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In this paper, we propose a model of national innovation production that formalizes the role of trade partnerships as a channel of knowledge spillovers across countries. The model is used to investigate the energy efficiency technological domain in the European Union (EU) using a panel database covering 19 EU countries for the time span 1990–2015. The model is estimated by using a novel empirical strategy which allows to assess the knowledge spillover effects benefiting a country depending on its relative position in the trade network, and correct for common endogeneity concerns. We show that being central in the trade network is a significant determinant of a country's innovative performance, and that learning-by-exporting mechanisms are responsible for increased innovation performances. We further reveal that neglecting network effects may significantly reduce our understanding of domestic innovation patterns. Finally, we find that the benefits obtained from knowledge diffusion varies with the domestic absorptive capacity and policy mix composition. Our main implication is that policy design informed by network-based case studies could help maximizing the exploitation of positive knowledge spillovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diffusion of knowledge is an essential triggering factor in the phase of economic growth through externalities mostly based on R&D and innovations embodied in technological products or services. As a form of transmission, knowledge spillovers arising from an external source can emerge through various channels. This study investigates the effect of knowledge spillovers via high-tech imports and international R&D cooperation on longrun economic growth, in a panel of selected emerging and developing economies for the 1995-2019 period. Based on the results of second-generation econometric methods that take into account cross-section dependence and parameter heterogeneity, it is concluded that knowledge spillovers via high-tech imports are a prominent determinant of economic growth. The results also confirm the growth-enhancing effect of domestic knowledge stock as a measure of knowledge absorption capacity. However, it is deduced that knowledge spillovers via R&D cooperation have a weak and somewhat insignificant positive impact on economic growth, when ignoring the complementary relationship between incoming knowledge and the absorptive capacity of countries. Accordingly, the results indicate the essential role of increasing absorptive capacity in gains from R&D spillovers. Lastly, human capital seems to be decisive in the growth process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to empirically examine the effects of related and unrelated variety on per employee income in Polish NUTS 2 regions, and the resulting income inequality. The study is based on regional panel data for the 2003–2018 period using the GMM estimator system. The positive effect of related variety on per employee income and the negative effect of unrelated variety on per employee income are reported. Our simulation results show that regional income inequality could be reduced by promoting related variety in eastern regions of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study has utilised the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) estimator method to explore the spillover effects of "technology" and "knowledge" from foreign direct investment (FDI) on Malaysian labour productivity. The study focus was on Malaysian mediumlow technology and low-technology industries from 2000 to 2018. The findings showed that the presence of FDI spillovers as diffusion channels that increased labour productivity were greater through "technology effects" compared to "learning effects" for both types of industries. A cross-comparison of the results on technological spillovers between investor countries revealed that Singaporean and Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) contributed the most significant technological effects in increasing Malaysian labour productivity, with the effects being most noticeable was in low-technology industries. These findings seem to suggest that the spillover effects of FDI are still concentrated in sectors with low-capacity technologies that commensurate with the required level of workforce capability. The negative relationship between "knowledge" spillovers and productivity found in this study seems to illustrate that the absorptive capacity of local workers to absorb high-skill-based technology from MNCs is still at a low level in both types of industries. This study has recommended that strategies and mechanisms should be devised accordingly to assist MNCs in their effort to improve knowledge and technology transfers, while simultaneously acknowledging the constraints of human factors, absorptive capacity, competition for resources or ethical dilemmas and cultural barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the role of the regional context with regard to the influence of human capital and knowledge spillovers on SMEs' financial soundness. Our empirical setting is based on a multilevel analysis of panel data, which allows superior treatment of hierarchical data. The analysis is applied to SMEs belonging to the manufacturing sector and operating in four European countries over the period 2010–2015. We find that a combination of individual and regional‐level characteristics explains firm soundness better than individual features alone. Furthermore, we find that a high local educational level and knowledge spillovers improve firm soundness and that their effects vary according to the regional level of knowledge. These results are confirmed by several robustness tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge externalities affect high and low growth firms differently. This paper develops two theoretical arguments. The knowledge equilibrium argument postulates that knowledge externalities weaken high growth firms for the benefit of low growth firms until performance differences vanish. The knowledge competition argument proposes that high growth firms are better positioned to identify, attract, and integrate knowledge, thereby expanding the performance gap