Abstract
The expanding field of economic literature devoted to knowledge production and diffusion strongly emphasises that knowledge is increasingly becoming a crucial resource for growth. Moreover, the issues of knowledge and innovation appear as intimately inter-related, underlining their decisive influence for the competitiveness of firms and countries, but also for the development and prosperity of regions. In fact, and this is only a paradox at first glance, despite (and even to a certain extent, due to) its intangible nature knowledge is not ideas floating in a purely abstract vacuum but is rooted in the economic reality, and is thus, at least partially, linked to territories. This paper aims at highlighting the complex relations between knowledge, innovation and regions. In the first section, a brief theoretical overview provides the key conceptual elements which allow the mechanisms of knowledge creation and diffusion and their implications for innovation and regional development to be questioned. The second section of the paper offers an illustration of how knowledge exchanges between different categories of actors may take place. The proposed typology displays some stylised facts related notably to the spatial patterns of innovation interactions. Finally, the concluding part raises several issues which can be considered from the researcher’s as well as from the policy-maker’s points of view.
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Muller, E. (2001). Knowledge, Innovation Processes and Regions. In: Koschatzky, K., Kulicke, M., Zenker, A. (eds) Innovation Networks. Technology, Innovation and Policy, vol 12. Physica, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57610-2_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57610-2_3
Publisher Name: Physica, Heidelberg
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