Regional regeneration strategies based on developing innovation capability have received much support in recent years. Evaluation of the effectiveness of such initiatives has, however, been limited largely to an assessment of the impact of such strategies on policy frameworks and attitudes....

Knowledge, however defined, is perceived as firms "key" source of competitive advantage and a central determinant of productivity and wealth creation. The value of knowledge as a competitive asset is not intrinsic, but depends instead on its application, i.e. innovation or the transformation of...

There is now general agreement that inter-firm cooperation through networks, partnerships and supply-chains can, by facilitating knowledge exchange and reducing transaction costs, contribute both to innovation and company competitiveness. Dense patterns of ‘association’, reinforced by links...

The evaluation of the impact of public policies to improve the performance of the small business sector has provoked a great deal of debate and research activity in recent years. The debate can be categorised in two broad ways. First, it can be seen in terms of the actual impact measures and...

In the context of the global production network (GPN) paradigm, this paper considers the combination of local and global factors which have contributed to the development of the ICT clusters in three small countries. Developments in each country reflect the combination of local advantages in...

Innovation grants are a ubiquitous feature of industrial support regimes across the industrial world. Evidence on their effectiveness is less widespread, however, due to a lack of consistent longitudinal or panel data on innovation outcomes and company performance. In this paper we investigate...