between high and low growth firms. Based on 188,936 observations of 32,736 Swedish firms from 2004 to 2011, it is analysed whether knowledge externalities enable high growth firms to surge ahead or low growth firms to catch up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Empirical results on the link between growth and diversity in (un)related industries proved to be highly dependent on the specific regional, temporal and econometric context. Using highly disaggregated employment data at the sub‐regional level, we find that higher employment growth in Austria is mainly linked to unrelated variety. However, in‐depth analyses by sectors and regional regimes illustrate substantial heterogeneity in the results, with services and a large number of relatively small non‐urban regions driving the overall results. Thus, our findings argue against structural policy conclusions based on assessments neglecting the specific sectoral and regional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyses the role of the employers' education on the spread of temporary contracts. Taking advantage of a unique firm‐level dataset, we test whether the share of fixed term workforce in a firm is affected by the employer's level of education. Furthermore, we test whether knowledge spillovers arising from the agglomeration of university graduate employers affect the incidence of temporary employment in the firms located in the area. In both cases we find a negative effect. Interestingly, only small firms are influenced by the spillovers. The possible problems of endogeneity of the agglomeration variable are coped with an IV approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing evidence on the impact of foreign direct investment on domestic economies remains ambiguous. Positive technology spillovers of foreign investment may be outweighed by negative crowding out effect due to increased competition. In this paper, we employ a unique country/sector-level data set to investigate the impact of what is considered the ‘best’ type of foreign investment—greenfield knowledge intensive FDI—on domestic entry. Our results suggest that, in the short run, this type of FDI is positively related to the entry rate in the host country, if the domestic sector is either dynamic, or highly R&D intensive. These sectors may be respectively characterized by lower entry costs, which encourage a ‘trial-and-error’ learning business approach, and by a higher level of absorptive capacity which increases the chance of technology transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the effects of intra- and inter-regional knowledge spillovers on innovative activities in German states using the augmented Griliches-Jaffe knowledge production function. The "Harris market potential" type index is calculated to proxy for inter-regional knowledge transfers of two types: industrial knowledge transfers generated from the business enterprise sector and academic spillovers generated from universities across all German states. The model also includes the concentration of high-tech enterprises, in order to capture the agglomeration effect in the local economy. The estimation results reveal that not only do local private and university research efforts have a positive and significant effect on local innovative activities, but there are also important interregional knowledge spillovers across the German regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of new industries demands access to local capabilities. Little attention has yet been paid to the role of spillovers from neighbour regions for industrial diversification, nor has the role of network linkages between neighbour regions been investigated. As the spread of capabilities has a strong geographical bias, we expect regions to develop new industries in which their neighbour regions are specialized. To test this hypothesis, we analyse the development of new industries in US states during the period 2000-2012. We show that a US state has a higher probability of developing a comparative advantage in a new industry if a neighbour state is specialized in that industry. We also show that neighbour US states have more similar export structures. This export similarity seems to be explained by higher social connectivity between neighbour states, as embodied in their bilateral migration patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labor mobility is heralded as a key channel of knowledge spillovers between firms. However, the empirical evidence on labor mobility's effects on firm performance leaves many unanswered questions. In this paper, we analyze the effect of inventor mobility on firm-level patenting activity by studying a sample of European R&D investing firms. Especially, the characteristics of mobile inventors and their previous employers are analyzed to discover the prerequisites of successful knowledge transfer. The empirical results suggest that mobile patent inventors transfer knowledge and affect the hiring firm's future innovation performance. Inventor mobility in general does not significantly increase patenting; however, hiring inventors with several prior patents and different kinds of technological expertise contributes to firms' future patenting. Furthermore, hiring inventors from actively patenting firms contributes to future patenting. We also find that outbound mobility of inventors weakens the source firm's patenting performance, especially when the firm loses inventors who have been highly productive, have worked in the firm's core field of technology or move to technologically similar firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the role of dynamic externalities, university-industry linkages and role of social networking in the biotechnology industry in the European Union (EU). Universities act as platforms for local knowledge spillovers and university-industry cluster development in the biotechnology field. The R&D activities at universities contribute to successful business innovations. However, the relationship between the universities and the local innovation capabilities is much more complex and therefore requires more in-depth analysis. The following study derives from the knowledge of the new economic geography, endogenous growth