Regional Innovation for SME's

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Regional Innovation for SME's

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  • Reg

    iona

    l Inn

    ovat

    ion

    Polic

    y Fo

    r Sm

    all-

    Med

    ium

    Ent

    erpr

    ises

    Edited by

    Bjr

    n T. A

    sheim

    Prof

    esso

    r, Ce

    ntre

    for T

    echn

    olog

    y, In

    nova

    tion

    and

    Cultu

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    nive

    rsity

    of

    Oslo

    , Nor

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    Pro

    fess

    or, D

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    ocia

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    nom

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    aphy

    , Uni

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    d, S

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    nive

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    Clai

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    auw

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    rsSe

    nior

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    stric

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    Res

    earc

    h In

    stitu

    te o

    n In

    nova

    tion

    and

    Tech

    nolo

    gy (M

    ERIT

    ), Univ

    ersity

    of M

    aastr

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    he N

    etherl

    ands

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    dtlin

    gPr

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    Depa

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    naU

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    ines

    s Adm

    inist

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    n, A

    ustri

    a

    Edw

    ard

    Elga

    rCh

    elte

    nham

    , UK

    . Nor

    tham

    pton

    , MA

    , USA

  • i B

    jrn T

    . Ashe

    im, A

    rne Is

    aksen

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    retr

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    tem

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    ed in

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    y an

    y m

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    ctro

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    ther

    wise

    with

    out t

    he p

    rior

    perm

    issio

    n of

    the

    publ

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    .Fi

    gure

    sTa

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    Aut

    hors

    Abb

    revi

    atio

    nsFo

    rew

    ord

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    ished

    by

    Edw

    ard

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    r Pub

    lishi

    ng L

    imite

    dG

    lens

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    seM

    ontp

    ellie

    r Par

    ade

    Chel

    tenh

    amG

    los G

    L50

    lUA

    UK

    PAR

    T I S

    MEs

    , INN

    OVA

    TIO

    N AN

    D RE

    GIO

    NS: C

    ONC

    EPTU

    ALB

    ACK

    GRO

    UN

    D

    Edwa

    rd E

    lgar

    Pub

    lishi

    ng, I

    nc.

    136

    Wes

    t Stre

    etSu

    ite 2

    02N

    orth

    ampt

    onM

    assa

    chus

    etts

    010

    60U

    SA

    The

    role

    and

    cha

    ract

    erist

    ics o

    f SM

    Es in

    inno

    vatio

    nDavid Smallbone, David North and Ian Vickers

    2 SM

    Es a

    nd th

    e re

    gion

    al d

    imen

    sion

    of in

    nova

    tion

    Bjr

    n T A

    sheim

    and A

    rne Is

    aksen

    PART

    II IN

    NO

    VA

    TIO

    N P

    ROCE

    SSES

    AN

    D P

    OLI

    CY C

    ON

    TEX

    T

    A c

    atal

    ogue

    reco

    rd fo

    r thi

    s boo

    kis

    avai

    labl

    e fro

    m th

    e Br

    itish

    Lib

    rary

    3 Na

    tiona

    l and

    regi

    onal

    con

    text

    s fo

    r inn

    ovat

    ion

    Arn

    e Is

    akse

    n

    4 Inno

    vation patterns of SMEs

    Ale

    xand

    er K

    aufm

    ann

    and

    Fran

    z T

    dtlin

    gli

    brar

    y of

    Con

    gres

    s Ca

    talo

    guin

    g in

    Pub

    lica

    tion

    Dat

    aR

    egio

    nal i

    nnov

    atio

    n po

    licy

    for s

    mal

    l-med

    ium

    ent

    erpr

    ises /

    edi

    ted

    by B

    jrn

    Ash

    eim

    . . .

    let a

    Llp. em.

    Inclu

    des

    bibliographical references and index

    .1,

    Sm

    all b

    usin

    ess -

    Tec

    hnol

    ogic

    al in

    nova

    tions

    , 2. T

    echn

    olog

    ical

    inno

    vatio

    ns -

    Gov

    ernm

    ent p

    olic

    y. 3

    . Reg

    iona

    l eco

    nom

    ics,

    1. A

    shei

    m, B

    jrn

    Terje

    .

    PART II EVALUATION OF INNOVATION POLICY

    INST

    RUM

    ENTS

    5 In

    novation policies for SMEs: an overview of policy

    instr

    umen

    tsG

    ioac

    chin

    o G

    arof

    oli a

    nd B

    erna

    rd M

    usyc

    k

    6 Resu

    lts and impacts of policy instruments

    Javi

    er A

    lfons

    o G

    il, A

    nton

    ia S

    ez-

    Cala

    , Ant

    onio

    Vz

    quez

    -Ba

    rque

    ro a

    nd A

    na Is

    abel

    Vi

    as-A

    paol

    aza

    7 Co

    here

    nce

    of in

    nova

    tion

    polic

    y in

    stru

    men

    tsPo

    ul R

    ind

    Chris

    tens

    en, A

    ndre

    as P

    eter

    Cor

    nett

    and

    Kris

    tian

    Philp

    sen

    HD

    2341

    .R35

    34 2

    003

    338,

    6'42

    - d

    c2l

    2003

    0439

    06

    ISBN

    1 8

    4376

    398

    2

    Prin

    ted

    and

    boun

    d in

    Gre

    at B

    ritai

    n by

    MPG

    Boo

    ks L

    td, B

    odm

    in, C

    ornw

    all

    v

    VLL

    V11 ix xv

    XV

    ll 3 21 49 78 119

    139

    166

  • ..

    8. Tow

    ards

    a n

    ew p

    arad

    igm

    for

    inno

    vati

    on p

    olic

    y?9

    Clai

    re N

    auw

    elae

    rs a

    nd R

    en

    Win

    tjes

    8.1

    INTR

    ODU

    CTIO

    NIn

    nova

    tion

    rank

    s hig

    her o

    n po

    licy

    agen

    das t

    oday

    , at n

    atio

    nal,

    Euro

    pean

    and regional

    leve

    ls. T

    his

    evol

    utio

    n is

    nur

    ture

    d by

    the

    unde

    rsta

    ndin

    g th

    atin

    nova

    tion

    is th

    e ke

    y to

    eco

    nom

    ic d

    evel

    opm

    ent f

    or a

    dvan

    ced,

    hig

    h-w

    ages

    countr

    ies,

    It is

    beco

    min

    g vi

    sible

    thro

    ugh

    a gr

    adua

    l shi

    ft in

    pol

    icy

    state

    men

    tsfro

    m su

    ppor

    t for

    R&

    D a

    nd te

    chno

    logy

    diff

    usio

    n to

    the

    prom

    otio

    n of

    inno

    -vat

    ion.

    The

    und

    ersta

    ndin

    g of

    inno

    vatio

    n as

    som

    ethi

    ng d

    iffer

    ent f

    rom

    R&

    Dan

    d th

    e di

    ffusio

    n of

    tech

    nolo

    gy is

    gai

    ning

    gro

    und:

    inno

    vatio

    n re

    fers

    to th

    ebe

    havi

    our o

    f ent

    erpr

    ises,

    plan

    ning

    and

    impl

    emen

    ting

    chan

    ges i

    n th

    eir p

    rac-

    tices

    in o

    rder

    to c

    ome

    up w

    ith n

    ew p

    rodu

    cts,

    proc

    esse

    s, se

    rvic

    es o

    r org

    an-

    izat

    ion.

    Thi

    s cha

    nge

    in fo

    cus r

    efle

    cts e

    fforts

    bas

    ed o

    n th

    e vi

    ew th

    atinnovation is an interactive, rather than linear, process (Rothwell

    1992

    ). On

    this

    unde

    rsta

    ndin

    g, tr

    aditi

    onal

    scie

    nce

    and

    tech

    nolo

    gy p

    olic

    ies d

    o no

    t offe

    rth

    e un

    ique

    resp

    onse

    nee

    ded

    to su

    ppor

    t inn

    ovat

    ive

    prac

    tices

    , Ins

    tead

    , man

    yo

    ther

    ele

    men

    ts in

    add

    ition

    to sc

    ienc

    e an

    d te

    chno

    logy

    pla

    ya ro

    le in

    inno

    va-

    tion and need to be tackled by innovation policy (Soete and Arundel

    1993

    ;Co

    wan

    and

    van

    de P

    aaI2

    000).

    Env

    isage

    d in s

    uch a

    n enla

    rged f

    ramew

    ork,

    inno

    vatio

    n po

    liCi

    s are

    stil

    in th

    eir i

    nfan

    cy.

    The

    thes

    is at

    the

    core

    of t

    his b

    ook

    is th

    at th

    e va

    riety

    of r

    egio

    nal c

    onte

    xts,

    the

    dive

    rsity

    in fi

    rms'

    abilit

    ies

    and

    attit

    udes

    , and

    in d

    rivin

    g fo

    rces

    and

    bar

    -rie

    rs to

    war

    ds in

    nova

    tion,

    pre

    vent

    s the

    sear

    ch fo

    r one

    per

    man

    ent '

    best

    prac

    -tic

    e' po

    licy,

    val

    id fo

    r eac

    h an

    d ev

    ery

    situa

    tion.

