Examining organizational innovations in different regional settings

Abstract

[EN] A key element of regional growth is its ability to transform knowledge into innovation. This research combines a group of indicators which define innovative regions with a rurality versus urbanization typology, in order to formulate guidelines to facilitate the emergence of higher levels of organizational innovation. Three main findings stem from this work. First, rurality does not appear prohibitive to the achievement of organizational innovation. Second, in regions with low levels of tertiary education, a combination of high levels of collaboration among small- and medium-sized enterprises, and public investment in research and development facilitates significant rates of organizational innovation. Third, in general, collaboration among firms promotes organizational innovation. The results of this research are in line with those from other studies in the sense that regions with internal and external networks show enhanced growth and innovation capacities. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved.