of scientific research conducted in the field of knowledge-based economy in the last 15 years. At the same time, the study aims to identify the development stage of the knowledge-based economy in Europe, and also following the particular case of Romania. The study also presents the connections of the knowledge-based economy with the RDI system and the transfer of new technologies. The knowledge-based economy has proven to be a relatively new concept, and the resources and implications of this new economy have not yet been exhausted. Regarding the development stage of the knowledge-based economy in different European countries, the differences are significant, some countries being far from capitalizing on knowledge, because they do not invest enough in development, research and innovation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the determinants of innovation behavior in European firms that are predominantly small and medium in size. The aim is to assess the absolute as well as the relative impact on innovation behavior of firm-specific (i.e., internal) factors on the one hand and region-specific characteristics on the other. Two hypotheses are advanced and tested. The first is that—contrary in part to some recent literature on regional and national innovation systems—firm-specific determinants of innovation are more important than either region-specific or external factors. The second hypothesis is that in high-tech regions dominated by a small number of very large firms the innovation behavior of the smaller firms is more strongly influenced by regional factors than by factors internal to the firm. Whereas the first hypothesis is confirmed by the empirical results presented here, the second is not. Because firm-level innovation determinants are of great importance in the European regions investigated in this study, we suggest that local innovation policy should focus more on the specific needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular regions than on improving regional conditions for innovation in general. The analysis is mainly based on data from the European Regional Innovation Survey (ERIS) and includes information from more than 8,000 interviews with manufacturing firms, service firms, and research institutions in 11 European regions. The logit analyses reported in this paper used data from some 1,800 manufacturing firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD), breast cancer (BC) and prostate cancer (PC) continue to be high in the research and innovation agenda of the European Commission (EC). This is due to their exceptionally large burden to the national health systems, the profound economic effects of opportunity costs attributable to decreased working ability, premature mortality and the ever-increasing demand for both hospital and home-based medical care. Over the last two decades, the EC has been steadily increasing both the number of proposals being funded and the amounts of financial resources being allocated to these fields of research. This trend has continued throughout four consecutive science funding cycles, namely framework programme (FP)5, FP6, FP7 and Horizon 2020 (H2020). We performed a retrospective assessment of the outputs and outcomes of EC funding in AD, BC and PC research over the 1999–2019 period by means of selected indicators. These indicators were assessed for their ability to screen the past, present and future for an array of causal relationships and long-term trends in clinical, epidemiological and public health sphere, while considering also the broader socioeconomic impact of funded research on the society at large. This analysis shows that public–private partnerships with large industry and university-based consortia have led to some of the most impactful proposals being funded over the analysed time period. New pharmaceuticals, small molecules and monoclonal antibodies alike, along with screening and prevention, have been the most prominent sources of innovation in BC and PC, extending patients' survival and enhancing their quality of life. Unlike oncology, dementia drug development has been way less successful, with only minor improvements related to the quality of supportive medical care for symptoms and more sensitive diagnostics, without any ground-breaking disease-modifying treatment(s). Significant progresses in imaging diagnostics and nanotechnology have been largely driven by the participation of medical device industry multinational companies. Clinical trials funded by the EC were conducted, leading to the development of brand-new drug molecules featuring novel mechanisms of action. Some prominent cases of breakthrough discoveries serve as evidence for the European capability to generate cutting-edge technological innovation in biomedicine. Less productive areas of research may be reconsidered as priorities when shaping the new agenda for forthcoming science funding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of human capital (HC), intellectual property rights (IPRs) and research and development (R&D) expenditures on total factor productivity (TFP), which leads to economic growth. Design/methodology/approach: The panel data technique is used on a sample of 16 countries categorized into two groups, namely Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and, in order to make a comparison for the time period of 2007–2015, the researchers used a fixed effect model as an estimation method for regression. Findings: The results indicate that HC, IPRs and R&D expenditures appear to be statistically significant and are strong factors in determining changes in TFP and exhibit positive results in all sample sets. Moreover, IPRs alone do not accelerate growth in an economy, especially taking the case of emerging nations. Originality/value: Considering the importance of CEE and BRIC