theory, biotechnology, as well as theories of social capital and social networks. The quantitative research elaborates contemporary literature and databases to find channels of interdependence between local university-based knowledge flows, social capital, and biotechnology cluster performance. The results of the study show that the biotechnology industry relies very much on university-business R&D partnerships and research mobility (e.g. pharmaceutical firms that performed basic research in close cooperation with academia produced more patents). In addition, social networking and informal contacts seem to be a more important for the diffusion of knowledge, especially at the beginning of R&D process, as they allow for building credibility between potential partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge flows are widely believed to be a phenomenon of clusters, and inducing them is one of the chief objectives in establishing and promoting cluster initiatives (CI). However, not many studies discuss how these flows and their effects may differ depending on the mode of CI creation and on the role of public authorities in this process. The main aim of this article is to compare mechanisms of knowledge flows in bottom-up and top-down cluster initiatives. The results of an empirical research involving two case studies in western Poland, obtained through the use of Social Network Analysis (SNA), allowed stating that in bottom-up cluster initiatives firms which were innovation leaders played a prime role in disseminating technological and business knowledge, while in the top-down initiatives the most important were representatives of universities and research centres as well as formal coordinators of cooperation. Policy implications stemming from these results were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this paper is to analyse the pattern of knowledge flows as evidenced by the patent citations in three economic areas: USA, Japan and Europe. In each economic area, we exploit information from two international patent offices data, the United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) data and the European Patent Office (EPO) data. In this way, we can investigate the link between the technological proximity and knowledge spillovers for 240 international firms. In particular, the contribution to the existing literature is twofold: First, we use an international sample so that we can compare the empirical results among different economic markets; second, we explore the robustness of results with respect to patent system features. In order to compute the technological proximity, we consider both the symmetrical measure and asymmetrical one. The empirical results indicate that there is a statistically significant correlation between technological proximity and knowledge spillovers measured by patent citations and that these results are robust with respect to patent office data used in the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of intra-regional and inter-regional knowledge spillovers on regional new knowledge production. Knowledge diffusion in a region and between a pair of regions is definitely influenced by separate factors in a clear way. The most important thing, however, is to test the impact of these factors on knowledge spillovers when they operate, not separately but, simultaneously. We apply a knowledge production function to data for 210 European regions for a 12 years period (1995-2006). Our results indicate that the returns to scale with respect to the main inputs of the KPF, are increasing with the absence of spillovers and decreasing when knowledge spillovers exist. Technological diversity facilitates the creation of new ideas and knowledge. The cross regional technological proximity is positive and statistically significant. The spatial proximity is also positive and statistically significant. However, the simultaneous consideration of the spatial and technological proximity significantly influences the marginal effects of these independent variables on new knowledge creation. Thus, when a region is geographically contiguous to weak innovative systems then the knowledge spillovers are stronger between regions which innovate in similar technological fields. When a region is geographically contiguous to regions with high innovative activity the knowledge spillovers are stronger between regions which innovate in different technological fields. Finally, the location of a recipient region on the technological fields' trajectory influences the impact of the technological distance on knowledge transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generally, knowledge spillovers result in the creation of new knowledge, increased competitive advantages, and economic cooperation. Since the investigation of spillover flows among countries is considered to be highly important, in this study, knowledge spillovers and its resulting externalities were considered among a number of selected European countries during 1995 to 2011 using spatial econometric analysis. The results indicated an indirect effect and positive feedback caused by changing human development index, research and development expenditure, and knowledge-bearing imports, which confirmed the existence of spillovers and adsorption capacity in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological leadership has shifted at various times from one country to another. We propose a mechanism that explains this perpetual cycle of technological leapfrogging in a two-country model including the dynamic optimization of an infinitely lived consumer. In the model, each country accumulates knowledge stock over time because of domestic innovation and spillovers from foreign innovation. We show that if the international knowledge spillovers are reasonably efficient, technological leadership may shift first from one country to another, and then alternate between countries along an equilibrium path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the theory of variety-expanding product innovation we derive a testable relationship of outsourcing on the growth rate of knowledge. We estimate this relationship with a firm-level dataset, which is a unique match of PATSTAT patent data and the Amadeus dataset. We find