IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jknowl/v13y2022i2d10.1007_s13132-021-00722-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Taking into Account the Human Factor in Regional Innovation Systems and Policies

Author

Listed:
  • G. Martinidis

    (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

  • N. Komninos

    (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

  • E. Carayannis

    (George Washington University School of Business)

Abstract

Innovation is considered a key driver for economic growth and is usually studied in the form of systems, with the regional level being arguably the most important. Despite constantly improving technological infrastructure, the human-related aspects of innovation are still the most important part of the innovation process. The human factor in innovation essentially consists of three components: (1) human capital, which refers to education, knowledge, and skills; (2) social capital, which refers to the strength of social links and social coherence; and (3) psychological capital, which refers to peoples’ values, attitudes, and behaviors. The research findings confirmed this view and showed which specific indicators of the three types of capital had a significant impact on innovation output. A new, extended regional innovation scoreboard emphasizing the human factor, is proposed. Also, based on the findings, and bearing in mind current EU innovation policies, a number of measures are proposed in order to suggest “more human” smart specialization policies in order to increase innovation in European regions and coherence between them.

Suggested Citation

  • G. Martinidis & N. Komninos & E. Carayannis, 2022. "Taking into Account the Human Factor in Regional Innovation Systems and Policies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 849-879, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:13:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s13132-021-00722-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s13132-021-00722-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13132-021-00722-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13132-021-00722-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    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. Lajos L. Brons, 2006. "Indirect Measurement Of Regional Culture In The Netherlands," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 97(5), pages 547-566, December.
    2. Peter Maskell, 2001. "Knowledge Creation And Diffusion In Geographic Clusters," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(02), pages 213-237.
    3. Carneiro, Pedro & Heckman, James J., 2003. "Human Capital Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 821, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Elias G. Carayannis & Evangelos Grigoroudis, 2016. "Using multiobjective mathematical programming to link national competitiveness, productivity, and innovation," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 247(2), pages 635-655, December.
    5. Elias G. Carayannis, 2014. "Knowledge-Driven Creative Destruction: Strategic Knowledge Arbitrage and Serendipity," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Entrepreneurial Profiles of Creative Destruction, chapter 5, pages 183-208, Palgrave Macmillan.
    6. Beñat Bilbao‐Osorio & Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose, 2004. "From R&D to Innovation and Economic Growth in the EU," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 434-455, September.
    7. Philip McCann & Raquel Ortega-Argilés, 2013. "Modern regional innovation policy," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 6(2), pages 187-216.
    8. Edward L. Glaeser & David Laibson & Bruce Sacerdote, 2002. "An Economic Approach to Social Capital," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(483), pages 437-458, November.
    9. Edquist , Charles & Zabala-Iturriagagoitia , Jon Mikel, 2015. "The Innovation Union Scoreboard is Flawed: The case of Sweden – not being the innovation leader of the EU," Papers in Innovation Studies 2015/16, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    10. Soogwan Doh & Zoltán J. Ács, 2015. "Innovation and Social Capital: A Cross-Country Investigation," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 23, pages 442-463, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. David Albury, 2005. "Fostering Innovation in Public Services," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 51-56, January.
    12. Neil Lee & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2013. "Innovation and spatial inequality in Europe and USA," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(1), pages 1-22, January.
    13. Anneli Kaasa & Maaja Vadi, 2010. "How does culture contribute to innovation? Evidence from European countries," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(7), pages 583-604.
    14. Akçomak, I. Semih & ter Weel, Bas, 2009. "Social capital, innovation and growth: Evidence from Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 544-567, July.
    15. Mourad Dakhli & Dirk De Clercq, 2004. "Human capital, social capital, and innovation: a multi-country study," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 107-128, March.
    16. Elias Carayannis & Stavros Sindakis & Christian Walter, 2015. "Business Model Innovation as Lever of Organizational Sustainability," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 85-104, February.
    17. Luthans, Fred & Luthans, Kyle W. & Luthans, Brett C., 2004. "Positive psychological capital: beyond human and social capital," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 45-50.