countries, and inadequate research on these regions with respect to current study's variables and techniques, the present research provides valuable insights about the importance of HC, IPR and R&D activities and their impact on TFP, which leads to economic growth. IPRs create a fertile environment for R&D activities, knowledge creation and economic development. Distinct nations can attain better economic status via HC, R&D activities, innovation, trade and FDI, although the relative significance of these channels is likely to differ across countries depending on their developmental levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science is growing as a field of research with contributions from diverse disciplines, promoting innovation in science, society, and policy. Inter- and transdisciplinary discussions and critical analyses are needed to use the current momentum to evaluate, demonstrate, and build on the advances that have been made in the past few years. This paper synthesizes results of discussions at the first international citizen science conference of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) in 2016 in Berlin, Germany, and distills major points of the discourse into key recommendations. To enhance innovation in science, citizen science needs to clearly demonstrate its scientific benefit, branch out across disciplines, and foster active networking and new formats of collaboration, including true co-design with participants. For fostering policy advances, it is important to embrace opportunities for policy-relevant monitoring and policy development and to work with science funders to find adequate avenues and evaluation tools to support citizen science. From a society angle it is crucial to engage with societal actors in various formats that suit participants and to evaluate two-way learning outcomes as well as to develop the transformative role of science communication. We hope that these key perspectives will promote citizen science progress at the science-society-policy interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While stakeholders have long been at the forefront of sustainable development debates, the emphases have tended to be on different stakeholder pressures, or managing stakeholder expectations about controversial issues. In this paper we bring a fresh direction to these debates and ask in what ways different stakeholders can contribute to sustainable innovation in firms. Based on 80 semi-structured interviews, we conduct a fine-grained qualitative analysis of stakeholder activities in sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) processes in 13 different companies across Europe. Our analysis identifies eight roles that stakeholders play in SOI processes: stimulator, initiator, broker/mediator, concept refiner, legitimator, educator, context enabler and impact extender. More traditional roles such as legitimator and educator are less common in our cases. However, emerging roles such as stimulator, concept refiner, context enabler and impact extender are clearly identifiable and could be particularly valuable for SOI. We enhance a collaborative perspective of stakeholder theory, finding that stakeholders can play highly collaborative and proactive roles, and argue that secondary stakeholders may actually be more relevant for SOI than primary stakeholders. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of our study is to systematically review existing literature from the past five years on university-industry collaboration, with a special emphasis on their relation to innovation. We conducted a literature review with a systematic approach with the involvement of 29 studies from European countries, published between 2016 and 2020. Our results have revealed a rather homogeneous pattern of research studies focusing on university-industry collaboration in European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether export activity is correlated with innovation in a large sample of European companies. We explicitly considered five types of innovation: a) process innovation; b) product innovation; c) process and product innovation; d) product innovation new to the firm; and e) product innovation new to the market. We considered innovation as endogenous and determined by R&D through a process characterized by the regional technological environment. Our analysis enabled us to propose an integrated model incorporating R&D, innovation, and export in a scheme of simultaneous decisions which considers their mutual correlations. Econometric results showed that product and process innovation positively affect the export intensity of manufacturing firms in Europe. The results also indicated complementarity effects between process and product innovation. The average effect on export intensity from engaging in process innovation is larger than that found for product innovation, except in cases where the product is new to the market. When both types of innovation have been carried out, a larger effect results than that observed for product or process innovation alone. Furthermore, the average marginal effect on export intensity from innovation of any kind is highly positive and significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers in Regional Science is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper analyses the nature and details of the association that the integration of social and environmental considerations with corporate strategy has for different competitive advantages and innovation activities at the firm level. Its objective is to answer the question as to whether a positive link exists between integration and the effects of environmental and social performance on these different dimensions of economic performance. The question of the specific form of this relationship is also raised. These questions are analysed using cluster analysis and regression models. Results are presented for four different dimensions of competitive advantage, and for two types of innovation activity. These raise the possibility that the process of integration is more important for bringing about a positive link than a resulting integration type. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the innovative performance of foreign-owned and domestically owned enterprises in five European countries. We look at innovation inputs, outputs, and examine how strong foreign-owned enterprises are embedded in the innovations systems of their host countries. We find that foreign ownership is associated with similar levels of innovation input, but higher levels of innovation output and higher labour productivity compared to domestic ownership. In four of the five countries, affiliates of foreign multinationals show a similar or even a higher propensity to co-operate with domestic partners than domestically owned enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The paper aims to look at how the Danish Leadership Institute facilitated the programme Innovation in Learning in Fujitsu Services during a three-year period. Design/methodology/approach - The paper examines how the Danish Leadership Institute developed 2,200 managers from Fujitsu Services from 13 different countries. Findings - This case story reveals: how highly focused one-day interventions can create immediate impact in managers' performance; the effect of a management development initiative for 2,200 managers throughout Europe; how multinational development initiatives can be implemented to address directly both global and local issues; and, finally, how 100 per cent tailored learning solutions were used. Originality/value - The paper provides useful information for those wanting to improve managers' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the formative years of biotechnology, ‘star’ bioscientists possessed intellectual capital of extraordinary scientific and pecuniary value. In America and Japan, 35 percent of star bioscientists became involved with firms in commercialising their discoveries (a crucial determinant of success) versus 7 percent in Europe. Did star involvement come at expense of scientific progress? No, the publication rate of these ‘involved stars’ increased very significantly whilst actively involved with firms. Furthermore, citations per article were unchanged or significantly increased; so quality was maintained. Top academic scientists and firms working together led to faster commercial and scientific progress – a truly virtuous circle. Durante los años formativos de la biotecnología, los bioinvestigadores “estrella” acumulaban un capital intelectual de extraordinario valor científico y pecuniario. En América y Japón, el 35 por ciento de bioinvestigadores “estrella” se involucraron con empresas en la comercialización de sus descubrimientos (determinante crucial del éxito) comparado con un 7 por ciento en Europa. ¿Fue este involucramiento a costa del progreso científico? No, la tasa de publicación de estos investigadores estrella aumentó muy significativamente mientras que estaban activamente involucrados con dichas empresas. Es más, el número de citas de sus artículos no cambiaron o aumentaron significativamente, y por tanto la calidad se ha mantenido. Los investigadores más eminentes y las empresas punteras trabajando juntos nos llevan más rápidamente al progreso comercial y científico – un círculo virtuoso verdadero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the diffusion patterns of eight information technologies that are transforming HR service-delivery in North America and Europe: HR functional applications, integrated HR suites, IVR systems, HR intranets, employee and manager self-service applications, FIR extranets, and FIR portals. Little is known about the diffusion process for these innovations within or across countries despite mounting professional and academic interest in their proliferation. Design/methodology/approach - The paper shows that external-, internal-, and mixed-influence models were applied to the HRIT-adoption decisions of a cross-sectional sample of US, Canadian, UK and Irish firms. Parameter estimation was guided by nonlinear regression procedures with starting values for p and q set at levels similar to those reported in prior IT-diffusion studies. Senior HR executives provided the underlying data by means of a dynamically branching, web-based survey. Findings - The paper finds that overall diffusion was best characterized as an outgrowth of internal influences, fueled primarily by contacts among members in the social system of potential adopters. Similar results were obtained when controls were introduced for national setting, targeted end-user, and technology type. Research limitations/implications - The paper shows that future investigations would benefit from higher response rates outside of North America and the utilization of smaller time intervals to identify when each application was acquired. Practical implications - In the paper the modest correlation between the number of acquired ITs and FIR-transaction automation supports the general call for more formalized HR-technology strategies at the firm-level to coordinate purchasing and implementation decisions. Originality/value - In addition to reviewing the extant literature on HR information systems, this paper presents the first empirical study of the diffusion process for FIR software applications within and across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green economy policy discourse has devoted a lot of attention to the design of public policy addressing low-carbon technologies. In this paper we examine the impacts of public R&D support and feed-in tariff schemes on