evidence that forward spillovers are stronger than backward spillovers, where forward spillovers are defined as spillovers going down the value chain from producers to users of intermediate inputs. Moreover, we conclude that inter-industry spillovers are stronger than intra-industry spillovers. This holds when considering only the more important forward spillovers as well as when considering both directions of knowledge flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the economic factors that are associated with the success of university spin-offs. Drawing on a unique sample of academic entrepreneurs from research institutions in New York State, the article finds that spin-off success is dependent on both the type and size of the academic entrepreneur’s social network. Specifically, extraregional networks of nonacademic contacts—including investors, researchers from other companies, and advisors—allow academic entrepreneurs access to a broader base of knowledge and other resources important to spin-off success, which leads to regional economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the impact of participation in European scientific networks on the stock of knowledge and on economic growth. We use scientific links in FP programmes to weight foreign R&D in order to construct two different measures of foreign R&D spillovers and we assess their impact on the production of knowledge (patents) and on economic growth in a panel of countries participating in FP over the period 1994-2005. We find that participation in EU funded projects is an important channel of knowledge transfer. However, while for countries with high levels of R&D expenditure R&D spillovers contribute to the generation of new knowledge, for low R&D spenders knowledge spillovers facilitate technological imitation and catching up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines investment decisions regarding innovation and emissions abatement in a dynamic framework, where knowledge stock is an impure public good. We take a sector perspective based on neo Schumpeterian theory that emphasises the role of both sector and innovation systems. We interpret results taking into account sector and country based institutional, market and policy conditions. Econometric outcomes, based on an original sector dataset which exploits the NAMEA source for 15 European Union (EU) countries and 23 manufacturing sectors in the time frame 1995–2006, show that innovation efforts are positively correlated to various spillover effects. Those effects include the emissions abatement of the other sectors, thus pointing out the relevance of forces which opposite typical free riding behaviour in public or mixed public good frameworks. Different reactivity strengths for different global and local emissions also allow us to disclose the specific role of technological and economic complementarity. When considering CO2 emissions, innovation is mainly triggered by national interactions, a fact which is coherent with a dominance of national innovation and policy systems in the EU. The result is also consistent with the fact that CO2 abatement technologies heavily regard energy efficiency that provides joint private and public benefits. The fact that NMVOC abatement efforts by other sectors from abroad impact R&D investments positively means that, in some cases, a realm of sectoral systems of innovation is also relevant. The different evidence between local and global externalities is surely explained not only by the different technological and economic contents, but also by the fact that the EU has witnessed different policy implementation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Complementing received research on the role of collaboration networks in fostering interorganizational learning and innovation, the authors focus on the importance of learning from other firms’ public knowledge. To this end they introduce the concept of spillover network—the network of “source” firms whose public knowledge a “recipient” firm is able to readily absorb and use as innovation input. Using patent-based data on a panel of semiconductor firms between 1976 and 2002, the authors demonstrate that firms’ innovative performance tends to be higher when their spillover network is either munificent or rich in structural holes. However, being exposed to a spillover network that is both munificent and rich in structural holes is generally counterproductive. Consistent with the insight that the value of external knowledge inputs depends on the firm-level resources with which it can be bundled, furthermore, the authors argue that the extent to which firms benefit from their spillover network hinges on specific intraorganizational factors—their scientific intensity and degree of downstream integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In a cluster and in a network the figure of the entrepreneurs appear as an apparatus of social relations and cooperation. We believe that entrepreneurial networks are key elements for a cultural quality system, but recent literature tends to not consider the social flow (internal) of spillovers produced by these (entrepreneurial) networks. The purpose of this paper is to stress the role of entrepreneurs through a conceptual map that relies upon strategic entrepreneurial networks. We suggest to fill a theoretical gap in entrepreneurial literature, and make the figure and role of entrepreneurial networking team emerge with a strategic role for creating opportunities and new social knowledge. From our interpretation appears what is still unexpressed or not well explicated in literature: the entrepreneurial team and its natural attitude in producing social knowledge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

