This book addresses the role of cooperation, networks and institutions in the context of regional innovation systems. It emphasises the importance of these factors in the emergence of local innovation systems, using detailed examples of clusters which have reached different stages of maturity. The authors address the topic from an empirical, theoretical and political perspective, and highlight the local mechanisms which are involved in the development of innovation systems. They offer a comprehensive overview of different approaches in the field and present numerous case studies which stress the influence of networks and local institutions. Significantly, they also introduce several new approaches to regional innovation systems, including contributions which explicitly discuss the design and potential of policy measures to promote regional development. The policy recommendations are based on sound theorising which, in turn, is based on extensive empirical research. This book is a valuable addition to a complex and growing literature which offers new perspectives and insights on cooperation, networks and institutions, and their role in the development of local systems of innovation. The combination of empirical, theoretical and policy-oriented approaches will ensure this book is essential reading for academics and policymakers in the fields of regional economics, innovation research and economic geography.

This compilation of papers from a researchproject funded by the German Ministry provides a political perspective andunifying concept of how local industrial clusters can be strengthenedbypolicy measures.The chapters in Part I cover theoretical approaches, thechapters in Part II present case studies, and the chapters in part III containpolicy-oriented contributions. (JSD) Table of Contents Part I Local Culture and Regional Innovation Networks: Some Propositions,Sylvianne Pilo and Chris DeBresson Entrepreneurial Activities in a Regional Context, Dick Fornahl The Role of Trust and Power in the Institutional Regulation of TerritorialBusiness Systems, Reinhard Bachmann Cognitive Coordination, Institutions and Clusters: An ExploratoryDiscussion, Mark Lorenzen and Nicolai J. Foss Problems and Solutions in Knowledge Transfer, Bart Nooteboom Learning Pathologies in Losing Areas: Towards a Definition of the CognitiveObstacles to Local Development, Paolo Seri On the Unit of Analysis in the Study of Networks, Deborah Tappi Part II Is Nanjing's Concentration of IT Companies an Innovative Cluster? MeinePieter Van Dijk TV Content Production in Media Regions: The Necessities and Difficulties ofPublic Policy Support for a Project-based Industry, Anja Lutz, Jorg Sydow,and Udo Staber How Many Networks in a Local Cluster: Textile Machine Production andInnovation in Brescia, Francesco Lissoni and Massimo Pagani 'Lock-in' of Regional Clusters: The Case of Offshore Engineering in the OsloRegion, Arne Isaksen Part III Entrepreneurship Stimulation in Regional Innovation Systems--Public Promotionof University-based Start-ups in Germany, Knut Koschatsky Cooperation and Knowledge-pooling in Clusters: Designing TerritorialCompetitiveness Policies, Fabrizio Barca Policy Measures to Support the Emergence of Localised Industrial Clusters,Thomas Brenner.

Since 1995 there has been a worldwide innovation-led boom and subsequent slump meaning enormous change in regional economies. The new edition registers this change and provides an interesting test of the robustness of the original arguments.

The idea behind this book is that institutions are important when it comes to explaining the specialisation and performance of national innovation systems. The idea is not new. But largely the institution-concept has remained somewhat vague and unspecified in the literature. This book is valuable since it succeeds in opening up the black box of institutions and organisations. The distinction between institutions at different levels and how they link up and form a systemic whole is especially original and fruitful. The interdisciplinary team behind the book has also produced a welcome antidote to the current tendency to benchmark innovation systems exclusively on the basis of quantitative indicators. The analysis demonstrates that some national systems do better in some specific areas because of being supported by institutions that are sometimes deeply rooted in history and culture. This is why imitating best-practice across countries is not a straight forward thing to do. Bengt-Åke Lundvall, Aalborg University, Denmark Innovation and Institutions is an extensive elaboration on the make up of systems of innovation. It examines why some countries are more innovative than others, why national styles of innovation differ, and goes on to explore why some countries make radical innovations but fail to successfully market them, whilst others making incremental innovations have more commercial success. The book draws on a variety of different literatures and perspectives to illustrate the organizational and institutional dimensions of national innovation systems. Literatures discussed include the economics of innovation, organizational sociology, administrative science, institutional economics, organizational learning, network analysis, business systems, economic governance and regulation. This truly interdisciplinary book will be invaluable to academics and researchers focussing on innovation in a wide range of fields. It will also strongly appeal to practitioners and policymakers concerned with innovation.

This book analyses the role of networks in innovation and technology diffusion. It reviews policy initiatives to promote efficient networking in selected OECD countries, and draws the main implications for public policy.

Examining the role of the much-vaunted concepts of regional clusters in the prosperity and economic expansion of countries, this work looks at the different experiences of industrial districts and high-tech regions such as Silicon Valley, Boston's biotech region, and Hsinchu-Taipei.