Innovator networks and regional knowledge base

Although network analysis has gained increasing attention over the last years, the literature on Regional Innovation Systems thus far has not embraced network methods. This study is an attempt to enrich the Regional Innovation System concept by applying social network methods to quantitatively assess the extent to which innovating actors in a region engage in systemic forms of knowledge exchange and collaboration. On the basis of a comparison of three rather different regional innovator networks, the paper suggests that regions with a strong knowledge base that are specialized in broad technology fields tend to have relatively fragmented network structures.