    18. Laura de Dominicis & Raymond J.G.M. Florax & Henri L.F. de Groot, 2013. "Regional clusters of innovative activity in Europe: are social capital and geographical proximity key determinants?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(17), pages 2325-2335, June.
    19. Taylor, Mark Zachary & Wilson, Sean, 2012. "Does culture still matter?: The effects of individualism on national innovation rates," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 234-247.
    20. Mary Schoonmaker & Elias Carayannis, 2010. "Assessing the Value of Regional Innovation Networks," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 1(1), pages 48-66, March.
    21. Asteriou, D. & Agiomirgianakis, G. M., 2001. "Human capital and economic growth: Time series evidence from Greece," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 481-489, July.
    22. Elias Carayannis, 2014. "Strategic Knowledge Arbitrage and Serendipity (SKARSE™) in Action," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 5(2), pages 203-211, June.
    23. Veronica Scuotto & Manlio Del Giudice & Elias G. Carayannis, 2017. "The effect of social networking sites and absorptive capacity on SMES’ innovation performance," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 409-424, April.
    24. Monica Coffano & Dominique Foray, 2014. "The Centrality of Entrepreneurial Discovery in Building and Implementing a Smart Specialisation Strategy," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(1), pages 33-50.
    25. Loet Leydesdorff, 2012. "The Triple Helix, Quadruple Helix, …, and an N-Tuple of Helices: Explanatory Models for Analyzing the Knowledge-Based Economy?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 3(1), pages 25-35, March.
    26. Dominique Foray & Hugo Hollanders, 2015. "An assessment of the Innovation Union Scoreboard as a tool to analyse national innovation capacities: The case of Switzerland," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(2), pages 213-228.
    27. George Martinidis, 2017. "The Importance of Man Within the System: Defining and Measuring the Human Factor in Innovation, a Review," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(2), pages 638-652, June.
    28. Harry Papapanagos & Peter Sanfey, 2003. "Emigration and the Optimal Speed of Transition," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(3), pages 541-554, August.
    29. Varsakelis, Nikos C., 2006. "Education, political institutions and innovative activity: A cross-country empirical investigation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1083-1090, September.
    30. Elias Carayannis & Ruslan Rakhmatullin, 2014. "The Quadruple/Quintuple Innovation Helixes and Smart Specialisation Strategies for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in Europe and Beyond," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 5(2), pages 212-239, June.
    31. Sleuwaegen, Leo & Boiardi, Priscilla, 2014. "Creativity and regional innovation: Evidence from EU regions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(9), pages 1508-1522.
    32. Hugo Pinto, 2009. "The Diversity of Innovation in the European Union: Mapping Latent Dimensions and Regional Profiles," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 303-326, February.
    33. Carayannis, Elias G. & Goletsis, Yorgos & Grigoroudis, Evangelos, 2018. "Composite innovation metrics: MCDA and the Quadruple Innovation Helix framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 4-17.
    34. Roberto Capello, 2014. "Smart Specialisation Strategy and the New EU Cohesion Policy Reform: Introductory Remarks," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(1), pages 5-13.
    35. World Bank, 2010. "Innovation Policy : A Guide for Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2460.
    36. Shane, Scott, 1993. "Cultural influences on national rates of innovation," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 59-73, January.
    37. Yiota C. Theodora, 2008. "An Approach To The Effects Of Greek Regional Universities On The Development Of The Country Regions," Contributions to Economics, in: Harry Coccossis & Yannis Psycharis (ed.), Regional Analysis and Policy, pages 249-270, Springer.
    38. Romer, Paul M., 1990. "Human capital and growth: Theory and evidence," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 251-286, January.
    39. Putnam, Robert D. & Leonardi, Robert & Nanetti, Raffaella Y. & Pavoncello, Franco, 1983. "Explaining Institutional Success: The Case of Italian Regional Government," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 77(1), pages 55-74, March.
    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. Yipeng Zhang, 2023. "The Sustainability of Regional Innovation in China: Insights from Regional Innovation Values and Their Spatial Distribution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-42, June.
    2. Dominique Lepore, 2024. "Intermediaries in Innovation Systems: Match or Mismatch?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 12678-12708, September.
    3. Edeh, Jude & Prévot, Frédéric, 2024. "Beyond funding: The moderating role of firms' R&D human capital on government support and venture capital for regional innovation in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    4. George Martinidis & Arkadiusz Dyjakon & Stanisław Minta & Rafał Ramut, 2022. "Intellectual Capital and Sustainable S3 in the Regions of Central Macedonia and Western Macedonia, Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.