innovation in the wind energy sector. The analysis is conducted using patent application data for four western European countries over the period 1977–2009. Different model specifications are tested, and the analysis highlights important policy interaction effects. The results indicate that both public R&D support and feed-in tariffs have positively affected patent application counts in the wind power sector. The (marginal) impact on patent applications of increases in feed-tariffs has also become more profound as the wind power technology has matured. There is also some evidence of policy interaction effects in that the impact of public R&D support to wind power is greater at the margin if it is accompanied by the use of feed-in tariff schemes. These results support the notion that technological innovation requires both R&D and learning-by-doing, and for this reason public R&D programs should typically not be designed in isolation from practical applications. The paper ends by outlining some important avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The issue of rural development is an important topic from the perspective of the science of territorial development for several reasons. First, from the perspective of the growing importance of cities, with which the depopulation of the countryside is associated. Secondly, from the point of view of the development opportunities of non-urbanized areas, whose position in the context of fund distribution is weak. Finally, from the point of view of the possibility of diversifying food production, to which much attention is currently being paid in Europe and around the world. However, as studies show, not only the existence, but the development of rural areas is a determinant of the development of urban areas. Aim: The purpose of the article is to demonstrate that rural development continues to be a significant challenge, while especially important for this development is the involvement of people -- entrepreneurial leaders. Results: As a result of the study, it was possible to gain input in the form of knowledge regarding the differential impact of the rural development factors identified in the study. The phenomenon of the possibility of digitization of social and business life, which has emerged as globalization has progressed, and quite clearly as a result of the pandemic, has shown that it is a factor of great importance in leveling the marginalization of rural areas. What's more, the entrepreneurship of rural leaders is a key element in building strategies for the development of these areas, even outweighing the factor of a financial and administrative nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyze the evolution of the LEADER approach from the pilot project stage to the present. The article aims to the stages of the LEADER approach and their particularities from the timid beginnings of LEADER in Europe and emphasize the relevant aspects of this innovative approach: principles, eligible territory, added value. LEADER has emerged as a necessity of rural development policies regarding the objective of their interventions, interventions aimed at revitalizing rural areas and creating jobs. It follows the evolution of the relevant indicators of the LEADER approach in Europe and in Romania such: covered territorial area, allocated amounts. Also, some data are presented to highlight the LEADER financial allocation compared to the rest of the EAFRD budget allocated to that country. For the first stage LEADER the financial allocation was 442 million euros distributed to a number of 217 local action groups, the success of LEADER being proved over time by the increasing financial allocation, the covered area and the number of local action groups, respectively: 9,400 million euros and 2,784 LAGs in Europe in 2014 - 2020. In Romania, there are 239 LAGs that have financial allocation of 563.50 million euros and an eligible territory of 228,754 km². [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a brief overview of, and elaborates on, some of the presentations, discussions and conclusions from Day 4 of the 'WHO EURO 2014 International Healthy Cities Conference: Health and the City - Urban Living in the 21st Century', held in Athens, Greece on 25 October 2014. The Internet of Things (IoT) is made of sensors and other components that connect our version of the world made of atoms, i.e., humans/our bodies, our devices, vehicles, roads, buildings, plants, animals, etc., with a mirror digital version made of bits. This enables cities and regions to be self-aware and dynamically reconfigurable in real- or near-real-time, based on changes that are continuously monitored and captured by sensors, similar to the way the internal biological systems of a living being operate and respond to their environment (homeostasis). Data collected by various IoT sensors and processed via appropriate analytics can also help predict the immediate future with reasonable accuracy, which enables better planned responses and mitigation actions. Cities and regions can thus become more adaptable and resilient in face of adversity. Furthermore, IoT can link atoms (humans) to other atoms (humans) (again via bits), resulting in the formation of 'smart(er) communities' that are socially connected in new ways and potentially happier. Cities, but also less urbanised regions and the countryside, could all benefit from, and harness the power of, IoT to improve the health, well-being and overall quality of life of the local populations, actively engage citizens in a smarter governance of their region, empower them to better care for one another, promote stronger social inclusion, and ensure a greener, sustainable and more enjoyable environment for all. Technology can also help reverse the 'brain drain' from the countryside and smaller towns to larger