    Thi

    s is n

    ot to

    say,

    how

    ever

    ,th

    at n

    othi

    ng g

    ener

    al c

    an b

    e co

    nclu

    ded

    in re

    spon

    se to

    the

    ques

    tion

    of h

    owto

    impr

    ove

    the

    effc

    ienc

    y of

    pol

    icy

    instr

    umen

    ts to

    supp

    ort i

    nnov

    atio

    n in

    SMEs

    . Rat

    her,

    the

    resu

    lts fr

    om th

    e an

    alys

    es o

    f a v

    arie

    ty o

    f inn

    ovat

    ion

    polic

    y to

    ols,

    base

    d on

    the

    sam

    e co

    ncep

    tual

    bac

    kgro

    und,

    pro

    vide

    an

    answ

    erto

    this

    cruc

    ial q

    uesti

    on. T

    he v

    ario

    us to

    ols f

    orm

    a ri

    ch sc

    ope

    of o

    ppor

    tu-

    niti

    es fo

    r bet

    ter p

    ract

    ice

    rega

    rdin

    g th

    e po

    licy

    proc

    ess o

    f add

    ress

    ing

    inno

    va-

    tion

    of S

    MEs

    in th

    eir r

    egio

    nal c

    onte

    xt, I

    f one

    may

    cal

    l the

    shift

    from

    alin

    ear m

    odel

    of i

    nnov

    atio

    n to

    war

    ds a

    n in

    tera

    ctiv

    e on

    e a

    shift

    in p

    arad

    igm

    ,

    193

  • then

    the

    mai

    n go

    al o

    f SM

    EPO

    L is

    to p

    rovid

    e ev

    iden

    ce fo

    r a s

    imila

    r shi

    ftto

    war

    ds a

    new

    inno

    vatio

    n po

    licy

    para

    digm

    . The

    aim

    of t

    his c

    hapt

    er is

    tobr

    ing

    to li

    ght t

    he m

    ain

    elem

    ents

    of su

    ch a

    new

    pol

    icy

    para

    digm

    ,Th

    e po

    ints

    of d

    epar

    ture

    of t

    his p

    olic

    y-or

    ient

    ed st

    udy

    are

    that

    inno

    vatio

    nis

    a go

    od th

    ing

    (both

    on th

    e reg

    ional

    and f

    irm le

    vels)

    , and

    that

    there

    is a c

    allfo

    r pub

    lic in

    terv

    entio

    n in

    ord

    er to

    get

    mor

    e of

    it. A

    s a b

    ackg

    roun

    d, b

    ased

    on

    the

    liter

    atur

    e, th

    e fir

    st tw

    o ch

    apte

    rs b

    uild

    on

    thes

    e ba

    sic a

    ssum

    ptio

    ns,

    whi

    ch in

    clud

    e tw

    o m

    ain

    argu

    men

    ts,Fi

    rst,

    Chap

    ter 1

    arg

    ues t

    hat S

    MEs

    are

    an

    impo

    rtant

    targ

    et g

    roup

    for

    inno

    vatio

    n po

    licy,

    It p

    rovi

    des t

    hree

    dist

    inct

    ive

    char

    acte

    ristic

    s of S

    MEs

    ,w

    hich

    form

    the

    basis

    for a

    rgum

    ents

    and

    impl

    icat

    ions

    for i

    nnov

    atio

    n po

    licy

    dire

    cted

    to S

    MEs

    , The

    se d

    istin

    ctiv

    e ch

    arac

    teris

    tics (

    comp

    ared t

    o larg

    erfirms) are: a li

    mited resource base, a distinc

    tive

    org

    aniz

    atio

    nal

    cult

    ure

    linke

    d to

    the

    prox

    imity

    bet

    wee

    n ow

    ners

    hip

    and

    man

    agem

    ent,

    and

    a lo

    wer

    abili

    ty to

    shap

    e th

    eir e

    xter

    nal e

    nviro

    nmen

    t. Th

    ese

    char

    acte

    ristic

    s, w

    hich

    call

    for d

    istin

    ctiv

    e po

    licy

    appr

    oach

    es, a

    re a

    t the

    root

    of t

    he m

    ore

    info

    rmal

    ,u

    nco

    difie

    d ch

    arac

    ter o

    f man

    agem

    ent a

    nd in

    nova

    tion

    prac

    tices

    in S

    MEs

    ,Al

    so, t

    his

    chap

    ter w

    arns

    aga

    inst

    bol

    d ge

    nera

    lizat

    ions

    on

    'the'

    SME:

    tech

    -nolo

    gy-d

    riven

    , tec

    hnol

    ogy-

    follo

    win

    g, a

    nd te

    chno

    logy

    -indi

    ffere

    nt S

    MEs

    have

    ver

    y di

    ffere

    nt n

    eeds

    and

    apt

    itude

    s, an

    d th

    is ca

    lls fo

    r diff

    eren

    t typ

    es o

    fpo

    licy

    inte

    rven

    tion,

    Acc

    ordi

    ng to

    this

    view

    , the

    thru

    st of

    pol

    icy

    appr

    oach

    essh

    ould

    be

    twof

    old:

    to in

    crea

    se th

    e av

    aila

    bilit

    y of

    ext

    erna

    l res

    ourc

    es fo

    rSM

    Es a

    nd to

    dev

    elop

    thei

    r int

    erna

    l abs

    orpt

    ive

    and

    lear

    ning

    cap

    aciti

    es(C

    ohen

    and L

    evint

    hal 1

    990).

    This

    point

    s to:

    (i) the

    cruc

    ial ro

    le of

    interm

    e-di

    arie

    s who

    , wor

    king

    on

    the

    basis

    of p

    erso

    nal t

    rust

    rela

    tions

    , are

    abl

    e to

    codi

    fy S

    MEs

    ' nee

    ds; (

    ii) th

    e valu

    e of 'p

    eer' n

    etwork

    s as l

    earni

    ng ch

    anne

    ls;an

    d (ii

    i) the

    key r

    ole of

    huma

    n cap

    ital in

    SMEs

    ,Se

    cond

    , cha

    pter

    2 a

    sser

    ts th

    e im

    porta

    nce

    of th

    e re

    gion

    al d

    imen

    sion

    ofin

    nova

    tion,

    The

    disc

    ussio

    n de

    velo

    ps th

    e th

    esis

    that

    pro

    xim

    ity li

    nkag

    es c

    anbe

    inst

    rum

    enta

    l in d

    evel

    opin

    g 'le

    arni

    ng fi

    rms'

    and

    'lear

    ning

    regi

    ons'.

    Also

    ,br

    oade

    ning

    and

    ext

    endi

    ng th

    e co

    ncep

    t of c

    luste

    rs to

    war

    ds o

    ne o

    f coa

    litio

    nde

    velo

    pmen

    t poi

    nts t

    o a

    broa

    der s

    cope

    for i

    nnov

    atio

    n po

    licy,

    that

    of s

    up-

    porti

    ng th

    e so

    cial

    and

    cul

    tura

    l asp

    ects

    of in

    nova

    tion

    and

    enha

    ncin

    g so

    cial

    capi

    tal a

    s a

    key

    elem

    ent b

    ehin

    d we

    ll-fu

    nctio

    ning

    regi

    onal

    inno

    vatio

    nsy

    stem

    s, D

    evel

    opin

    g co

    llect

    ive

    capa

    citie

    s and

    net

    wor

    king

    pra

    ctic

    es a

    t the

    loca

    l lev

    el fo

    llows

    logi

    cally

    from

    this

    polic

    y ai

    m, b

    ut th

    is go

    al s

    houl

    d al

    sobe

    com

    plem

    ente

    d w

    ith su

    ppor

    t to

    the

    deve

    lopm

    ent o

    f lin

    kage

    s at n

    atio

    nal

    and

    inte

    rnat

    iona

    l leve

    ls, in

    ord

    er to

    avo

    id b

    eing

    trap

    ped

    by to

    o st

    rong

    loca

    ltie

    s, po

    ssib

    ly le

    adin

    g to

    lock

    -in si

    tuat

    ions

    ,For the translation of broad policy orientations into operational guide-

    lines

    , we

    use

    the

    findi

    ngs o

    f the

    SM

    EPO

    L em

    piric

    al a

    naly

    ses,

    as d

    evel

    oped

    in th

    e su

    bseq

    uent

    cha

    pter

    s: Ch

    apte

    r 3 fo

    r the

    ana

    lysis

    of t

    he v

    arie

    ty o

    f

    I

    1....

    ..,..:"

    ,~ . .,. '"

    ..

    regi

    onal

    con

    text

    s, w

    hich

    we

    use

    to b

    uild

    up

    cont

    ext-s

    ensit

    ive

    polic

    y re

    com

    -m

    enda

    tions

    , Cha

    pter

    4 o

    n th

    e pa

    ttern

    s of i

    nnov

    atio

    n in

    SM

    Es, w

    hich

    ilus

    -tra

    tes

    how

    the

    gene

    ric a

    ttrib

    utes

    of S

    MEs

    tran

    slate

    into

    spe

    cific

    barri

    ers

    and

    asse

    ts fo

    r inn

    ovat

    ion,

    and

    Cha

    pter

    5 o

    n th

    e typ

    olog

    y of

    pol

    icy

    instr

    u-m

    ents

    , whi

    ch a

    llow

    s us t

    o de

    velo

    p th

    e m

    ain

    thru

    st of

    our

    pol

    icy

    argu

    men

    tin

    to m

    ore

    prec

    ise g

    uide

    lines

    for e

    ach

    type

    of i

    nstru

    men

    t. To

    bui

    ld u

    p ou

    rre

    com

    men

    datio

    ns, w

    e al

    so c

    onsid

    er th

    e re

    flect

    ions

    on

    resu

    lts a

    nd im

    pact

    s,an

    d 'go

    od p

    ract

    ice

    elem

    ents'

    of p

    olic

    y to

    ols,

    as d

    evel

    oped

    in C

    hapt

    er 6

    , as

    wel

    l as t

    he th

    esis

    put f

    orth

    in C

    hapt

    er 7

    on

    the

    impo

    rtanc

    e of

    com

    bini

    ngre

    spon

    siven

    ess a

    nd c

    o-or

    dina

    tion

    in th

    e pr

    ogra

    mm

    ing,

    org

    aniz

    atio

    n an

    dim

    plem

    enta

    tion

    of p

    olicy

    .Th

    e pr

    esen

    t cha

    pter

    is o

    rgan

    ized

    as fo

    llows

    , Bas

    ed o

    n th

    e fin

    ding

    sac

    hiev

    ed in

    this

    com

    para

    tive

    rese

    arch

    , sec

    tions

    8.2

    and

    8,3

    lay

    the

    clai

    m fo

    ra

    new

    inno

    vatio

    n po

    licy

    para

    digm

    and

    pro

    pose

    a sh

    ift in

    ratio

    nale

    (sec

    tion

    8.2)

    and i

    n the

    broa

    d orie

    ntatio

    ns (s

    ectio

    n 8.3)

    of in

    nova

    tion p

    olicy

    toad

    dres

    sing

    SMEs

    in th

    eir r

    egio

    nal c

    onte

    xt. T

    hese

    arg

    umen

    ts ar

    e ba

    sed

    onth

    e no

    tions

    of m

    arke

    t fai

    lure

    s and

    syste

    m d

    efic

    its, w

    hich

    show

    up

    as b

    ar-

    riers

    to in

    nova

    tion

    proc

    esse

    s in

    regi

    ons a

    nd S

    MEs

    , and

    on

    wha

    t we

    may

    cal

    lgo

    vern

    men

    t fai

    lure

    s, sh

    own

    by th

    e ev

    alua

    tion

    of in

    strum

    ents,

    Usin

    g th

    ese

    argu

    men

    ts, se

    ctio

    n 8.

