The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of innovation of enterprises in the Regional Innovation System context. We analyse factors that determine regional innovation in a less developed region, taking the Podkarpackie region in Poland as our empirical counterpart. We examine how the EU economic policy instruments influence the innovation of enterprises within the context of the Regional Innovation Systems. We propose a model for the implementation of innovations and test our hypotheses based on the data drawn from the period of 2011–2014. The paper provides insights on a rather successful story from Poland. We posit that enterprises use only specific public policy instruments and that companies’ demand for innovation-supporting instruments changes, reacting to the business cycle phase and to financial incentives.
A high ranking position of Lower Silesia among Polish voivodeships based on its competitiveness, attractiveness for investors and accessibility as well as on its innovative potential is a good starting point for achieving the goals of the Renewed Lisbon Strategy as well as for making it a Region of Knowledge. Innovativeness and attractiveness for investors however are a dynamic status which a region has to compete for in an incessant rivalry with the best ones involving institutional and social partners. The Structural Funds – aptly streamed to and implemented – are only some efficient tools and not a goal itself. An apt profiting by the strong position of Wroclaw agglomeration as well as by experience of Wroclaw Technical University being a local leader of innovation, combined with wider than up till now learning from the experience of Lower Silesia’s partner regions and building an attractive offer for investors in high tech and services will make it possible to achieve final goals indicated in strategies.
In the last years, the knowledge economy approach has started to gain strength in the analysis of the economic and social reality. The author presents four fields that characterize the knowledge economy, namely: the acceleration of the knowledge production, intangible capital increase in the macroeconomic field, innovation as a dominant activity and revolution in the knowledge means. The main objective of this text is to find a relationship between two great phenomena knowledge economy and regional development landed on a concrete region (Central Region of Mexico). Essential to this analysis is the inclusion of the third great current phenomenon: globalization. Article presents also an overview of the conceptual framework of knowledge economy and its relationships with the Central Region of Mexico. The main hypothesis of this work consists of giving an answer for the question: Are there any possibilities for this region to join the knowledge-based economy, taking into consideration the existing elements of such an economy here? The last part of the article gives some data that describe the development level of the knowledge economy in the Central Region in three aspects: abilities, efforts and outcomes.
The article presents innovation issues in public administration in the Podkarpacie region. In the situation of progressing territorial development, widely understood innovation is the ability to create, put into practice and disseminate it. This ability is the condition to raise competitiveness of the regional economy, while increasing the opportunity to achieve success in the escalating competition between the regions. Taking into account that local and regional authorities play the major role in the modernizational and developmental processes, the analyses and characteristics included in the article are concentrated on the diagnosis of the competence of public administration employers. The range of the above mentioned competence is the management of the local and regional development and the economy development based on the knowledge. Identification and description of the restrictions and barriers of innovation in the council and government administration were considered as well. The study is based on the results of the empirical research which aim was to recognize attitudes and actions of public administration in the Podkarpacie region, realized within the confines of the purposeful project of the Science and Informatics Ministry: "The Regional Strategy of Innovation of the Podkarpacie Province".
Article presents results of the analysis of 15 regional innovation strategies prepared by the Polish regions in the years 2002–2005. The stress was put on their conformity with the standards. In particular, adequacy of the diagnosis and objectives and character and scope of the first implementation activities were taken into account. The strategies in question turned out to be quite different as far as methodology and conceptual underpinnings adopted or objectives and activities proposed are concerned. The efforts put into RIS preparation were not in vain, however, there is a need to upgrade them up (wider use of qualitative criteria in diagnosis, improved compatibility of methodology used) and first of all to get full picture of innovativeness of Polish regions. And this is what cannot be achieved on the basis of those 15 strategies. Strongly recommended nationwide research on regional innovativeness may serve as a starting point to create national Innovation Support and Technology Transfer System SWIFT which is considered by Authors a precondition for effective utilization of regional efforts for the benefit of the country as a whole.
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the importance of innovation in the formation of regions of development and those of economic stagnation in Poland. The test procedure adapted by the authors consists of two stages. In the ?rst one, the authors use cluster analysis to group voivodeships into two categories according to the strength and weakness of their economies, on the basis of socio-economic development indicators, structured according to the following aspects: (1) population and settlement, (2) the structure of the economy and the job market, (3) technical infrastructure and easy access, and (4) the ?nancial situation and wealth. In the second stage the authors use canonical analysis to identify the relationship between regional differences in the level of innovation and the distribution of development and stagnation regions in Poland. The results of the analysis shows a strong correlation between the level of innovativeness of a region and its level of socio-economic development in all highlighted aspects of this process, particularly in the relationship between the level of innovation development of a region and its ?nancial situation and wealth.
The notion of a network is one of the key terms used to describe the contemporary world. The role of cooperation networks is also stressed in the context of innovation and its spatial aspects. In this particular case, most attention is given to metropolises as major networks of flows not only of people, capital or goods, but also of information and knowledge. The paper discusses selected spatial aspects of collaborative networks in Polish science. The discussion of examples is preceded by a theoretical introduction intended to outline various aspects of innovation networks at national and regional levels, with particular emphasis on the role of metropolises in collaborative networks.
In transition economies, the size and ownership structure of enterprises determine their economic behaviour as well as their attitudes towards innovations. Many studies show that one of the key factors accelerating economic performance of the companies is technological transfer from abroad, and that successful implementation of the new know-how is mainly undertaken by medium and large enterprises. The domestic micro and small enterprises located in Polish regions proved to be rather risk-averse and therefore not very innovative. However, their innovative activities accelerate over time, and eventually they catch up with foreign and large enterprises.
Warmia-Mazury region, one of the poorest in Poland, faces the deepest (as compared to all regions of the EU) labour market crisis. The mixture of social and economic problems represents a huge challenge for regional authorities. The chances for fast improvement are limited by several factors, such as low quality of transport infrastructure, low innovation potential and productivity, large share of unskilled labour force, etc. One necessary condition of the improvement is the reform of public finances at country level. Nonetheless, regional authorities should undertake the activity in order to increase the potential of human capital in the region, e.g. by improving the quality of schools. While directly fighting unemployment more effort should be put on stimulating the demand side of the labour market and co-operation with NGOs.
University-industry collaboration seems to be crucial to the transfer of knowledge and innovation in a modern world economy in which knowledge, information flows and the level of innovation of countries and regions are the center of attention. The article presents the specifics of university-industry linkages, and the instruments that operate in support of such relationships, the focus being on the French CIFRE (Industrial Agreement for Training through Research) procedure. A description of the functioning of this scheme in France leads on to an analysis of its influence on the development of French regions as regards their levels of innovation and the nature of strength of the linkages between the world of science and academe on the one hand and enterprises on the other.
