Abstract
Recent developments in the new economic geography and the literature
on regional innovation systems have emphasised the potentially important
role of networking and the characteristics of firms' local operating
environment in shaping their innovative activity. Modeling UK, German
and Irish plants' investments in R&D, technology transfer and networking,
and their effect on the extent and success of plants' innovation
activities, casts some doubt on the importance of both of these relationships.
In particular, our analysis provides no support for the contention
that firms or plants in the UK, Ireland or Germany with more strongly
developed external links (collaborative networks or technology transfer)
develop greater innovation intensity. However, although inter-firm
links also have no effect on the commercial success of plants' innovation
activity, intra-group links are important in terms of achieving commercial
success. We also find evidence that R&D, technology transfer and
networking inputs are substitutes rather than complements in the
innovation process, and that there are systematic sectoral and regional
influences in the efficiency with which such inputs are translated
into innovation outputs.
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