IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/scippl/v42y2015i4p549-566..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Epistemic integration of the European Research Area: The shifting geography of the knowledge base of Finnish research, 1995–2010

Author

Listed:
  • Hannes Toivanen
  • Arho Suominen

Abstract

The integration of national research systems is one of the central objectives of European research policies. Yet the epistemic objectives of this project have been poorly defined, and scant attention has been paid to whether political, social and financial integration of the European Research Area (ERA) is accompanied by epistemic integration. We discuss the conceptual framework and methodological practices to monitor research integration, and conclude that most of them, such as research collaboration, are only partial indicators of it. To augment existing approaches with an analysis of epistemic integration, we analyse the geographical sources of knowledge of Finnish research in the period 1995–2010. We show a broad shift towards a European knowledge base, demonstrating epistemic integration into the ERA, and that Finnish researchers are, paradoxically, sourcing knowledge from an increasingly distributed system of European knowledge hubs. As policy implications, we recommend clarifying the ERA’s epistemic objectives and redefining its strategy of ‘reducing fragmentation’.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannes Toivanen & Arho Suominen, 2015. "Epistemic integration of the European Research Area: The shifting geography of the knowledge base of Finnish research, 1995–2010," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 42(4), pages 549-566.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:scippl:v:42:y:2015:i:4:p:549-566.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/scipol/scu066
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mario Maggioni & Teodora Uberti, 2009. "Knowledge networks across Europe: which distance matters?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 43(3), pages 691-720, September.
    2. Henri Delanghe & Brian Sloan & Ugur Muldur, 2009. "Transnational Collaboration in Public Research Funding and Publicly Supported Research in Europe," Chapters, in: Henri Delanghe & Ugur Muldur & Luc Soete (ed.), European Science and Technology Policy, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Teemu Makkonen & Timo Mitze, 2016. "Scientific collaboration between ‘old’ and ‘new’ member states: Did joining the European Union make a difference?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(3), pages 1193-1215, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Laurent R. Bergé, 2017. "Network proximity in the geography of research collaboration," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(4), pages 785-815, November.
    2. Sara Amoroso & Alex Coad & Nicola Grassano, 2017. "European R&D networks: A snapshot from the 7th EU Framework Programme," JRC Working Papers on Corporate R&D and Innovation JRC107546, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
    3. Fabius Abrahão Torreão Esteves & Claude Pirmez & Manuela da Silva & Carla Torreão Esteves & Andréa Torreão Esteves & Roberto Pierre Chagnon & Elton Fernandes, 2016. "Social Network Analysis as an Analytical Archetype of R&D National Networks: Case Study in Culture Collections of Brazil and Japan," Review of Social Sciences, LAR Center Press, vol. 1(5), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Di Cagno, Daniela & Fabrizi, Andrea & Meliciani, Valentina & Wanzenböck, Iris, 2016. "The impact of relational spillovers from joint research projects on knowledge creation across European regions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 83-94.
    5. Drivas, Kyriakos & Economidou, Claire & Karamanis, Dimitrios & Sanders, Mark, 2020. "Mobility of highly skilled individuals and local innovation activity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    6. Enrique Claver-Cortés & Bartolomé Marco-Lajara & Pedro Seva-Larrosa & Lorena Ruiz-Fernández & Eduardo Sánchez-García, 2020. "Explanatory Factors of Entrepreneurship in Food and Beverage Clusters in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-22, July.
    7. Ernest Miguélez & Rosina Moreno, 2013. "“Mobility, networks and innovation: The role of regions’ absorptive capacity”," IREA Working Papers 201316, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Oct 2013.
    8. Soetanto, Danny & van Geenhuizen, Marina, 2019. "Life after incubation: The impact of entrepreneurial universities on the long-term performance of their spin-offs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 263-276.
    9. Ricard Esparza-Masana, 2022. "Towards Smart Specialisation 2.0. Main Challenges When Updating Strategies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(1), pages 635-655, March.
    10. Marina Van Geenhuizen & Pieter Stek, 2015. "Mapping innovation in the global photovoltaic industry: a bibliometric approach to cluster identification and analysis," ERSA conference papers ersa15p697, European Regional Science Association.
    11. Pier Paolo Angelini, "undated". "The role of inter-organizational proximity on the evolution of the European Aerospace R&D collaboration network," CERIS Working Paper 201402, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY.
    12. Miguélez, Ernest & Moreno, Rosina, 2015. "Knowledge flows and the absorptive capacity of regions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 833-848.
    13. Roberta Capello & Andrea Caragliu, 2018. "Proximities and the Intensity of Scientific Relations," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 41(1), pages 7-44, January.
    14. Ernest Miguélez & Rosina Moreno, 2014. "What Attracts Knowledge Workers? The Role Of Space And Social Networks," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 33-60, January.
    15. Gergő Tóth & Sándor Juhász & Zoltán Elekes & Balázs Lengyel, 2021. "Repeated collaboration of inventors across European regions," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(12), pages 2252-2272, December.
    16. Zoltan Csismadia & Philipp Hergovich & Peter Huber, 2012. "CENTROPE Regional Development Report. Focus Report on Technology Policy, Research, Development and Innovation in CENTROPE," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 59415.
    17. TIAN, Xiaoli & KOU, Gang & ZHANG, Weike, 2020. "Geographic distance, venture capital and technological performance: Evidence from Chinese enterprises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    18. Juhyun Lee & Sangsung Park & Junseok Lee, 2023. "Exploring Potential R&D Collaboration Partners Using Embedding of Patent Graph," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-19, October.
    19. Yutao Sun & Kai Liu, 2016. "Proximity effect, preferential attachment and path dependence in inter-regional network: a case of China’s technology transaction," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(1), pages 201-220, July.
    20. Richard Harris & John Moffat & Victoria Kravtsova, 2011. "In Search of ‘ W ’," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(3), pages 249-270, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:scippl:v:42:y:2015:i:4:p:549-566.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/spp .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.