Technological diversification and new innovators in European regions: evidence from patent data

Carlo Corradini, Lisa De Propris

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper assesses the impact of regional technological diversification on the emergence of new innovators across EU regions. Integrating analyses from regional economics, economic geography and technological change literatures, we explore the role that the regional embeddedness of actors characterised by diverse technological competencies may have in fostering novel and sustained interactions leading to new technological combinations. In particular, we test whether greater technological diversification improve regional ‘combinatorial’ opportunities leading to the emergence of new innovators. The analysis is based on panel data obtained merging regional economic data from Eurostat and patent data from the CRIOS-PATSTAT database over the period 1997–2006, covering 178 regions across 10 EU Countries. Accounting for different measures of economic and innovative activity at the NUTS2 level, our findings suggest that the regional co-location of diverse technological competencies contributes to the entry of new innovators, thereby shaping technological change and industry dynamics. Thus, this paper brings to the fore a better understanding of the relationship between regional diversity and technological change.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2170-2186
Number of pages17
JournalEnvironment and Planning A
Volume47
Issue number10
Early online date12 Aug 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2015

Keywords

  • technological diversification
  • innovation
  • technological entry
  • patents
  • spillovers
  • regions

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