According to the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship, the context in which decision-making is derived can influence one’s determination to become an entrepreneur. In particular, a context that is rich in knowledge generates entrepreneurial opportunities from those ideas. By commercializing ideas that evolved from an incumbent organization via the creation of a new firm, the entrepreneur (human capital) not only serves as a conduit for the spillover of knowledge, but also for the ensuing innovative activity and enhanced economic performance through resource allocation. The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship brings together contemporary theories and thoughts of entrepreneurship with prevailing theories of economic growth, geography, and strategy and therefore explains not just why some people choose to become an entrepreneur, but also why this matters significantly for the economy and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve our understanding of the role that universities play in facilitating the transmission of knowledge to private-sector business enterprises so as to generate economic growth, this article builds on the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship to develop a formal model of university-with-business enterprise collaborative research partnerships in which the outcome is both mutually desirable and feasible. This model shows that if a university seeks to act as a complement to private-sector collaborative R&D so that it will be attractive to both incumbent firms and startup entrepreneurs, it needs to structure its program so that business enterprise revenues increase and business enterprise R&D costs rise by a smaller proportion than revenues increase, if they rise at all (and a fall would be better). Such a structure is consistent with both business enterprise and university interests, but is only likely to be feasible if the university is subsidized to cover the cost of such public-private collaborative research partnerships. In the absence of such support, the university will have to cover its costs through a fee charged to participating business enterprises and that will result in the university being seen as a substitute rather than a complement to private-sector collaborative R&D, and thus the university will be seen as an unattractive partner for many business enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a model that separates entrepreneurship from profit-motivated corporate R&D aimed at improving existing production processes. Our model embeds the core idea of the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship in established knowledge-based growth models by enriching their knowledge spillover structure. Introducing knowledge spillovers drives a wedge between the optimal and market allocation of resources between new knowledge creation and commercialization. We show the first best allocation depends exclusively on the relative strength of knowledge spillovers between them and derive propositions to guide policy that can bring the market equilibrium closer to this optimum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to promote and support knowledge-based entrepreneurship as a vehicle for economic development are increasingly focused on the importance of networks to entrepreneurial success. This article reviews the extant empirical literature and finds a striking consensus among multiple disciplinary perspectives: not only are networks important, network characteristics also mediate resources important to entrepreneurial performance. Unfortunately, current conceptual frameworks do not adequately account for the unique nature of knowledge spillovers and their role in innovation and economic dynamism. The article suggests that scholars embrace the nascent knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship to guide future empirical research on entrepreneurship networks and focus intently on their impact on entrepreneurial performance—and therefore economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acs and Varga (Small Bus Econ 24:323-334, ) employ GEM cross-national, industrial-level data for nine selected European countries in order to investigate the link between entrepreneurship, agglomeration and technological growth. Testing the knowledge production function in the spirit of Jones (J Polit Econ 103:759-784, ), they find that both agglomeration and entrepreneurship exhibit a statistically significantly positive effect on technological change. This comment mainly argues that this investigation only focuses on the growth rates but leaves out the effects induced by agglomeration and entrepreneurship on the level of knowledge. This might lead to biased estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of studies have demonstrated that proximity effects from knowledge spillovers, network externalities and other forms of knowledge transfers among like firms are geographically bounded. However, only a few studies have measured the strength and geographic scope of such externalities and even fewer have done so for firms in very close proximity. In this study, we examine the size and geographic scope of proximity effects among all life science firms that have received Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants in the US over a 23-year period while controlling for relevant regional and firm characteristics. From our empirical analysis, we conclude that proximity effects among nearby small life science firms are strong within one-tenth of a mile distance and are exhausted within a radius of 1.5 miles. By examining the location of all firms in the sample, we offer possible explanations for the narrow geographic scope of the measured proximity effects. We also explain the significance of such findings for academic research that seeks to understand the nature of spatial externalities and for public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop an endogenous-growth model in which we distinguish between inventors and innovators. This distinction implies that stronger protection of intellectual property rights has an inverted U-shaped effect on economic growth. Intellectual property rights protection attributes part of the rents of commercial exploitation to the inventor that would otherwise accrue to the entrepreneur. Stronger patent protection will therefore increase the incentive to do research and development (R&D) and generate new knowledge. This new knowledge has a positive effect on entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth. However, after some point, further strengthening of patent protection will reduce the returns to entrepreneurship sufficiently to reduce the overall growth rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]