Innovating SMEs and Regions: The Need for Policy Intelligence and Interactive Policies

Based on the empirical findings achieved through comparative research involving 40 innovation policy instruments from 11 European regions, this paper proposes a shift in rationale and in the broad orientations of innovation policy to focus on addressing SMEs in their regional context. The main role for innovation policy, which aims to increase the capacity of a region and the capabilities of its SMEs to innovate, is to foster interactive learning within the firms and within the region. This calls for an interactive mode of policy intervention. The paper deals also with the question of how to build a coherent portfolio of policy instruments, taking into account both regional situations and specific SMEs needs in terms of innovation. The key message is that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' policy portfolio. Regional differences in innovation capabilities call for a tailored mix of policy instruments. One salient element of the conclusion is the need for more 'policy intelligence' in this complex field.     

The development of research and innovation policies based on a benchmarking assessment: the case of mobile communications technology R&D in the new member states of the EU

This paper presents the process and the results that led to an objective assessment of 34 research programmes from 14 countries based on a multifactor analysis. The programmes that were analysed come from the EU's new member states and the accession countries. The methodology used was specially developed for policy development purposes and for the design of the roadmaps leading to an open and successful R&D programme in the area of mobile communications. The method and the results obtained and later used for the policy development and road mapping are discussed. The policies designed and strategic objectives derived are briefly described. The consequences expected to follow the policy implementation in the relevant countries are evaluated and discussed.     

民营中小企业集群演进困境与政策促进

民营中小企业集群化成长促进了中国区域经济的发展,但制度缺失和集群系统性缺陷限制了集群的创新活动和创新潜力,集群创新不足使民营中小企业集群发展面临着困境与挑战。民营中小企业集群的自组织治理难以克服创新困境,迫切需要政府政策的引导与扶持,合理的中小企业集群政策及有效的政策工具创新有助于促进民营中小企业集群可持续创新。     

Research technology organisations as leaders of R&D collaboration with SMEs: role,barriers and facilitators

Research technology organisations or RTOs have attracted academic interest in the last decade due to their role as technology transfer agents and R&D collaborative leaders for firms and especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Although their role within the diversity of specialised structures in generating R&D for industry in National Innovation Systems is recognised, there are scarce publications in relation to their strategies, performance or characteristic, as leaders of R&D collaboration with SMEs. The aim of this work is to identify the role, barriers and facilitators for RTOs performance as well as to develop a contingency relationship between industry environment, strategy, organisational structure and other factors for successful technology transfer from technology organisations to SMEs. This research is based on a field study conducted on 14 technology organisations based in the Valencia region, working with various industry sectors.     

The influence of causation and effectuation logics on targeted policies: the cases of Singapore and Israel

We examine the causation and effectuation logics for implementing targeted biotechnology policies using two case studies: Singapore (causation) and Israel (effectuation). After more than a decade of implementing targeted biotechnology policies, both Singapore and Israel have failed to create fully fledged biotech clusters. Singapore has been unsuccessful in creating vibrant entrepreneurial activity that will support its transformation into a knowledge economy. Israel has failed to turn its 1000 small, dedicated biotechnology firms into a substantial engine of growth and employment. The paper questions how these two policy approaches influenced the targeting of the biotechnology sectors and identifies the limits of these approaches in supporting targeting. We conclude that a combination of the two logics is needed, especially when targeting complex sectors with a yet unknown development path.     

创新激励:公共财税政策的工具选择

自主创新是一国兴旺发达的不竭动力,是国与国之间科技竞争的焦点。由于技术创新存在市场失灵,所以政府有必要利用政策工具实施干预,以促进本国自主创新事业的发展。从我国实施自主创新政策选择的必要性分析入手,通过对技术创新的理论剖析,得出政府必须运用财税政策实施干预,以及如何进行自主创新导向的财税政策选择。     

瑞典科技领域的重大政策动向与计划

2009年,瑞典继续保持在医药、工程与制造业、信息与通讯技术、森林工业、能源等主要领域的研究创新优势,在2008—2009年全球竞争力排名为第四,对研发的总投入达到GDP的3．74％。2009年是瑞典政府在战略研究领域实施“2009—2012年研究与创新预算法案”的第一年,政府开始实施对重大项目的资助。2008年年底全球金融危机的爆发,对瑞典企业部门影响很大,瑞典政府和企业部门共同努力寻求提高创新能力和全球竞争力的方法,并且积极开拓国际合作的新渠道。     