    4 di

    scus

    ses h

    ow th

    e SM

    EPO

    L in

    strum

    ents

    coul

    d be

    impr

    oved

    , dra

    win

    g le

    sson

    s fro

    m g

    ood

    prac

    tice.

    The

    key

    mes

    sage

    of t

    his

    chap

    ter i

    s syn

    thes

    ized

    in se

    ctio

    n 8,

    5, w

    here

    a sty

    lized

    vie

    w o

    n th

    e con

    tent

    of a

    soun

    d re

    gion

    al in

    nova

    tion

    polic

    y fo

    r SM

    Es is

    pre

    sent

    ed, S

    ectio

    n 8,

    6de

    als w

    ith th

    e qu

    estio

    n of

    how

    to b

    uild

    a c

    oher

    ent p

    ortfo

    lio o

    f pol

    icy

    inst

    rum

    ents

    , tak

    ing

    into

    acc

    ount

    bot

    h re

    gion

    al s

    ituat

    ions

    and

    spe

    cific

    SMEs

    ' nee

    ds in

    term

    s of i

    nnov

    atio

    n, T

    he m

    essa

    ge d

    eliv

    ered

    is th

    at th

    ere

    isnO

    .'one

    -size

    -fits

    -all'

    polic

    y po

    rtfol

    io. T

    he c

    onclu

    ding

    sec

    tion

    draw

    s th

    ele

    sson

    s fro

    m th

    e w

    hole

    exe

    rcise

    of e

    valu

    atin

    g, in

    a c

    ompa

    rativ

    e fa

    shio

    n, a

    var

    iety

    of p

    olic

    y to

    ols,

    with

    in a

    com

    mon

    con

    cept

    ual f

    ram

    ewor

    k, O

    nesa

    lient

    ele

    men

    t of t

    he c

    onclu

    sion

    is th

    e ne

    ed fo

    r mor

    e 'p

    olicy

    inte

    lligen

    ce'

    in th

    is c

    ompl

    ex fi

    eld,

    8.2 THE

    RATIONALE FOR POLICY

    INTE

    RVEN

    TIO

    N: F

    AIL

    URE

    S, B

    ARR

    IERS

    ,AND BOUNDARIES

    Whe

    ther

    we

    talk

    abo

    ut m

    arke

    ts, sy

    stem

    s or g

    over

    nmen

    ts in

    rela

    tion

    toin

    nova

    tion,

    it a

    ll co

    ncer

    ns c

    omm

    unic

    atio

    n, a

    pro

    cess

    of e

    xcha

    ngin

    g in

    for-

    ma

    tion

    and

    know

    ledg

    e. In

    ord

    er to

    be

    usef

    ul a

    nd v

    alua

    ble

    to o

    ther

    s in

    afir

    m, m

    arke

    t, sy

    stem

    or g

    over

    nmen

    t adm

    inist

    ratio

    n, te

    chno

    logi

    cal (

    and

    oth

    e\-)

    know

    ledge

    has t

    o be d

    iffus

    ed an

    d poli

    cy le

    ssons

    have

    to be

    learn

    ed.

  • 196

    SMEs

    , inn

    ovat

    ion

    and

    regi

    ons:

    desig

    ning

    pol

    icie

    s

    The

    typi

    cal a

    nd tr

    aditi

    onal

    app

    roac

    h to

    com

    mun

    icat

    ion

    in e

    cono

    mic

    sfo

    cuse

    s on

    mar

    kets

    whe

    re p

    rice

    med

    iate

    s sup

    ply

    and

    dem

    and

    whe

    reas

    , the

    'ne

    o-c

    lass

    ical

    ' gov

    ernm

    ent t

    ypica

    lly c

    omm

    unica

    tes

    powe

    r bas

    ed o

    n a

    hir

    -ar

    chic

    alpo

    sitio

    n vi

    s--

    vis t

    he e

    cono

    mic

    age

    nts t

    hey

    gove

    rn. I

    n ac

    cord

    ance

    with

    trad

    ition

    al m

    arke

    t-hie

    rarc

    hy d

    icho

    tom

    ies,

    the

    typi

    cal a

    rgum

    ent f

    orgo

    vern

    ent i

    nter

    vent

    ion

    is wh

    en m

    arke

    ts fa

    il in

    com

    mun

    icatio

    n. E

    ither

    the

    mar

    ket o

    r the

    gov

    ernm

    ent w

    ould

    pro

    vide

    the

    best

    solu

    tion.

    In g

    ener

    al,

    inte

    ract

    ive

    com

    mun

    icat

    ion

    is no

    t con

    sider

    ed to

    be

    of v

    ital i

    mpo

    rtanc

    e in

    the

    proc

    ess

    of fi

    ding

    and

    reac

    hing

    sol

    utio

    ns, T

    his

    linea

    r per

    spec

    tive

    pre-

    vai

    led

    even

    bef

    ore

    it ha

    d be

    en a

    pplie

    d to

    inno

    vatio

    n,W

    hen

    ever

    ybod

    y kn

    ows i

    n ad

    vanc

    e w

    hat (

    produ

    cts, re

    sourc

    es, te

    chno

    lo-gi

    es, c

    apab

    ilitie

    s etc

    .) are

    being

    talke

    d abo

    ut an

    d eve

    rybod

    y wou

    ld ag

    ree on

    its (p

    resen

    t and

    futur

    e) ec

    onom

    ic va

    lue, th

    e mark

    et is

    perfe

    ctly a

    ble to

    com-

    munic

    ate

    supp

    ly an

    d de

    man

    d, In

    thes

    e sit

    uatio

    ns th

    ere

    is no

    nee

    d fo

    r int

    er-

    active communication.

    Whe

    ther

    it is

    the

    'dem

    ande

    r' or

    the

    'supp

    lier'

    who

    nam

    es th

    e pr

    ice,

    the

    mar

    ket w

    il, in

    a li

    near

    resp

    onse

    , com

    e up

    with

    the

    prop

    er a

    nswe

    r. Fo

    r the

    exc

    hang

    e of

    cer

    tain

    goo

    ds o

    r ser

    vices

    , the

    pric

    e m

    aybe

    the

    only

    aspe

    ct th

    at h

    as to

    be

    com

    mun

    icate

    d, H

    owev

    er, w

    here

    kno

    wl-

    edge

    or i

    nnov

    atio

    n is

    conc

    erne

    d, th

    e pr

    ice

    mec

    hani

    sm m

    ay n

    ot fu

    nctio

    nve

    ry w

    ell,

    Follo

    win

    g th

    e sa

    me

    logi

    c fo

    r pol

    icy

    deci

    sion-

    mak

    ing,

    a c

    entra

    l que

    stion

    for a

    pol

    icy-

    mak

    er is

    : how

    do

    I rec

    ogni

    ze w

    here

    and

    whe

    n m

    arke

    ts fa

    il, so

    that

    I kn

    ow w

    here

    and

    whe

    n to

    inte

    rven

    e? If

    it is

    per

    fect

    ly cle

    ar to

    pol

    icy-

    mak

    ers w

    here

    mar

    kets

    fail,

    and

    it is

    wid

    ely

    agre

    ed u

    pon

    wha

    t the

    gov

    erne

    dre

    gion

    add

    itiona

    lly 'n

    eeds

    ' and

    'has

    to o

    ffer'

    (more

    spec

    ificall

    y, wh

    at firm

    s'n

    eed'

    from

    thei

    r reg

    ion,

    incl

    udin

    g go

    vern

    men

    t, an

    d w

    hat t

    hey

    have

    to o

    ffer

    thei

    r reg

    ion

    and

    its p

    olicy

    goa

    ls), th

    en th

    ere is

    no ne

    ed fo

    r inter

    actio

    n,Ev

    eryt

    hing

    is c

    lear

    : the

    re is

    no

    know

    ledg

    e le

    ft to

    be

    codi

    fied,

    ther

    e is

    only

    info

    rmat

    ion

    to b

    e pa

    ssed

    on.

    Sin

    ce in

    tera

    ctio

    n is

    costl

    y in

    term

    s of t

    ime

    and

    ener

    gy, l

    inea

    r and

    top-

    dow

    n co

    mm

    unic

    atio

    n is

    likel

    y to

    be

    mor

    e ef

    fcie

    nt.

    How

    ever

    , to

    deal

    with

    the

    unce

    rtain

    ties

    atta

    ched

    to k

    nowl

    edge

    and

    inno

    -v

    atio

    n (D

    osi 1

    988),

    econ

    omic

    and p

    olicy

    agen

    ts ma

    y wan

    t to co

    mmun

    icate

    mo

    re th

    an p

    rice

    or a

    utho

    rity,

    The

    trad

    ition

    al c

    once

    pt o

    f mar

    kets

    and

    (state

    ) hier

    archie

    s with

    their

    anon

    ymou

    s, lin

    ear a

    nd fo

    rmal

    comm

    unica

    -tio

    n, fa

    ils to

    inco

    rpor

    ate

    thes

    e br

    oade

    r inf

    orm

    atio

    n ne

    eds.

    A re

    ason

    why

    mar

    kets

    as c

    o-or

    dina

    tion

    and

    com

    mun

    icat

    ion

    mec

    hani

    sms m

    ay n

    ot fu

    nc-

    tion

    very

    wel

    l reg

    ardi

    ng in

    nova

    tion

    is re

    late

    d to

    the

    unce

    rtain

    ties a

    ttach

    edto

    pre

    dict

    ing

    the

    futu

    re (C

    owan

    and F

    oray 1

    997),

    The m

    arket

    may f

    ail to

    predi

    ct t

    he e

    conomic value of new technologies, new products, new

    reso

    urc

    es,

    new

    fim

    s or

    new

    ent

    repr

    eneu

    rial c

    apab

    ilitie

    s. T

    ypica

    lly, t

    hem

    arke

    t wil,

    for i

    nsta

    nce,

    not

    be

    able

    to v

    alue

    a st

    art-u

    p fir

    m, A

    lthou

    ghpo

    licy-

    mak

    ers a

    lso h

    ave

    diffc

    ultie

    s in

    pred

    ictin

    g th

    e fu

    ture

    , thi

    s kin

    d of

    "'~

    '':"

    .' r'

    " i

    Tow

    ards

    a n

    ew p

    arad

    igm

    for i

    nnov

    atio

    n po

    licy?