metropolises by making the former more attractive and connected, with better services akin to those found in larger cities. The article also discusses some ways of measuring and benchmarking the performance of smart cities and their impact on well-being. However, it should be emphasised that technology is not a panacea and that other factors are equally important in creating happier and healthier cities and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a brief overview of, and elaborates on, some of the presentations, discussions and conclusions from Day 4 of the 'WHO EURO 2014 International Healthy Cities Conference: Health and the City - Urban Living in the 21st Century', held in Athens, Greece on 25 October 2014. The Internet of Things (IoT) is made of sensors and other components that connect our version of the world made of atoms, i.e., humans/our bodies, our devices, vehicles, roads, buildings, plants, animals, etc., with a mirror digital version made of bits. This enables cities and regions to be self-aware and dynamically reconfigurable in real-or near-real-time, based on changes that are continuously monitored and captured by sensors, similar to the way the internal biological systems of a living being operate and respond to their environment (homeostasis). Data collected by various IoT sensors and processed via appropriate analytics can also help predict the immediate future with reasonable accuracy, which enables better planned responses and mitigation actions. Cities and regions can thus become more adaptable and resilient in face of adversity. Furthermore, IoT can link atoms (humans) to other atoms (humans) (again via bits), resulting in the formation of 'smart(er) communities' that are socially connected in new ways and potentially happier. Cities, but also less urbanised regions and the countryside, could all benefit from, and harness the power of, IoT to improve the health, well-being and overall quality of life of the local populations, actively engage citizens in a smarter governance of their region, empower them to better care for one another, promote stronger social inclusion, and ensure a greener, sustainable and more enjoyable environment for all. Technology can also help reverse the 'brain drain' from the countryside and smaller towns to larger metropolises by making the former more attractive and connected, with better services akin to those found in larger cities. The article also discusses some ways of measuring and benchmarking theperformance of smart cities and their impact on well-being. However, it should be emphasised that technology is not a panacea and that other factors are equally important in creating happier and healthier cities and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing demand for modern treatments and significant profit margins are strong incentives for investors and producers. However, the production and use of medical devices is subject to a number of laws, regulations, strict standards, and certification processes. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyze patent activity based on the example of the selected country (Czech Republic), compare it with selected foreign countries, and discuss the development of this industry in the context of new medical device regulation (MDR) implementation. The paper is based on the theoretical concept of the relationship between regulation and innovation. The main challenge in the implementation of the new medical device regulations lies in the area of innovation. This is because most innovative research in the medical device sector is undertaken by small to medium enterprises (SMEs) rather than by large companies. SMEs are more vulnerable than big companies when it comes to development because the accompanying administrative costs can be so high that it may force the company to leave the market. Given that the main reason for the existence of economic regulations are various forms of market failure, which occurs when market mechanisms do not lead to results that benefit society, any attempts to redress this situation should naturally lead to greater benefits for society and hence benefits for the given industry as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensity of the process of globalization and the new technological advances have resulted in changes in vision and behavior, so that the competitiveness and survival of European companies is linked increasingly more to IT processes efficiency and knowledge. In general, we consider innovation as a boosting factor of progress even in the period of economic and political crisis in which we find ourselves. The need for this research is the interest of companies from Romania towards innovation. In many industrial enterprises, or in the intermediate category of advice, and even among those in public services it has become necessary because of the innovation manager.. In this paper we dealt with the theoretical notion of innovation and impact on the development of enterprises [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisation climate plays an important role for the innovation of an organisation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate connections between the innovation climate and individual and organisational level factors. Surveys were conducted among Japanese, Chinese, Estonian, Czech and Slovakian enterprises. Linear regression analysis was conducted. The results of an empirical study show that the innovation climate predicts differently some individual and organisational level factors in studied countries. Two innovation climate facets – commitment and freedom predict individual level factors– attitude toward the firm in all 5 countries. In two studied Asian countries, Japan and China, commitment predicts meaning of work and job satisfaction whereas in all three new European