提高我国科技经费使用效益的创新政策研究

政府、依托单位和课题组围绕科技经费进行的博弈,主要体现在课题预算、管理费、人员费、课题决算、课题结余经费5个方面。根据市场机制和博弈论,提出了应从全面实施全额成本核算制的资助方式、同一课题唯一渠道制、增设依托单位的科研一般管理费用政策、适度提高人员费支出比例、开发与政策配套的管理工具、建设专业化科技经费管理队伍、注意政策间的相互配套7个方面进一步完善我国现行科技经费管理政策的建议。     

The legacy and promise of Vannevar Bush: rethinking the model of innovation and the role of public policy

The linear model of innovation argues that innovation takes place in a unidirectional sequence, with basic research directly diffusing in marketable product or process innovations. This perspective has served society well in past decades. However, recent productivity slowdowns in developed economies and the failure of innovation policies to continue to deliver desired results have called this perspective into question. Scholars explain these slowdowns by the oversimplification of the linear model which fails to consider the complexities associated with innovation processes. Although it is generally believed that Vannevar Bush’s report Science – The Endless Frontier – was based on his belief in a linear model of innovation and the notion that basic research is the ultimate source of all innovation, an examination of Bush’s writings and his life reveals that he believed in a more sophisticated model in which basic and applied research cross-fertilize each other and in which government’s job is not so much to stimulate basic research as it is to facilitate interactions between basic and applied research for the benefit of both and the prosperity of society. This paper explicates Bush’s model of the research and innovation process, explores the implications of that model, and derives policy recommendations.     

发达国家科技政策中的趋同模式解读及其经验借鉴

发达国家的科技和经济能够始终走在世界前列，与它本身的科技政策有着密切的关系。科技政策的激励和引导作用使发达国家的创新机制稳步形成并发挥着决定性作用。本文通过分析发达国家科技政策中的共同做法．从中找出具有借鉴意义的模式．以促进我国创新型国家战略的实施和建设。     

研究型大学教育科技创新能力体系结构及创新战略

分析了研究型大学教育科技创新能力体系的多元化、板块化结构,着重提出并强调了创新资源的供给和吸纳能力在研究型大学教育科技创新能力体系构建中的重要意义;提出并分析了研究型大学构建教育科技创新能力体系的战略选择,即实施开放创新战略、集成创新战略、创新人才战略和创新文化战略。     

Banking consolidation and small firm financing for research and development

This article examines the effect of increased market concentration of the banking industry caused by the Riegle–Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act (IBBEA) on the availability of finance for small firms engaged in research and development (R&D). I measure the financing decisions of these small firms using a balanced panel of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) applications. Using difference-in-differences, I find IBBEA decreased the supply of finance for small R&D firms. This effect is larger for late adopters of IBBEA, which tended to be states with stronger small banking sectors pre-IBBEA.     

发展中国家和地区汇率制度变革及其对中国的启示

本文介绍和分析了一些发展中国家和地区的汇率制度变革的经验和教训以及对中国人民币汇率制度改革可供参考的思路，这些启示将是重要和有价值的。     

Driving forces for research and development strategies: an empirical analysis based on firm-level panel data

This paper investigates empirically different ways to organize research and development (R&D) within Swiss firms. Based on a longitudinal data set comprising three cross-sections (1999, 2002, and 2005) of the Swiss Innovation Survey, four different types of R&D strategies could have been separated; firms combine in-house R&D with R&D co-operations (coop) or in-house R&D with external R&D (buy), or they conduct in-house R&D, external R&D, and R&D co-operations (mixed), or they exclusively rely on in-house R&D (make). It is the aim of this paper to understand what drive firms to go for different strategies. Based on econometric estimations controlling for correlations between the dependent variables and endogeneity among the independent variables, it was found that concepts related to the absorptive capacity, incoming spillovers, and appropriability, the importance of different knowledge sources, the competitive environment, costs, and skill aspects as well as technological uncertainty are essential factors to determine a firm's decision to choose a specific way to organize R&D.     

The temporal dynamics of technology promises in government and industry partnerships for digital innovation: the case of the Copyright Hub

What is the expectation work required to ensure that technological innovation initially supported by government funding is subsequently taken up by market actors? This paper explores this question by applying a linked ecologies framework to the study of the Copyright Hub, a digital infrastructure for Intellectual Property trading developed in the UK. We draw our analysis from a five year long study, including forty-six interviews and six weeks of participant observation. We found that expectation work in policy-led infrastructural communities entails (1) leveraging technology to reshape the position of actors in the innovation space; (2) exploiting the different temporalities of expectation work in allied ecologies and (3) mobilising ‘slow’ expectations to provide momentum to the newly arranged innovation space. Highlighting difference in temporal dynamics for the various partners involved as a ‘hinging’ factor, our analysis contributes to clarifying the complex temporal alignment of policy and innovation processes in technology projects.