    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. Matthias Siller & Christoph Hauser & Janette Walde & Gottfried Tappeiner, 2015. "Measuring regional innovation in one dimension: More lost than gained?," Working Papers 2015-14, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    2. Hauser, Christoph & Siller, Matthias & Schatzer, Thomas & Walde, Janette & Tappeiner, Gottfried, 2018. "Measuring regional innovation: A critical inspection of the ability of single indicators to shape technological change," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 43-55.
    3. Švarc, Jadranka & Lažnjak, Jasminka & Dabić, Marina, 2019. "Regional innovation culture in innovation laggard: A case of Croatia," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    4. George Martinidis & Arkadiusz Dyjakon & Stanisław Minta & Rafał Ramut, 2022. "Intellectual Capital and Sustainable S3 in the Regions of Central Macedonia and Western Macedonia, Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.
    5. George Martinidis & Muluken Elias Adamseged & Arkadiusz Dyjakon & Yannis Fallas & Angeliki Foutri & Philipp Grundmann & Karen Hamann & Stanislaw Minta & Nikolaos Ntavos & Tora Råberg & Silvia Russo & , 2021. "How Clusters Create Shared Value in Rural Areas: An Examination of Six Case Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-16, April.
    6. George Martinidis, 2017. "The Importance of Man Within the System: Defining and Measuring the Human Factor in Innovation, a Review," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(2), pages 638-652, June.
    7. İ. Semih Akçomak & Hanna Müller-Zick, 2018. "Trust and inventive activity in Europe: causal, spatial and nonlinear forces," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 60(3), pages 529-568, May.
    8. Kostakis, Ioannis & Lolos, Sarantis & Doulgeraki, Charikleia, 2020. "Cultural Heritage led Growth: Regional evidence from Greece (1998-2016)," MPRA Paper 98443, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Francesco Campanella & Maria Rosaria Della Peruta & Stefano Bresciani & Luca Dezi, 2017. "Quadruple Helix and firms’ performance: an empirical verification in Europe," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 267-284, April.
    10. Anneli Kaasa, 2018. "Intangible factors and productivity: Evidence from Europe at the regional level," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center, vol. 14(2), pages 300-325, April.
    11. Lin Chuan & Stavros Sindakis & Panagiotis Theodorou, 2024. "Examining the Impact of Political Stability on Stock Price Crash Risk: Evidence from China," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 8179-8208, June.
    12. Semih Akçomak & Hanna Müller-Zick, 2013. "Trust and Innovation in Europe: Causal, spatial and non-linear forces," STPS Working Papers 1304, STPS - Science and Technology Policy Studies Center, Middle East Technical University, revised Dec 2013.
    13. Mehmet Güney Celbiş & Pui-Hang Wong & Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2021. "Innovativeness, Work Flexibility, and Place Characteristics: A Spatial Econometric and Machine Learning Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-29, December.
    14. Carayannis, Elias G. & Grigoroudis, Evangelos & Wurth, Bernd, 2022. "OR for entrepreneurial ecosystems: A problem-oriented review and agenda," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 300(3), pages 791-808.
    15. Barreto, Tais S. & Lanivich, Stephen E. & Cox, Kevin C., 2022. "Temporal orientation as a robust predictor of innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 287-300.
    16. Sharma, Abhijit & Sousa, Cristina & Woodward, Richard, 2022. "Determinants of innovation outcomes: The role of institutional quality," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    17. Ana Garcia-Bernabeu & José Manuel Cabello & Francisco Ruiz, 2020. "A Multi-Criteria Reference Point Based Approach for Assessing Regional Innovation Performance in Spain," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-21, May.
    18. Vladyslav Soloviov, 2022. "Linking regional autonomy–embeddedness value orientation and innovation," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    19. Roberta Arbolino & Raffaele Boffardi & Luisa De Simone, 2019. "Which are the Factors Influencing Innovation Performances? Evidence from Italian Cohesion Policy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 221-247, November.
    20. Thompson, Maria, 2018. "Social capital, innovation and economic growth," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 46-52.

    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:spr:jknowl:v:13:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s13132-021-00722-z. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.