Union member states some links between facets of the innovation climate and individual meaning of work and job satisfaction were missing. Although individual job satisfaction and meaning of work in is still shaped by to some extent different mechanisms in studied countries, implications of the innovative climate for organisation are more similar, at least in industries that are influenced by rapid technological development and globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necessity to improve the conditions for research and development conducting activities, under Europe 2020 Strategy, requires monitoring of European firms' progress on the topic of innovation. All types of small and medium-sized businesses can innovate, especially those from high-tech sectors, with effects upon improving the European competitiveness level and addressing societal problems. In the case of Central and Eastern European countries, ensuring the innovation-driven competitiveness requires the exploitation of the active population's entrepreneurial, creative and innovative features. In this context, the paper proposes a research model of the small and medium-sized firms' entrepreneurial process in selected Central and Eastern European countries, according to their economic development stage and competitiveness level, leading to the quantitative identification of cause-effect relationships between entrepreneurship and innovation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extension of the European Union represents a huge opportunity for the companies, but in an equal measure it is a real challenge, namely the one to face competition with European enterprises. Quality stands for a constituent part of the competitiveness but the extension of the European Union has made the developing countries and the countries with economies in transition to experience difficulties in raising the quality of the goods and of the services supplied. In the following paper, the authors will propose some solutions to improve quality using the "strategy of small steps" which is widely known as Kaizen strategy. . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it is common to claim that university reforms are based on universal and standardised ideas about 'modernising' the university, few studies have examined in a more coherent way how the combined external pressure for change with respect to the areas of education, research and innovation has affected the university. In this paper it is argued that one can identify three different sets of logics concerning the current external reform agenda, and that these logics together create new challenges as to how knowledge is created, diffused and governed by the university. In the conclusion, it is discussed whether the current pressure for reform might change the university as we know it, or whether new institutional translations might emerge from the process renewing the university while maintaining its identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The European CCS Demonstration Project Network was initiated by the European Commission in 2009. The main objective of the network is to accelerate development of CCS technologies by creating a forum for exchange and dissemination of new knowledge generated by the first large scale CCS plants in Europe. This paper provides an overview and understanding of the activities of the network and the political and theoretical context of their development. The paper focuses on how the Network has been structured to add value to demonstration projects and create vital new channels of information for enabling CCS demonstration and deployment to be advanced worldwide. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper analyzes the relationship between banks and SMEs in the continental European bank-based system. We find that SMEs with longer bank relationships have enhanced access to loans, but at the same time they bear a higher cost for their debt. We also find that firms maintaining two bank relationships get the cheapest debt, which establishes a limit for the degree of concentration of bank relationships. Our results also show that the existence of trust between firm and bank improves access to financing and reduces the borrowing costs, whereas it increases the likelihood that guarantees will have to be provided. As a consequence, it seems that a relationship based on trust is a better strategy to improve SMEs’ access to finance than the establishment of longer or more concentrated relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of the innovation process on organisational learning. To achieve this goal, we decompose innovation into two components, innovativeness and the capacity to innovate. This paper proposes theoretically the concept of Operative Real Options (OROs) and empirically seeks to measure their influence on the relationship between innovation and organisational learning. Using empirical data gathered from 204 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in European firms, the findings support the hypothesis that innovation and its two components improve the learning process in the organisation. However, we do not find support for the hypothesis that OROs moderate the relation between innovation and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OVERVIEW: In today's competitive environment, the ability of an organization to innovate is paramount. While most organizations have flashes or spurts of innovation, only a handful have been able to innovate on a continuous and sustained basis. This paper surveys the challenges faced by firms when trying to build sustainable innovation programs. These findings have been derived from an examination of innovation programs in over 30 organizations in North America, Europe and Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]