    197

    market failure is a wid

    ely accepted

    justifi

    cation

    for p

    ublic

    inter

    venti

    on, F

    orex

    ampl

    e, a

    gen

    eric

    nat

    iona

    l pol

    icy

    tool

    , lik

    e a

    tax-

    redu

    ctio

    n sc

    hem

    e, se

    ems

    rele

    vant

    to 'p

    rote

    ct' t

    hese

    you

    ng, n

    ew e

    ntre

    pren

    euria

    l exp

    erim

    ents,

    pro

    vid-

    ing

    them

    a c

    hanc

    e to

    pro

    ve th

    emse

    lves

    and

    to c

    onvin

    ce th

    e m

    arke

    t (tha

    t is,

    cust

    omer

    s, b

    ut a

    lso fi

    nanc

    ial a

    nd la

    bour

    mar

    kets)

    of th

    eir po

    tentia

    l and

    ,m

    ore

    ov

    er, to

    con

    vinc

    e th

    e go

    vern

    men

    t of t

    heir

    pote

    ntia

    l con

    tribu

    tion

    to th

    ere

    gion

    and

    its p

    olic

    y go

    als,

    The

    sam

    e ar

    gum

    ents

    may

    hol

    d fo

    r new

    sect

    ors

    or

    tech

    nolo

    gies

    or a

    you

    ng re

    gion

    al c

    luste

    r of f

    irms,

    or e

    ven

    olde

    r non

    -in

    nova

    tive

    firm

    s tha

    t wan

    t to

    and

    are

    tryin

    g to

    bec

    ome

    inno

    vativ

    e.O

    ther

    pla

    ces

    wher

    e th

    e m

    arke

    t obv

    ious

    ly fa

    ils is

    in c

    omm

    unica

    ting

    cert

    ain

    envi

    ronm

    enta

    l and

    soci

    al c

    osts

    and

    bene

    fits,

    If ec

    onom

    ic a

    gent

    s do

    not t

    ake

    thes

    e ki

    nds o

    f 'co

    sts' i

    nto

    acco

    unt,

    gove

    rnm

    ents

    may

    wan

    t to

    inte

    r-ven

    e an

    d ex

    tend

    the

    boun

    darie

    s of t

    he ra

    tiona

    lity

    of th

    e ag

    ents

    they

    gov

    ern,

    e.g,

    by

    influ

    enci

    ng th

    eir c

    ost-b

    enef

    it ca

    lcul

    atio

    ns w

    ith e

    nviro

    nmen

    tal t

    axes

    .Th

    e jus

    tificat

    ion fo

    r trad

    itiona

    l tech

    nolog

    y or R

    &D po

    licy h

    as be

    en pu

    tfo

    rth b

    y A

    rrow

    , and

    is b

    ased

    on

    the

    mac

    ro-le

    vel a

    rgum

    ent t

    hat w

    hen

    soci

    alef

    fect

    s are

    take

    n in

    to a

    ccou

    nt, t

    here

    is u

    nder

    -inve

    stmen

    t in

    R&D

    , The

    risk

    and

    unce

    rtain

    ty a

    ttach

    ed to

    R&D

    by

    priva

    te a

    ctor

    s ca

    lls fo

    r pub

    lic in

    ter-

    ven

    tion

    beca

    use,

    at t

    he m

    acro

    -leve

    l, it

    is co

    nsid

    ered

    wor

    thw

    hile

    to p

    ublic

    lyta

    ke th

    e ris

    k fo

    r the

    sake

    of s

    ocie

    ty, e

    .g. b

    y fin

    anci

    ng p

    ublic

    R&

    D in

    uni

    -ver

    sitie

    s or,

    agai

    n, b

    y in

    fluen

    cing

    priv

    ate,

    mic

    r-le

    vel c

    ost-b

    enef

    it ca

    lcul

    a-tio

    ns w

    ith ta

    x de

    duct

    ions

    or s

    ubsid

    ized

    facil

    ities,

    The

    idea

    that

    ther

    e is

    a ro

    le fo

    r pol

    icy-m

    aker

    s, if

    mar

    kets

    fail,

    does

    not

    impl

    y th

    at p

    olic

    y-m

    aker

    s are

    per

    fect

    , but

    that

    the

    abov

    e-m

    entio

    ned

    gene

    ral

    or

    stru

    ctur

    al m

    arke

    t fai

    lure

    s m

    ay v

    ery

    well b

    e ef

    fect

    ively

    and

    effc

    ient

    lyad

    dres

    sed

    by g

    ener

    ic p

    olic

    y in

    strum

    ents,

    des

    igne

    d an

    d de

    liver

    ed a

    t the

    natio

    nal p

    olicy

    leve

    L. F

    urth

    er, t

    o di

    ffuse

    info

    rmat

    ion

    on n

    eeds

    and

    sup

    port,

    linea

    r com

    mun

    icat

    ion

    seem

    s app

    ropr

    iate

    , How

    ever

    , kno

    wle

    dge

    diffe

    rs fr

    omin

    form

    atio

    n, F

    or in

    stanc

    e, d

    istan

    ce d

    oes n

    ot se

    em to

    be

    a ba

    rrier

    to th

    etr

    ansm

    issio

    n of

    info

    rmat

    ion,

    but

    in th

    e tra

    nsm

    issio

    n of

    kno

    wle

    dge

    it do

    es,

    The

    impo

    rtanc

    e of

    the

    tacit

    dim

    ensio

    n (P

    olany

    i 199

    6), th

    e info

    rmal,

    unco

    difie

    d an

    d di

    sem

    bodi

    ed a

    spec

    ts of

    the

    know

    ledg

    e co

    ncer

    ned,

    bot

    h at

    the regional

    leve

    l and

    for S

    MEs

    , und

    ersc

    ores

    the

    loca

    lized

    nat

    ure

    of k

    now

    l-edge spil

    over

    s (S

    torpe

    r 199

    7), T

    he lin

    ear c

    ommu

    nicati

    on ar

    gume

    nts us

    ingth

    e ol

    d m

    arke

    t-hie

    rarc

    hy a

    ppro

    ache

    s fai

    l to

    addr

    ess t

    his,

    Prox

    imity

    mat

    ters

    to knowledge spil

    over

    s an

    d in

    tera

    ctio

    n be

    twee

    n re

    gion

    al a

    gent

    s (bo

    thpr

    ivat

    e an

    d pu

    blic

    ) matt

    ers in

    deali

    ng w

    ith th

    e unc

    ertain

    ties a

    ttach

    ed to

    inno

    vatio

    n pr

    oces

    ses i

    n re

    gion

    s and

    SM

    Es, T

    he v

    arie

    ty o

    f situ

    atio

    nsre

    gard

    ing

    inno

    vatio

    n, S

    MEs

    and

    regi

    ons

    call f

    or c

    omm

    unica

    tive

    inte

    rac-

    tion

    (Nau

    welae

    rs an

    d Morg

    an 19

    99), L

    ocal

    discu

    ssion

    s, pri

    vate

    and

    publ

    ic-p

    rivat

    e on

    es, c

    an sh

    ed m

    ore

    light

    on

    the

    unce

    rtain

    ty is

    sues

    ,Ex

    chan

    ging

    taci

    t visi

    ons,

    conv

    ergi

    ng id

    eas a

    nd c

    o-or

    dina

    ting

    inve

    stmen

    t

  • deci

    sions

    (pub

    lic, p

    rivate

    and p

    ublic

    -priva

    te on

    es) m

    ay pr

    ovide

    the k

    nowl

    -ed

    ge b

    ase

    for a

    n in

    nova

    tion

    strat

    egy

    conc

    erni

    ng S

    MEs

    and

    thei

    r reg

    ions

    (Lun

    dvall

    I996),

    Espe

    cially

    con

    cern

    ing

    inno

    vatio

    n pr

    oces

    ses

    in re

    gion

    s an

    d SM

    Es, t

    heco

    nce

    pt o

    f sys

    tem

    s (or

    netw

    orks o

    r clus

    ters)

    seems

    a mo

    re rea

    listic

    mod

    elto

    follo

    w th

    an th

    e tra

    ditio

    nal c

    once

    pts o

    f mar

    kets

    and

    hier

    arch

    ies (

    Grab

    her

    1993

    a), A

    regio

    nal in

    nova

    tion s

    ystem

    s app

    roach

    stres

    ses th

    e imp

    ortan

    ce of

    the

    diffu

    sion

    of k

    now

    ledg

    e an

    d in

    tera

    ctiv

    e le

    arni

    ng w

    ithin

    the

    regi

    on a

    s asy

    stem

    (Morg

    an 19

    97). T

    he no

    n-ano

    nymo

    us re

    lation

    s, the

    comp

    lemen

    tar-

    ity o

    f act

    iviti

    es, a

    nd th

    e hi

    storic

    al se

    tting

    are

    stre

    ssed

    in sp

    ecify

    ing

    the

    regi

    onal

    con

    text

    and

    the

    prof

    ile o

    f the

    regi

    on's

    SMEs

    . The

    se g

    ive

    the

    regi

    onal

    syste

    m it

    s ide

    ntity

    , so

    to sp

    eak

    (Feld

    man 1

    994),

    Furth

    er, in

    orde

    rto

    find

    out

    and

    arti

    cula

    te w

    hat a

    par

    ticul

    ar re

    gion

    or f

    irm n

    eeds

    , or w

    hat i

    sla

    ckin

    g co

    ncer

    ning

    inno

    vatio

    n, re

    gion

    al p

    roxi

    mity

    and

    com

    mun

    icat

    ive

    inte

    ract

    ion

    are

    appr

    opria

    te to

    add

    ress

    the

    taci

    t and

    late

    nt a

    spec

    ts of

    such

    nee

    ds (L

    anda

    baso

    1997

    ), Prov

    iding

    R&D

    tax r

    educ

    tion o

    r sub

    sidies

    may

    no

    t be

    enou

    gh to

    cha

    nge

    the

    ratio

    nality

    (nor

    its bo

    unda

    ries)

