IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/regstd/v36y2002i1p81-86.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Innovation, Networking and Proximity: Lessons from Small High Technology Firms in the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Henny Romijn
  • Mike Albu

Abstract

The article explores how the innovative performance of small high-tech firms relates to their external networking activities, and whether geographical proximity in their network relations matters. Data from a small sample of electronics firms and software developers in South East England are used to construct indicators of innovativeness, which are correlated with variables capturing intensity of external interactions and proximity benefits. The regional science base is found to have played a key role in nurturing new high-tech ventures, but science parks had not contributed to this. Interaction with parties with complementary capabilities such as suppliers and service providers is also associated with high innovative performance. However, the findings do not support the current policy fashion of encouraging regional networks revolving around firms in similar business activities and close customer relations.

Suggested Citation

  • Henny Romijn & Mike Albu, 2002. "Innovation, Networking and Proximity: Lessons from Small High Technology Firms in the UK," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 81-86.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:36:y:2002:i:1:p:81-86
    DOI: 10.1080/00343400120099889
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00343400120099889
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00343400120099889?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. Cooke, Philip & Gomez Uranga, Mikel & Etxebarria, Goio, 1997. "Regional innovation systems: Institutional and organisational dimensions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4-5), pages 475-491, December.
    2. Soete, Luc & Verspagen, Bart & ter Weel, Bas, 2010. "Systems of Innovation," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1159-1180, Elsevier.
    3. Audretsch, David B, 1998. "Agglomeration and the Location of Innovative Activity," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 14(2), pages 18-29, Summer.
    4. Robert Huggins, 1998. "Local Business Co-operation and Training and Enterprise Councils: The Development of Inter-firm Networks," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(9), pages 813-826.
    5. Westhead, Paul & Cowling, Marc, 1995. "Employment Change in Independent Owner-Managed High-Technology Firms in Great Britain," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 111-140, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Romijn, Henny & Albaladejo, Manuel, 2002. "Determinants of innovation capability in small electronics and software firms in southeast England," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1053-1067, September.
    2. Arza,Valeria Luciana & Cirera,Xavier & Colonna,Agustina & Lopez,Emanuel, 2020. "Explaining Differences in the Returns to R&D in Argentina : The Role of Contextual Factors and Complementarities," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9219, The World Bank.
    3. Rakas, Marija & Hain, Daniel S., 2019. "The state of innovation system research: What happens beneath the surface?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    4. Hamidi, Shima & Zandiatashbar, Ahoura & Bonakdar, Ahmad, 2019. "The relationship between regional compactness and regional innovation capacity (RIC): Empirical evidence from a national study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 394-402.
    5. Maria José Madeira Silva & Mário Lino Barata Raposo & Maria Eugénia Ferrão & Juan José Jiménez Moreno, 2005. "Relacionamentos Externos no âmbito da Inovação Empresarial: Modelo aplicado aos avanços inovadores," Portuguese Journal of Management Studies, ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa, vol. 0(1), pages 5-19.
    6. Iammarino, Simona & McCann, Philip, 2006. "The structure and evolution of industrial clusters: Transactions, technology and knowledge spillovers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1018-1036, September.
    7. Tom Broekel & Nicky Rogge & Thomas Brenner, 2018. "The innovation efficiency of German regions – a shared-input DEA approach," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 38(1), pages 77-109, February.
    8. Edsand, Hans, 2016. "Technological Innovation Systems and the wider context: A framework for developing countries," MERIT Working Papers 2016-017, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    9. Mercedes Rodriguez & José Antonio Camacho, 2011. "The Regional distribution of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services in Europe: a spatial approach," ERSA conference papers ersa10p277, European Regional Science Association.
    10. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Riccardo Crescenzi, 2006. "R&D, Spillovers, Innovation Systems and the Genesis of Regional Growth in Europe," Bruges European Economic Research Papers 5, European Economic Studies Department, College of Europe.
    11. Fiorenza Belussi & Silvia R. Sedita, 2012. "Industrial Districts as Open Learning Systems: Combining Emergent and Deliberate Knowledge Structures," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 165-184, April.
    12. P.H. van Dongen, 2011. "The Role and Contribution of Intellectual Property Rights in the Process of Spillover of Knowledge, Knowledge Valorization and Regional Economic Development," Chapters, in: Emiel F.M. Wubben (ed.), Institutions and Regulation for Economic Growth?, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Oerlemans, Leon A. G. & Boekema, Frans W. M. & Meeus, Marius T. H., 2000. "On The Spatial Embeddedness Of Innovation Networks: An Exploration Of The Proximity Effect," ERSA conference papers ersa00p57, European Regional Science Association.
    14. Danny Soetanto & Marina Van Geenhuizen, 2005. "Technology Incubators as Nodes in Knowledge Networks," ERSA conference papers ersa05p621, European Regional Science Association.
    15. Stepan Zemtsov & Maxim Kotsemir, 2019. "An assessment of regional innovation system efficiency in Russia: the application of the DEA approach," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(2), pages 375-404, August.
    16. Edsand, Hans-Erik, 2019. "Technological innovation system and the wider context: A framework for developing countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    17. Silva, Maria & Leitão, João & Raposo, Mário, 2007. "Barriers to Innovation faced by Manufacturing Firms in Portugal: How to overcome it?," MPRA Paper 5408, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Henny Romijn and Manuel Albaladejo, "undated". "Determinants of Innovation Capability in Small UK Firms: An Empirical Analysis," QEH Working Papers qehwps40, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    19. Simona Iammarino & Philip McCann, 2010. "The Relationship between Multinational Firms and Innovative Clusters," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Koschatzky, Knut, 2001. "The role of higher education institutions for entrepreneurship stimulation in the regional innovation systems: evidence from the network-oriented EXIST: promotion of university-based start-ups program," Working Papers "Firms and Region" R3/2001, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI).

    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:taf:regstd:v:36:y:2002:i:1:p:81-86. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CRES20 .

    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.