The geography of innovation in the developing world is poorly understood, both because certain spatial economic data are difficult to access or do not exist at all and because the existing information is rarely submitted for analysis at subnational level, where the relevant literature would...

This paper attempts to explore the possible relationship between the characteristics of a National System of Innovation (NSI) and their impact on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) outcomes, particularly in developing countries. We employ a heuristic NSI-FDI conceptual framework linking the...

This paper examines what makes firms grow using the investment climate survey that was conducted by the World Bank in eight developing countries. We rely on the resource-based theory of the firm that was proposed by Penrose (1959) where firm growth depends on the kinds and amount of the diverse...

A number of attempts have been made in the North to assist in the formation of independent research capacities in the South by establishing knowledge sharing through North-South research collaboration. The development aid department of the Danish ministry of foreign affairs initiated one such...

This paper analyses the main institutional mechanisms that foster the emergence and performance of firms in knowledge-intensive sectors in developing countries. We use the empirical data collected in 2005 and 2006 in the South African computer hardware and software sectors and the Malaysian...

The present-day global environment requires different types of knowledge and capabilities for developing countries to 'catch up'. Technological capability and absorptive capacity still play an important role in building competitiveness at the firm level. The purpose of this paper is to show that...

South Africa's overall performance in high-technology products as measured by global export shares and registered patents has been weak in comparison to other developing countries and in comparison to other commodity producers. However, a number of high-technology South African companies in a...

The starting point for this paper is a fundamental change currently occurring in the way innovation is organised in developed countries: it tended to be centralised at or near headquarters, but is now much more decentralised within the company. Equally if not more significant, innovation...

One of the issues in the innovation system literature is examination of technological learning strategies of laggard nations. Two distinct bodies of literature have contributed to our insight into forces driving learning and innovation, National Systems of Innovation (NSI) and technological...

The geography of innovation in the developing world is poorly understood, both because certain spatial economic data are difficult to access or do not exist at all and because the existing information is rarely submitted for analysis at subnational level, where the relevant literature would...