Increasing innovativeness of SMEs in peripheral areas through international networks? The case of Southern Italy

Authors

  • Giuseppe Calignano UiS Business School - Centre for Innovation Research University of Stavanger Stavanger, Norway
  • Robert Hassink Department of Geography University of Kiel, Germany

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18335/region.v3i1.93

Keywords:

EU Policy, Knowledge Flows, Innovation Networks, Regional Disparites, SMEs

Abstract

Strengthening innovation capacity of European small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by means of their participation in the Sixth (FP6-SME) and Seventh (FP7-SME) Framework Programmes was an important objective of the European Union policies. Since SMEs form the backbone of the Italian economy, their strong presence in an international network such as the one fostered by the European Union represent a great opportunity, particularly for firms located in southern Italy – the marginal macro-area of the country in terms of innovation – to increase their competitiveness. Based on the major literature on topics such as knowledge exchange, innovation networks and disparities, and on descriptive statistics and a cluster analysis in a dynamic perspective, our study aimed to assess the actual intra-regional, extra-regional and transnational links established by the Italian SMEs and public research establishments (PREs). In a next step we aim at assessing if knowledge flows fostered by the FP6-SME and FP7-SME were mainly concentrated in the traditionally winning macro-regional areas (North and Centre) or led to more widespread benefits in favour of SMEs located in the marginal South. The findings of our study revealed a very limited number of connections - with a related weak knowledge exchange - involving the southern regions, implying a reinforcement of innovation activities in the traditionally most dynamic industrial areas of the country.

Downloads

Published

2016-04-19

How to Cite

Calignano, G. and Hassink, R. (2016) “Increasing innovativeness of SMEs in peripheral areas through international networks? The case of Southern Italy”, REGION. Vienna, Austria, 3(1), pp. 25–42. doi: 10.18335/region.v3i1.93.

Issue

Section

Articles
Cited by: 14
Calignano. Nanotechnology as a proxy to capture regional economic development? New findings from the European Union Framework Programmes, Nanotechnology Reviews, 2017
Alberti et al. Knowledge exchange and innovation in clusters: a dynamic social network analysis, Industry and Innovation, 2021
Lopes et al. The Role of Open Innovation, and the Performance of European Union Regions, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 2021
Pastore et al. Contractual networks: an organizational model to reduce the competitive disadvantage of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe’s less developed regions. A survey in southern Italy, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2020
Calignano. Better connected, more reputable? On the association between node centrality and academic reputation in the European Union research and innovation networks, European Policy Analysis, 2021
Antenozio et al. Digital (Eco) Systems and Societal Challenges, 2024
Calignano, De Siena. Does innovation drive economic resistance? Not in Italy, at least!, RIVISTA GEOGRAFICA ITALIANA, 2020
Galaso, Rodríguez Miranda. The leading role of support organisations in cluster networks of developing countries, Industry and Innovation, 2021
Calignano, Vaaland. Local content in Tanzania: Are local suppliers motivated to improve?, The Extractive Industries and Society, 2018
Calignano et al. “I want to shake your hand before …”: The role of clients, knowledge exchange and market dynamics in southern Italian software firms, Cogent Social Sciences, 2018
Calignano et al. Innovation networks and green restructuring: Which path development can EU Framework Programmes stimulate in Norway?, Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography, 2019
Calignano, Vaaland. Supplier Development in Tanzania; Experiences, expectations and motivation, The Extractive Industries and Society, 2017
Calignano, Trippl. Innovation-Driven or Challenge-Driven Participation in International Energy Innovation Networks? Empirical Evidence from the H2020 Programme, Sustainability, 2020
Calignano. Not all peripheries are the same: The importance of relative regional innovativeness in transnational innovation networks, Growth and Change, 2022
Share