    of SM

    Esre

    gard

    ing

    inno

    vatio

    n pr

    oces

    ses,

    Tho

    se a

    rgum

    ents

    und

    erpi

    n th

    e gr

    owin

    gim

    porta

    nce

    take

    n by

    clu

    ster p

    olic

    ies,

    as th

    e co

    ncep

    t see

    ms t

    o fit

    qui

    te w

    ell

    the

    pres

    crip

    tions

    of a

    n in

    tera

    ctiv

    e vi

    ew o

    n in

    nova

    tion

    (Nau

    welae

    rs 20

    01),

    8.3

    LESS

    ONS FROM EVALUATIN

    G 40

    INN

    OVAT

    ION

    POLI

    CY T

    OO

    LS IN

    11

    EURO

    PEA

    N R

    EGIO

    NS

    Hav

    ing

    disc

    usse

    d th

    e ra

    tiona

    le fo

    r pol

    icy

    inte

    rven

    tion

    in in

    nova

    tion,

    this

    sect

    ion

    deal

    s with

    the

    cont

    ent o

    f suc

    h po

    licie

    s, pr

    opos

    ing

    gene

    ral p

    rinci

    ples

    for t

    heir

    desig

    n an

    d im

    plem

    enta

    tion

    (secti

    on 8,

    3,1) a

    nd ob

    servin

    g how

    these

    prin

    cipl

    es c

    ompa

    re w

    ith p

    ract

    ice

    in th

    e ca

    se-s

    tudy

    regi

    ons (

    sectio

    n 8.3,

    2),

    8,3,1 Basic Prin

    ciples for Innovation Policies

    Bui

    ldin

    g on

    the

    conc

    eptu

    al a

    nd e

    mpi

    rical

    find

    ings

    of t

    he S

    MEP

    OL

    proje

    ct,th

    is an

    alys

    is pu

    ts fo

    rth th

    e fo

    llow

    ing

    prop

    ositi

    on: s

    ince

    the

    mai

    n di

    stin-

    guish

    ing

    feat

    ures

    of t

    he m

    ajority

    of SM

    Es, w

    ith re

    gard

    to the

    inno

    vatio

    npr

    oces

    s, ar

    e th

    at th

    ey h

    ave

    a lim

    ited

    reso

    urce

    bas

    e, th

    ey n

    eed

    exte

    rnal

    orie

    n-ta

    tion

    to u

    nder

    stan

    d an

    d (pr

    o-acti

    vely)

    adap

    t to th

    eir en

    viron

    ment,

    and

    they

    eng

    age

    in in

    nova

    tion

    in a

    n in

    form

    al m

    ode,

    ther

    efor

    e th

    e m

    ain

    role

    for

    inno

    vatio

    n po

    licy,

    whi

    ch a

    ims t

    o in

    crea

    se th

    e ca

    paci

    ty o

    f a re

    gion

    and

    the

    capa

    bilit

    ies o

    f its

    SMEs

    to in

    nova

    te, i

    s to

    foste

    r int

    erac

    tive

    lear

    ning

    with

    inth

    e fir

    ms a

    nd w

    ithin

    the

    regi

    on. T

    his c

    alls

    for a

    n in

    tera

    ctiv

    e m

    ode

    of p

    olic

    yin

    terv

    entio

    n.

    i

    "l."

    ,,~.-.,,,.- -:;

    Of c

    ours

    e, th

    is sta

    tem

    ent s

    tand

    s as q

    uite

    a b

    old

    gene

    raliz

    atio

    n of

    bot

    hSM

    Es' c

    hara

    cter

    istic

    s and

    pol

    icy

    chal

    leng

    e, S

    ome

    SMEs

    hav

    e qu

    ite a

    nad

    vanc

    ed k

    now

    ledg

    e ba

    se (e

    ,g, ne

    w tec

    hnolo

    gy-ba

    sed fi

    rms),

    othe

    rs ha

    vede

    velo

    ped

    exce

    llent

    inno

    vatio

    n m

    anag

    emen

    t cap

    abili

    ties a

    nd e

    xplic

    it in

    no-

    vat

    ion

    strat

    egie

    s, an

    d so

    me

    firm

    s in

    nich

    es re

    ally

    shap

    e th

    eir b

    usin

    ess e

    nvi-

    ronm

    ent r

    athe

    r tha

    n be

    ing

    depe

    nden

    t on

    it. A

    lso, t

    here

    are

    pro

    blem

    s of

    anoth

    er n

    atur

    e w

    hich

    kee

    p SM

    Es fr

    om in

    nova

    ting,

    such

    as t

    he n

    eed

    for r

    iskfin

    ancin

    glO

    or t

    he n

    eces

    sity

    to a

    cces

    s st

    ate-

    of-th

    e-ar

    t tec

    hnol

    ogy,

    How

    ever

    ,.th

    e m

    eani

    ng o

    f thi

    s pro

    posa

    l is t

    o po

    int t

    o ne

    w o

    rient

    atio

    ns o

    f pol

    icie

    s to

    addr

    ess t

    he k

    ey n

    eeds

    of t

    he m

    ajority

    of SM

    Es in

    most

    regio

    ns, w

    hich a

    renot properly taken into account in traditional policy approaches, This does

    not imply that

    lin

    ear

    appr

    oach

    es a

    nd t

    ools

    are

    not

    rel

    evan

    t an

    y mo

    re,

    but

    rath

    er, i

    t put

    s the

    latte

    r in

    pers

    pect

    ive,

    It m

    eans

    that

    pro

    vidi

    ng re

    sour

    ces t

    oin

    nova

    te (f

    inanc

    e, tec

    hnolo

    gy) i

    s not

    suffc

    ient if

    the f

    irms d

    o not

    posse

    ss the

    man

    ager

    ial a

    nd o

    rgan

    izat

    iona

    l abi

    litie

    s to

    deal

    with

    the

    inno

    vativ

    e pr

    oces

    s(C

    obbe

    nhag

    en 19

    99), T

    he vi

    ew of

    an 'a

    utoma

    tic' fl

    ow of

    tech

    nolog

    ical

    resources thr

    ough

    the

    fir

    m, o

    r fr

    om t

    he R

    &D s

    ecto

    r in

    to t

    he f

    i, i

    s ar

    gued

    against here,

    whi

    le i

    ncre

    ased

    att

    enti

    on i

    s gi

    ven

    to t

    he i

    nnov

    atio

    n pr

    oces

    s

    (with

    in an

    d arou

    nd th

    e firm

    ) itse

    lf, in

    a bro

    ader

    sense

    (Nau

    welae

    rs 20

    00),

    Nev

    erth

    eles

    s, fo

    sterin

    g in

    tera

    ctiv

    e le

    arni

    ng, a

    s a p

    olic

    y go

    al, s

    houl

    d no

    tbe

    read

    in a

    dog

    mat

    ic e

    galit

    aria

    n se

    nse,

    lim

    iting

    the

    view

    to th

    e de

    velo

    pmen

    to

    f 'Th

    ird-It

    aly'

    type

    of h

    oriz

    onta

    l net

    wor

    king

    and

    rela

    tions

    hips

    as a

    n id

    eal

    way

    to fo

    ster t

    hat p

    roce

    ss, H

    iera

    rchi

    cal r

    elat

    ions

    hips

    mig

    ht b

    e ve

    ry re

    leva

    ntw

    ays

    to a

    chie

    ve s

    uch

    an o

    bjecti

    ve to

    o, de

    pend

    ing on

    the e

    nviro

    nmen

    t. As

    deve

    lope

    d in

    sect

    ion

    8,2,

    the

    role

    of g

    eogr

    aphi

    cal p

    roxi

    mity

    mig

    ht b

    e im

    por-

    tant to nurture learning relationships, but it is not a necessary ingredient

    ever

    ywhe

    re. T

    he p

    oint

    her

    e is

    that

    bei

    ng o

    pen

    to o

    utsid

    e so

    urce

    s of k

    now

    l-ed

    ge, a

    nd h

    avin

    g th

    e ca

    paci

    ty to

    inte

    grat

    e th

    ese

    with

    inte

    rnal

    kno

    wle

    dge

    inthe firm in a

    con

    tinu

    ous

    mode

    , is

    key

    to

    the

    inno

    vati

    on p

    roce

    ss,

    Such

    an

    obje

    ctive

    has i

    mplic

    ation

    s both

    on th

    e sup

    ply si

    de (o

    utside

    resou

    rces s

    hould

    exist

    , be

    orga

    nize

    d an

    d ac

    cess

    ible

    to fi

    rms)

    and o

    n the

    dema

    nd si

    de (t

    hefir

    m's

    abso

    rptio

    n ca

    pacit

    y an

    d its

    wilin

    gnes

    s to

    ent

    erta

    in lin

    ks w

    ith th

    eouts

    ide

    shou

    ld b

    e en

    hanc

    ed), D

    evelo

    ping s

    trateg

    ic ca

    pabil

    ities,

    at the

    firm,

    org

    aniz

    atio

    n an

    d po

    licy

    leve

    ls, li

    es a

    t the

    hea

    rt of

    this

    chal

    leng

    e,Th

    e id

    ea o

    f an

    inte

    ract

    ive

    mod

    e of

    pol

    icy

    impl

    emen

    tatio

    n m

    eans

    not

    on

    ly th

    at s

    ervic

    es s

    houl

    d be

    bot

    h de

    signe

    d an

    d de

    liver

    ed in

    co-

    oper

    atio

    nw

    ith th

    e be

    nefic

    iarie

    s, bu

    t also

    that

    the

    polic

    y im

    plem

    ente

    rs c

    an b

    e pa

    rtner

    sin

    the

    supp

    orte

    d ac

    tion

    or p

    rojec

    t, so t

    hat le

    arning

    can h

    appe

    n both

    way

    s- be

    twee

    n po

    licy

    impl

    emen

    ters

    and

    firm

    s, th

    at is

    wha

    t we

    calle

    d 'co

    mm

    uni-

    cativ

    e in

    tera

    ctio

    n' in

    sec

    tion

    8.2

    abov

    e. In

    this

    appr

    oach

    , the

    tacit

    nat

    ure

    ofin

    nova

    tion

    in S

    MEs

    is b

    ette

    r add

    ress

    ed th

    an in

    mor

    e hi

    erar

    chica

    l pol

    icym

    ode

    s.

