When Local Interaction Does Not Suffice

Sources of Firm Innovation in Urban Norway

Bibliographic Data

ID4138948
AuthorsRune Dahl Fitjar (0000-0001-5333-2701, International Research Institute of Stavanger, corresponding author), Andrés Rodríguez-Pose (0000-0002-8041-0856, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, England and IMDEA Social Sciences, Madrid, Spain, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume43
Issue6
Pages1248-1267
Publication date2011-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironment and Planning A Economy and Space (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0308-518X • E-ISSN: 1472-3409
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1068/a43516
OpenAlexW2001528454
LanguageEN
Citations received76
References cited36

The geographical sources of innovation of firms have been hotly debated. While the traditional view is that physical proximity within city-regions is key for the innovative capacity of firms, the literature on 'global pipelines' has been stressing the importance of establishing communication channels to the outside world. This paper uses a specifically tailored survey of the level of innovation of 1604 firms of more than ten employees located in the five largest Norwegian city-regions (Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, and Kristiansand) in order to determine (a) the geographical dimension of the sources of innovation, and (b) the factors behind the propensity to innovate in Norwegian firms. The results stress that, while interaction with a multitude of partners within Norwegian city-regions or with other national partners has a negligible effect on firm innovation, those firms with a greater diversity of international partners tend to innovate more and introduce more radical innovations. The results also highlight that the roots of this greater innovative capacity lie in a combination of firm (size of firms, share of foreign ownership, and sector) and cultural (the level of open-mindedness of managers) characteristics

Business · Economic geography · Geography · Industrial organization · Multitude · Norwegian · Political science · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis · Regional resilience and development · Marketing

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