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Smart Specialization Strategies at National, Regional, or Local Levels? Synergy and Policy-making in German Systems of Innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Henriette Ruhrmann

    (Technical University of Berlin)

  • Michael Fritsch

    (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Faculty of Economics)

  • Loet Leydesdorff

    (Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam)

Abstract
Employing a quantitative, data-driven tool - the Triple Helix Indicator - to microdata of firms in Germany, we develop an evidence base for innovation-policy strategies. We aim to answer the question which level of government (local, regional, national) might be most effective for strategic innovation policy-making based on smart specialization in Germany. The empirical results show that the country is decentralized to the extent that it cannot be considered a "national" innovation system. More than two-thirds of innovation-system synergy is generated at the lower levels of districts (NUTS3) and Governmental Regions (NUTS2). In high-tech and medium-tech manufacturing, former East and West Germany, as well as North and South Germany, can be considered separate sub-national innovation systems. These findings strengthen the case for region- and context-specific innovation policies. The results illustrate the value of the Triple Helix Indicator for systematic regional mapping and serve as evidence for policy-makers to expand RIS3 policy strategies to the regional and local level in Germany.

Suggested Citation

  • Henriette Ruhrmann & Michael Fritsch & Loet Leydesdorff, 2020. "Smart Specialization Strategies at National, Regional, or Local Levels? Synergy and Policy-making in German Systems of Innovation," Jena Economics Research Papers 2020-007, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    • Handle: RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2020-007
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    File URL: https://oweb.b67.uni-jena.de/Papers/jerp2020/wp_2020_007.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lengyel, Balázs & Leydesdorff, Loet, 2015. "The Effects of FDI on Innovation Systems in Hungarian Regions: Where is the Synergy Generated?," MPRA Paper 73945, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Fritsch, Michael & Wyrwich, Michael, 2021. "Is innovation (increasingly) concentrated in large cities? An international comparison," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(6).
    3. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2021. "Does Successful Innovation Require Large Urban Areas? Germany as a Counterexample," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 97(3), pages 284-308, May.
    4. Samuel Pinto Ribeiro & Stefano Menghinello & Koen De Backer, 2010. "The OECD ORBIS Database: Responding to the Need for Firm-Level Micro-Data in the OECD," OECD Statistics Working Papers 2010/1, OECD Publishing.
    5. Feldman, Maryann P. & Kogler, Dieter F., 2010. "Stylized Facts in the Geography of Innovation," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 381-410, Elsevier.
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    8. Loet Leydesdorff & Evgeniy Perevodchikov & Alexander Uvarov, 2015. "Measuring triple-helix synergy in the Russian innovation systems at regional, provincial, and national levels," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 66(6), pages 1229-1238, June.
    9. Philip McCann, 2015. "The Regional and Urban Policy of the European Union," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 16000.
    10. Michael Fritsch & Muhamed Kudic & Andreas Pyka, 2019. "Evolution and co-evolution of regional innovation processes," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(9), pages 1235-1239, September.
    11. Inga A. Ivanova & Loet Leydesdorff, 2014. "A simulation model of the Triple Helix of university–industry–government relations and the decomposition of the redundancy," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 99(3), pages 927-948, June.
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    13. Spengler, Anja, 2008. "The establishment history panel 1975-2005 : handbook version 2.0.0," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 200704_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
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    Cited by:

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

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