  • 200

    SMEs

    , inn

    ovat

    ion

    and

    regi

    ons:

    desig

    ning

    pol

    icie

    s

    8,3,2 Application of the Basic Principles

    With

    the

    abov

    e pr

    opos

    al a

    s a

    theo

    retic

    al c

    halle

    nge

    for p

    olicy

    , how

    doe

    s it

    com

    pare

    with

    pra

    ctic

    e, a

    s exp

    erie

    nced

    in th

    e re

    gion

    s cov

    ered

    by

    the

    SMEP

    OL

    study

    ? Th

    e ho

    rizon

    tal o

    verv

    iew

    and

    com

    paris

    on o

    f the

    ana

    lyse

    sof 4

    0 po

    licy

    tool

    s in

    11 E

    urop

    ean

    regi

    ons s

    how

    s tha

    t suc

    h a

    chal

    leng

    e is

    hard

    ly m

    et b

    y th

    e ac

    tual

    pol

    icies

    . Bot

    h th

    e co

    nten

    t and

    the

    mod

    es o

    f del

    iv-er

    y of

    pol

    icie

    s are

    in m

    ost c

    ases

    not

    inte

    ract

    ive

    and

    fit b

    ette

    r with

    a m

    arke

    t-hi

    erar

    chy

    than

    a sy

    stem

    app

    roac

    h, M

    ore

    prec

    isely

    , the

    SM

    EPO

    L an

    alys

    esde

    liver

    the

    follo

    win

    g pi

    ctur

    e:

    1. T

    he g

    ener

    al s

    ituat

    ion

    is th

    at lin

    ear t

    ools

    are

    dom

    inat

    ing

    the

    polic

    ysc

    ene, bu

    t tha

    t eve

    rywh

    ere

    an e

    volu

    tion

    towa

    rds

    mor

    e in

    tera

    ctive

    supp

    ort i

    s vis

    ible

    , The

    follo

    wing

    quo

    tes

    from

    the

    natio

    nal s

    tudi

    es ilu

    s-tr

    ate

    this

    poin

    t,

    In B

    elgi

    um: '

    One

    can

    ana

    lyse

    the

    actu

    al st

    ate

    of th

    e em

    ergi

    ng W

    allo

    on in

    no-

    vat

    ion

    polic

    y as

    follo

    ws:

    this

    polic

    y is

    in fa

    ct fo

    unde

    d on

    two

    diffe

    rent

    par

    -adigms - broadly-speaking the linear and the interactive views

    on

    inno

    vatio

    n - t

    he fo

    rmer

    bei

    ng e

    mbo

    died

    in th

    e "m

    ains

    tream

    " pol

    icy w

    hile

    the

    latte

    r is t

    rans

    late

    d in

    the

    "frin

    ge",

    an u

    narti

    cula

    ted

    and

    rath

    er fu

    zzy

    set

    of i

    nitia

    tives

    , tria

    l-and

    -erro

    rs e

    fforts

    , ins

    pire

    d by

    the

    "loca

    lized

    ext

    erna

    l-iti

    es" a

    ppro

    ach

    and

    muc

    h le

    ss lin

    ear i

    n sc

    ope'

    (Nau

    welae

    rs et

    al. 19

    99),

    In A

    ustri

    a: 'T

    he A

    ustri

    an in

    nova

    tion

    supp

    ort s

    yste

    m is

    dom

    inat

    ed b

    y a

    few

    fund

    ing

    orga

    niza

    tions

    , mai

    nly

    offe

    ring

    dire

    ct su

    ppor

    t lik

    e gr

    ants

    and

    loan

    s with

    in th

    e fra

    mew

    ork

    of se

    vera

    l pro

    gram

    mes

    , Ins

    titut

    ions

    and

    pro

    -gr

    amm

    es a

    re o

    rgan

    ized

    alon

    g th

    e lin

    ear i

    nnov

    atio

    n m

    odeL

    . (How

    ever)

    There

    are

    serio

    us d

    oubt

    s abo

    ut th

    e ef

    fcie

    ncy

    of tr

    aditi

    onal

    dire

    ct su

    ppor

    t for

    R&

    D a

    nd in

    nova

    tion'

    (Kau

    fman

    n and

    Td

    tling 1

    999).

    How

    ever

    in th

    e N

    ethe

    rland

    s: 'T

    he "i

    nter

    activ

    e" c

    onte

    nt o

    f Lim

    burg

    'sin

    nova

    tion

    polic

    y is

    larg

    ely

    due

    to th

    e RT

    P Li

    mbu

    rg in

    itiativ

    e, T

    he R

    TPfra

    mew

    ork

    and

    the

    way

    Lim

    burg

    has

    impl

    emen

    ted

    it ha

    s led

    to a

    n ex

    tens

    ion

    of t

    he "i

    nter

    activ

    e" p

    olic

    y, "I

    nter

    activ

    e" in

    strum

    ents

    are

    not "

    deliv

    ered

    " on

    pape

    r at t

    he fr

    ont d

    oor,

    but a

    re m

    ainl

    y im

    plem

    ente

    d in

    per

    sona

    l com

    mun

    i-cative interaction with the actors involved. The regional intermediates

    Synt

    ens

    and

    LlO

    F pl

    aya

    vital

    role

    in th

    e im

    plem

    enta

    tion

    of L

    imbu

    rg's

    "in

    tera

    ctiv

    e" p

    olic

    y' (N

    auwe

    laers

    et al.

    1999

    ),

    2. A

    set

    of

    poli

    cy i

    nstr

    umen

    ts,

    in g

    ener

    al,

    does not form a system: lack of

    co-o

    rdin

    atio

    n an

    d of

    syne

    rgie

    s am

    ong

    tool

    s, or

    'lac

    k of

    ext

    erna

    l coh

    er-

    ence

    ' in

    the

    wor

    ds o

    f Cha

    pter

    7, i

    s the

    rule

    .

    In It

    aly:

    'It s

    eem

    s tha

    t the

    re is

    a lo

    t of o

    verla

    ppin

    g in

    miss

    ions

    of d

    iffer

    ent

    insti

    tutio

    ns w

    orki

    ng w

    ithin

    the

    Apu

    lia re

    gion

    , with

    a la

    ck o

    f cap

    abili

    ty o

    fco

    -ord

    inat

    ion

    for w

    hat c

    once

    rns

    the

    Apul

    ia R

    egio

    n in

    stitu

    tion'

    (Garo

    fo1i

    1999

    a),

    'ij

    Tow

    ards

    a n

    ew p

    arad

    igm

    for i

    nnov

    atio

    n po

    licy?

    201

    In D

    enm

    ark:

    'Non

    e of

    the

    acto

    rs h

    ave

    mad

    e str

    ateg

    y- a

    nd a

    ctio

    n-or

    ient

    edlin

    ks b

    etwe

    en th

    e fo

    rthco

    min

    g kn

    owle

    dge-

    base

    d ec

    onom

    y an

    d th

    e at

    tem

    ptto

    form

    ulat

    e a

    cohe

    rent

    lear

    ning

    and

    inno

    vatio

    n pr

    ogra

    mm

    e, M

    ost i

    nitia

    tives

    are

    of a

    sing

    le p

    rogr

    amm

    e na

    ture

    . A st

    imul

    atin

    g str

    ateg

    y try

    ing

    to in

    tegr

    ate

    and

    co-o

    rdin

    ate

    the

    dive

    rse

    inno

    vatio

    n sc

    hem

    es is

    lack

    ing'

    (Chri

    stens

    en et

    al.

    1999

    ).

    3, F

    ew p

    olicy

    inst

    rum

    ents

    are

    des

    igne

    d an

    d im

    plem

    ente

    d in

    an

    user

    -ori-

    ente

    d m

    ode,

    taki

    ng b

    oth

    expr

    esse

    d an

    d la

    tent

    nee

    ds o

    f use

    rs in

    toac

    cou

    nt:

    the

    majo

    rity of

    tools

    are d

    evelo

    ped i

    n a re

    active

    , top-d

    own

    fash

    ion

    and

    at b

    est c

    onsid

    er fi

    rms'

    need

    s ex

    pres

    sed

    (but n

    ot lat

    ent),

    How

    ever

    , in

    case

    s whe

    re 'v

    oice

    ' of u

    sers

    (i,e,

    firm

    s' exp

    ressed

    , or e

    ven

    late

    nt, n

    eeds

    ) is t

    aken

    into

    acco

    unt, t

    he to

    ols be

    come

    muc

    h more

    user-

    orie

    nted

    .

    In It

    aly:

    'Tec

    nopo

    lis re

    pres

    ents

    a ty

    pica

    l mod

    el o

    f tec

    hnol

    ogic

    al p

    ark

    base

    don s

    upp

    ly sid

    e, s

    tarti

    ng fr

    om th

    e ex

    isten

    ce (a

    nd re

    dund

    ancy

    ) of c

    ompe

    tence

    s(. .

    ,), al

    ways

    postp

    oning

    the m

    omen

    t of m

    onito

    ring t

    he po

    tentia

    l nee

    ds of

    loca

    l (or

    exter

    nal)

    firms

    to fa

    cilita

    te int

    eracti

    on be

    twee

    n rese

    arch c

    entre

    and

    eco

    no

    mic

    act

    iviti

    es' (G

    arofol

    i 199

    9),H

    owev

    er in

    Spa

    in: 'L

    ocal

    ent

    repr

    eneu

    rs b

    elon

    g to

    the

    "Con

    sejo

    Rec

    tor"

    , the

    gov

    erni

    ng b

    ody

    of th

    e Te

    chno

    logi

    cal I

    nstit

    utes

    , so

    that

    they

    parti

    cipat

    e in

    the

    desig

    n of

    act

    ivitie

    s an

    d po

    licie

    s (. .

    .) Th

    e Ins

    titutes

    'st

    rong

    poi

    nts a

    re th

    eir n

    earn

    ess t

    o fir

    ms,

    thei

    r con

    nect

    ions

    to o

    ther

    inte

    r-natio

    nal c

    ente

    rs o

    f thi

    s ty

    pe a

    nd th

    e kn

    owle

    dge

    trans

    ferre

    d to

    the

    firm

    sth

    roug

    h th

    em (.

    . ,) T

    he T

    echn

    ologic

    al Ins

    titutes

    show

    a hig

    h deg

    ree of

    effectivene

    ss in adapting to innovation support needs as expressed

    by th

    ee

    ntre

    pren

    eurs

    of t

    he S

    MEs

    in th

    e fo

    ur s

    ecto

    rs s

    tudi

    ed' (V

    zqu

    ez- B

    arque

    roe

    t al.

    1999

    ).

