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Personality and regional innovativeness: An empirical analysis of German patent data

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  • Reher, Leonie
  • Runst, Petrik
  • Thomä, Jörg

Abstract

This paper brings together the literature on regional variability in innovation activity with studies on the role of personality for regional innovativeness. Building on regionally aggregated levels of individual Big Five personality traits obtained from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the Big Five Project, we find that only extraversion has a positive effect on patenting in German regions. This effect is particularly strong in the case of lagging regions. We interpret this finding as an indication of the compensatory role of collaboration for the innovativeness of lagging regions characterized by low levels of business research and development (R&D) and a dominance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which demonstrates the need for place-sensitive policies that consider different modes of innovation and emphasize interregional and intraregional learning.

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  • Reher, Leonie & Runst, Petrik & Thomä, Jörg, 2024. "Personality and regional innovativeness: An empirical analysis of German patent data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:53:y:2024:i:6:s0048733324000556
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2024.105006
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    Cited by:

    1. Reher, Leonie & Runst, Petrik & Thomä, Jörg & Bizer, Kilian, 2024. "Measuring non-R&D drivers of innovation: The case of SMEs in lagging regions," ifh Working Papers 45/2024, Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen (ifh).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Regional innovativeness; Big five; Personality; Lagging regions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics

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