Abstract

This Ph.D. thesis aims to study the innovative activity of economic sectors from the perspective of techno-productive links established between them. Within this general objective, the territory where these sectors operate also takes a remarkable importance. In this sense we have analyzed the cases of Spain and Valencian Community.
Given these objectives, this thesis proposes the following questions to guide research:
i.  What is the role played by knowledge-intensive business services in the generation and diffusion of innovation in the economic system? What quantitative contribution is given by these sectors to the system of creation and generation of knowledge?
ii. What are the patterns of innovation in low tech industries, typically classified as traditional, but with deep roots and territorial influence (in particular the agrifood industry)? What are the main sources of innovation in this sector given that the territory has also a low absorptive capacity (Valencian Community)?
iii. What innovation patterns correspond to different industrial capabilities to create new firms? Or in other words, the pattern of generation / absorption of knowledge of each industry affect their ability to create new companies?
To answer these questions we have used the approach of the "Embodied knowledge". This approach allows measuring knowledge "embedded" in products and services that each sector uses as inputs in their production processes and indirectly contributes to their own strength or technological effort and innovation. The methodology can be summarized by the idea that the greater or lesser degree of innovative effort in a sector not only be determined by its own spending on innovative activities, but also by spending their suppliers to perform these activities. These providers will be taken to the user sector innovation intensity that appears embedded in the products and services exchanged. This sector could make a relatively small expenditure on innovative activities, but may acquire a greater degree products and services with high technological content, something that is not usually measurable in this kind of statistics.
This thesis is divided into 3 self-contained chapters complemented by an introduction and a section for discussion of results and conclusions. Finally, each chapter is an article published in recognized scientific journals (two of them are part of the Journal Citation Reports-JCR-).