    4, P

    olic

    y le

    arni

    ng is

    stil

    rare

    and

    und

    erde

    velo

    ped

    (Nau

    welae

    rs 19

    97), I

    fit

    occu

    rs a

    t the

    leve

    l of o

    rgan

    izat

    ions

    , it t

    akes

    pla

    ce in

    an

    occa

    siona

    l,not routinized way, Intense policy-learning practices may, however,

    resu

    lt in

    und

    esira

    ble

    vola

    tility

    in th

    e po

    licy

    syste

    m. A

    t the

    oth

    erex

    trem

    e, it

    seem

    s unju

    stifie

    d to m

    aintai

    n a ra

    nge o

    f tools

    that

    are vi

    r-tu

    ally

    not

    use

    d by

    firm

    s. Th

    e ch

    alle

    nge

    lies i

    n fin

    e-tu

    ning

    the

    polic

    yto

    ols w

    ithou

    t let

    ting

    firm

    s suf

    fer f

    rom

    the

    insta

    bilit

    y of

    the

    syste

    m.

    This

    trade

    -off

    betw

    een

    resp

    onsiv

    enes

    s and

    org

    aniz

    atio

    nal c

    oher

    ence

    has b

    een

    disc

    usse

    d at

    leng

    th in

    Cha

    pter

    7,

    In A

    ustri

    a: 'M

    ost s

    uppo

    rt in

    strum

    ents

    are

    not e

    valu

    ated

    syste

    mat

    ical

    ly. O

    fco

    urs

    e, th

    ere

    is an

    ong

    oing

    lear

    ning

    pro

    cess

    in th

    e in

    stitu

    tions

    abo

    ut th

    eef

    fect

    s of s

    uppo

    rt ac

    tiviti

    es, a

    bout

    pro

    blem

    s and

    nee

    ds o

    f firm

    s reg

    ardi

    ngth

    eir i

    nnov

    atio

    n pr

    oces

    ses.

    But i

    t is b

    ased

    on

    pers

    onal

    exp

    erie

    nce

    and

    info

    r-m

    atio

    n ex

    chan

    ge, t

    he le

    arni

    ng p

    roce

    ss is

    not

    insti

    tutio

    naliz

    ed o

    r rou

    tinel

    yorg

    aniz

    ed' (K

    aufm

    ann a

    nd T

    dtlin

    g 199

    9),

  • How

    ever

    in th

    e N

    ethe

    rland

    s: 'N

    atio

    nal p

    olic

    y-m

    aker

    s hav

    e le

    arne

    d fro

    mse

    ver

    al re

    gion

    al in

    nova

    tion

    polic

    y in

    itiat

    ives

    and

    inte

    grat

    ed th

    em in

    to th

    en

    atio

    nal i

    nnov

    atio

    n po

    licy,

    The

    ana

    lyse

    d K

    IM -

    and

    KIC

    - sc

    hem

    es a

    rego

    od e

    xam

    ples

    from

    Lim

    burg

    of t

    his b

    otto

    m-u

    p po

    licy

    lear

    ning

    pro

    cess

    '(N

    auwe

    laers

    et al.

    1999

    ),H

    owev

    er in

    Nor

    way

    : 'Po

    licy

    lear

    ning

    take

    s pla

    ce fr

    om e

    valu

    atio

    ns in

    the

    supp

    ort s

    yste

    m, T

    hus,

    TEFT

    and

    NT

    have

    bee

    n ch

    ange

    d du

    ring

    thei

    r "lif

    e",

    partl

    y as

    a re

    spon

    se to

    kno

    wle

    dge

    acqu

    ired

    thro

    ugh

    eval

    uatio

    ns. T

    EFT

    also

    carr

    ied

    out m

    onito

    ring

    rese

    arch

    , whi

    ch is

    impl

    emen

    ted

    in th

    e ne

    w R

    EGIN

    Npr

    ogra

    mm

    e to

    o, R

    USH,

    bei

    ng a

    n ex

    perim

    enta

    l pro

    gram

    me,

    in p

    artic

    ular

    ,w

    ould

    nee

    d pr

    oced

    ures

    for s

    yste

    mat

    ic ev

    alua

    tions

    and

    lear

    ning

    , how

    ever

    lack

    ing

    in th

    is ca

    se' (I

    saksen

    et al

    . 199

    9 cha

    pter 4

    ),

    5. T

    here

    is a

    n em

    ergi

    ng n

    ew te

    nden

    cy o

    f dev

    elop

    ing

    'over

    all s

    chem

    es',

    gath

    erin

    g in

    to a

    sing

    le p

    rogr

    amm

    e, in

    strum

    ent,

    or o

    rgan

    izat

    ion

    a se

    t of

    tool

    s tha

    t tra

    ditio

    nally

    are

    pro

    pose

    d se

    para

    tely

    to c

    ompa

    nies

    , Thi

    sap

    proa

    ch is

    pro

    misi

    ng in

    that

    it fi

    ts w

    ell w

    ith th

    e gl

    obal

    per

    cept

    ion

    ofin

    nova

    tion

    with

    in fi

    rms:

    it im

    ping

    es o

    n al

    l act

    iviti

    es o

    f the

    firm

    ,

    In th

    e N

    ethe

    rland

    s: 'T

    he 1

    8 Sy

    nten

    s org

    aniz

    atio

    ns a

    re th

    e m

    ost i

    mpo

    rtant

    inte

    rmed

    iary

    org

    aniz

    atio

    ns in

    the

    Net

    herla

    nds (

    and t

    hus L

    imbu

    rg) fo

    rin

    nova

    tion'

    pol

    icy a

    ddre

    ssed

    at S

    MEs

    . The

    role

    of t

    he IC

    s gr

    adua

    llych

    ange

    d fro

    m b

    ringi

    ng te

    chno

    logy

    to re

    gion

    al S

    MEs

    (tec

    hnolo

    gy pu

    sh) t

    oan

    inte

    rmed

    iate

    role

    of "

    brok

    er",

    and

    mor

    e re

    cent

    ly it

    fulfi

    ls th

    e ro

    le o

    f"o

    rgan

    izer

    , ani

    mat

    or o

    r coa

    ch".

    The

    "new

    " org

    aniz

    atio

    ns a

    re m

    ore

    able

    tode

    liver

    "all-

    roun

    d" se

    rvic

    e an

    d su

    ppor

    t to

    SMEs

    and

    they

    go

    by th

    e ne

    wn

    ame

    of "

    Synt

    ens:

    an in

    nova

    tion

    netw

    ork

    for e

    ntre

    pren

    eurs

    '" (N

    auwe

    laers

    et al.

    199

    9),

    Exam

    ple

    from

    Nor

    way

    : 'N

    T pr

    ovid

    es a

    lso a

    mor

    e al

    l-rou

    nd su

    ppor

    t for

    inno

    vatio

    n th

    an th

    e ot

    her p

    rogr

    amm

    es th

    at c

    once

    ntra

    te o

    n a

    singl

    e co

    mpo

    -n

    en

    t in

    the

    inno

    vatio

    n sy

    stem

    . . .

    NT fo

    cuse

    s on

    firm

    's in

    nova

    tion

    proje

    cts,

    and

    tailo

    r-mad

    e su

    ppor

    t to

    firm

    s' sp

    ecifi

    c ne

    eds,

    both

    tech

    nolo

    gica

    l and

    non-t

    echn

    olog

    ical

    supp

    ort'

    (Isak

    sen et

    al. 1

    999 c

    hapte

    r 4)

    6. T

    he m

    ajority

    of in

    strum

    ents

    aim at

    impro

    ving o

    r faci

    litatin

    g exis

    ting

    inno

    vatio

    n pr

    ojects

    , rathe

    r than

    indu

    cing n

    ew in

    nova

    tion p

    ractic

    es,Pr

    ovid

    ing

    gran

    ts fo

    r R&

    D, f

    or e

    xam

    ple,

    seem

    s to

    indu

    ce a

    rath

    ersm

    all i

    ncre

    men

    tal b

    ehav

    iour

    al e

    ffect

    (in t

    erms o

    f cha

    nging

    strat

    egy,

    man

    agem

    ent o

    r cul

    ture

    rega

    rdin

    g in

    nova

    tion,

    co-

    oper

    atio

    n an

    d in

    ter-

    activ

    e le

    arni

    ng). T

    heref

    ore, th

    e valu

    e-add

    ed of

    such

    polic

    y ins

    tru-

    me

    nts

    , see

    n fro

    m a

    regi

    onal

    per

    spec

    tive,

    is q

    uest

    iona

    ble.

    It fo

    llows

    from

    this

    that

    the

    ques

    tion

    of p

    enet

    ratio

    n ra

    te o

    f the

    tool

    s in

    the

    busi-

    ness

    sect

    or is

    not

    alw

    ays

    addr

    esse

    d in

    pol

    icy s

    ettin

    gs, F

    or e

    xam

    ple,

    whe

    re a

    'pic

    king

    -the-

    win

    ner'

    appr

    oach

    is ta

    ken,

    a fo

    cus o

    n th

    e vi

    sibil-

    ity o

    f res

    ults

    may

    act

    to th

    e de

    trim

    ent o

    f the

    val

    ue-a

    dded

    of t

    hesc

    hem

    e.

    ..1

    In th

    e U

    K: '

    Ther

    e is

    a m

    ismat

    ch b

    etw

    een

    the

    char

    acte

    ristic

    s of e

    ntre

    pren

    -eu

    rs a

    nd

    SMEs

    in th

    e Le

    e V

    alle

    y ar

    ea, .

    , an

    d th

    e el

    igib

    ility

    crit

    eria

    for t

    he(S

    MAR

    T) sc

    heme

    . Its c

    ompe

    titive

    natur

    e, us

    ing na

    tiona

    l asse

    ssmen

    t crit

    e-ria

    , whi

    ch a

    re w

    eigh

    ted

    towa

    rds

    new

    to th

    e in

    dust

    ry in

    nova

    tions

    , has

    mea

    ntth

    at re

    lativ

    ely

    few

    pro

    jects

    from

    withi

    n the

    Lee V

    alley

    have

    quali

    fied,

    As a

    resu

    lt, th

    e SM

    ART

    sche

    me

    is no

    t mak

    ing

    muc

    h co

    ntrib

    utio

    n to

    raisi

    ng th

    ele

    vel o

    f inn

    ovat

    ion

    in S

    MEs

    in th

    is ar

    ea' (S

    mallb

    one e

    t al. 1

    999),

    In A

    ustri

    a: 'I

    n ge

    nera

    l, fin

    anci

    al su

    ppor

    t see

    ms t

    o be

    act

    ually

    "ove

    r-effe

    ctive

    " (, ,

    ,) This

    is es

    pecia

    lly ob

    vious

    in th

    e cas

    e of th

    e more

    inno

    vativ

    eSM

    Es, T

    his r

    aise

    s the

    que

    stion

    if th

    ere

    is a

    signi

    fican

    t sha

    re o

    f the

    app

    lied

    fund

    s los

    t to

    firm

    s and

    pro

    jects,

    whic

    h do n

    ot rea

    lly ne

    ed th

    em, b

    ut tak

    eth

    em a

    long

    as a

    wel

    com

    e ad

    ditio

    nal s

    ourc

    e of

    fund

    ing.

