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The Effects of Location on Firm Innovation Capacity

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Abstract

This research seeks to ascertain the extent of the effects of location on the innovation capacities of companies across different industrial sectors. We thus answer the question: Does company location near an urban centre enable innovation capacities? This article argues that company location does wield an effect on innovation capacities, and it is therefore correspondingly relevant to fill this current gap in the literature. Based upon a sample of 884 companies, the econometric models estimated report location as a variable bearing influence on the innovative capacities prevailing in companies. Our results also confirm that the greater the geographic proximity of a company to urban centres, the greater their capacity to innovate. The study also enabled the identification of different levels and types of innovation in accordance with the respective company location.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Management and Economics Department, University of Beira Interior and NECE-Research Unit in Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal

    João J. M. Ferreira & Mário L. Raposo

  2. NECE-Research Unit in Business Sciences, Estrada do Sineiro, Pólo IV, 6200-209, Covilhã, Portugal

    Cristina I. Fernandes

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  1. João J. M. Ferreira
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  2. Cristina I. Fernandes
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Correspondence to João J. M. Ferreira.

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Ferreira, J.J.M., Fernandes, C.I. & Raposo, M.L. The Effects of Location on Firm Innovation Capacity. J Knowl Econ 8, 77–96 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-015-0281-4

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