    A sp

    ecia

    l pro

    blem

    of t

    he d

    irect

    supp

    ort p

    rogr

    amm

    es se

    ems t

    o be

    the

    emer

    genc

    e of

    long

    -term

    stab

    le re

    latio

    ns to

    a s

    pecia

    l clie

    ntel

    e co

    nsist

    ing

    of w

    ell-k

    nown

    inno

    vativ

    efir

    ms'

    (Kau

    fman

    n and

    Td

    tling 1

    999),

    7, Very often, too

    ls designed at regional

    leve

    l wor

    k un

    der a

    clo

    sed

    visio

    nof t

    he re

    leva

    nt so

    urce

    s of k

    now

    ledg

    e us

    eful

    for f

    irms,

    as th

    e bo

    unda

    r-ie

    s of t

    he sy

    stem

    are

    def

    ined

    in a

    dmin

    istra

    tive

    term

    s, If

    tool

    s wou

    ld b

    em

    ore

    use

    r-orie

    nted

    , the

    re is

    no

    need

    for s

    uch

    a re

    stric

    ted

    view,

    In B

    elgi

    um: '

    Mos

    t of t

    he "f

    ringe

    " ini

    tiativ

    es w

    ork

    unde

    r irre

    leva

    nt g

    eo-

    graphical limits,.

    of a

    n ad

    min

    istra

    tive

    natu

    re, a

    nd im

    pose

    d by

    the

    sour

    ces o

    fpu

    blic

    fund

    ing:

    pro

    vinc

    ial l

    imits

    , Obje

    ctive

    1 or

    2 zon

    es, (.

    . .) w

    hich d

    o not

    necessarily correspond with the natural areas of actions of the targeted

    firm

    s' (N

    auwe

    laers

    et al.

    1999

    ),In

    Den

    mar

    k: 'T

    he n

    atio

    nal/i

    nter

    natio

    nal c

    lient

    issu

    e te

    nds t

    o ov

    er-

    shad

    ow th

    e iss

    ue o

    f a re

    gion

    alize

    d te

    chno

    logi

    cal s

    ervic

    e sy

    stem

    , Mos

    tre

    spon

    dent

    s app

    roac

    hed

    tend

    to d

    isreg

    ard

    the

    regi

    onal

    issu

    e as

    a re

    leva

    ntiss

    ue w

    ith th

    e ar

    gum

    ent t

    hat t

    he se

    rvic

    e un

    its w

    il be

    too

    smal

    l, If

    ever

    yre

    gion

    is g

    oing

    to h

    ave

    a se

    rvic

    e ce

    ntre

    , the

    n th

    e G

    TS sy

    stem

    wil

    lose

    eco

    n-om

    ies

    of s

    cale

    as

    well a

    s of

    sco

    pe' (C

    hriste

    nsen

    et al

    . 199

    9).

    8. O

    vera

    ll,

    there is an uneven degree of policy concern, among the five

    follo

    win

    g in

    nova

    tion-

    supp

    ort n

    eeds

    repo

    rted

    by S

    MEs

    :

    . Fin

    ance

    /ris

    k sh

    arin

    g. Techn

    olog

    y/te

    chni

    cal

    know

    -how

    . Qu

    alif

    icat

    ions

    /per

    sonn

    el. Marke

    t ac

    cess

    /inf

    orma

    tion

    . Ti

    me

    cons

    train

    ts/O

    rgan

    izatio

    n/St

    rate

    gic

    capa

    biliti

    es,

    The

    lack

    of '

    mar

    ket o

    rient

    atio

    n' of

    the

    polic

    y to

    ols,

    or th

    eirla

    ck o

    f foc

    uson .th

    e co

    mm

    erci

    aliz

    atio

    n as

    pect

    s of i

    nnov

    atio

    n, a

    re p

    artic

    ular

    ly e

    vide

    nt,

    In B

    elgi

    um: 'T

    here

    is a

    nee

    d to

    rein

    forc

    e fu

    rther

    the

    hum

    an s

    kils

    com

    po-

    nent of

    inno

    vati

    on.

    The

    take

    -up

    of e

    xist

    ing

    huma

    n re

    sour

    ces

    sche

    mes

    is

  • 204

    SMEs

    , inn

    ovat

    ion

    and

    regi

    ons:

    desig

    ning

    pol

    icie

    s

    quan

    titat

    ivel

    y lim

    ited,

    so th

    ere

    is a

    need

    to a

    lso u

    pgra

    de e

    xter

    nalis

    atio

    nca

    paci

    ties o

    f firm

    s to

    othe

    r sou

    rces

    than

    uni

    vers

    ities

    or k

    now

    ledg

    e so

    urce

    insti

    tutio

    ns, t

    o fa

    vour

    bet

    ter c

    omm

    erci

    al c

    apac

    ities

    with

    in th

    e fir

    m, a

    nd to

    supp

    ort s

    trate

    gic

    capa

    citie

    s fo

    r SM

    E m

    anag

    ers

    on a

    wid

    er s

    cale

    , int

    rodu

    c-in

    g m

    ore

    inno

    vatio

    n m

    anag

    emen

    t too

    ls an

    d cr

    eativ

    e th

    inkin

    g in

    SM

    Es(N

    auwe

    laers

    et al.

    1999

    ).H

    owev

    er in

    the

    UK

    : 'Th

    e em

    phas

    is of

    BIC

    s is o

    n th

    e co

    mm

    erci

    alisa

    tion

    ofin

    nova

    tive

    idea

    s. In

    this

    resp

    ect,

    BI C

    s ai

    m to

    pro

    vide

    a co

    mpr

    ehen

    sive

    pack

    age

    of s

    uppo

    rt fo

    r inn

    ovat

    ive

    new

    ven

    ture

    s and

    exi

    sting

    pro

    jects.

    In em

    phasi

    sing

    the

    com

    mer

    cial

    app

    licat

    ion

    of in

    nova

    tion,

    BIC

    s also

    aim

    to a

    ddre

    ss th

    e w

    eak-

    nes

    s w

    hich

    has

    bee

    n co

    nsist

    ently

    iden

    tifie

    d in

    smal

    l tec

    hnol

    ogy

    base

    d fir

    ms,

    ofan

    over

    emph

    asis

    on te

    chni

    cal d

    evel

    opm

    ent a

    t the

    exp

    ense

    of m

    arke

    ting

    and

    gene

    ral m

    anag

    emen

    t skil

    ls' (S

    mallb

    one e

    t al. 1

    999),

    8.4.

    STR

    ENG

    THS,

    WEA

    KNES

    SES

    AND

    WAY

    S TO

    IMPR

    OV

    E IN

    NO

    VA

    TIO

    N P

    OLI

    CYIN

    STRU

    MEN

    TS

    The

    pre

    cedi

    ng s

    ecti

    on d

    rew

    hori

    zont

    al c

    oncl

    usio

    ns f

    rom

    the

    anal

    yses

    carried out on inn

    ovat

    ion

    poli

    cy t

    ools

    in

    11 E

    urop

    ean

    regi

    ons,

    Bro

    adly

    spea

    king

    , the

    mes

    sage

    was

    that

    the

    gene

    ral p

    rinci

    ples

    for s

    ound

    inno

    vatio

    npo

    licie

    s wer

    e no

    t met

    in m

    ost o

    f the

    cas

    es st

    udie

    d. In

    this

    sect

    ion,

    we

    try to

    go fu

    rther

    by

    aski

    ng th

    e fo

    llow

    ing

    ques

    tion:

    how

    cou

    ld th

    e to

    ols s

    tudi

    ed,

    take

    n in

    divi

    dual

    ly, b

    e al

    tere

    d so

    as t

    o ge

    t clo

    ser t

    o th

    ese

    prin

    cipl

    es?

    In C

    hapt

    er 6

    , the

    inno

    vatio

    n po

    licy

    instr

    umen

    ts ha

    ve b

    een

    clas

    sifie

    d,acc

    ord

    ing

    to th

    eir n

    atur

    e, u

    nder

    five

    type

    s, re

    flect

    ing

    the

    diffe

    rent

    goa

    ls an

    dta

    rget

    s of t

    hese

    pol

    icy

    instr

    umen

    ts. W

    e us

    e th

    is ty

    polo

    gy fo

    r our

    refle

    ctio

    n:

    1, D

    irect

    supp

    ort s

    chem

    es fo

    r R&

    D a

    nd in

    nova

    tion

    proje

    cts;

    2, T

    echn

    ical

    personnel introduction schemes;

    3, T

    echn

    olog

    y ce

    ntre

    s an

    d sc

    hem

    es fo

    ster

    ing

    tech

    nolo

    gica

    l diff

    usio

    n to

    SMEs

    ;4.

    Mobility sche

    mes

    for

    rese

    arch

    ers;

    5, Innovation Br

    okers and innovation advisers,

    For e

    ach

    -cat

    egor

    y, w

    e lis

    t the

    rele

    vant

    sche

    mes

    stud

    ied

    in S

    MEP

    OL,

    we

    prop

    ose

    a su

    mm

    ariz

    ed v

    iew

    on

    the

    mai

    n ch

    alle

    nges

    to b

    e m

    et b

    y th

    ese

    sche

    mes

    , and

    we

    indi

    cate

    pos

    sible

    goo

    d-pr

    actic

    e le

    sson

    s to

    be le

    arne

    dacross instrument

    s, T

    he r

    eade

    r is

    ref

    erre

    d to C

    hapt

    er 5

    for

    a d

    etai

    led

    desc

    riptio

    n of

    eac

    h in

    strum

    ent a

    nd to

    Cha

    pter

    6 fo

    r the

    resu

    lts o

    f eac

    hin

    strum

    ent's

    eva

    luat

    ion,

    The

    dire

    ctio

    ns p

    ropo

    sed

    belo

    w a

    re se

    en a

    s bas

    esfor practice-ori

    ented benchmarking exercises

    inv

    olvi

    ng p

    olic

    y-ma

    kers

    them

    selv

    es, a

    nd, p

    ossib

    ly, b

    enef

    iciar

    ies.

    "~

    '

    ~ To

    war

    ds a

    new

    par

    adig