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What Makes SMEs more Likely to Collaborate? Analysing the Role of Regional Innovation Policy

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  • Annalisa Caloffi
  • Federica Rossi
  • Margherita Russo

Abstract

The last 20 years have witnessed the diffusion of regional innovation policies supporting networks of innovators. The underlying aim of these policies is to encourage firms, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to undertake collaborations with organizations possessing complementary knowledge. Focusing on a set of SMEs that have participated, over time, in several innovation networks funded by the same regional government, the paper investigates how their relationships have evolved with respect to the following aspects: (i) reiteration of pre-existing relationships as opposed to experimentation with new relationships; (ii) collaboration with organizations possessing complementary rather than similar knowledge and competencies; (iii) creation of local relationships rather than experimentation with extra-local collaborations; (iv) reliance upon intermediaries to connect with other organizations. Our findings reveal that the involvement in these policy-supported networks changed the firms' relational patterns, leading them to collaborate with a wider variety of agents than those with whom they were linked before the policies. Sectoral heterogeneity had a negative effect on the probability of collaborating, while co-localization increased the likelihood of collaborating. Mutual involvement with intermediaries also had a positive effect. However, in the case of firm-to-university relationships only specialized intermediaries were likely to perform a positive role and, therefore, encourage networking.

Suggested Citation

  • Annalisa Caloffi & Federica Rossi & Margherita Russo, 2015. "What Makes SMEs more Likely to Collaborate? Analysing the Role of Regional Innovation Policy," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7), pages 1245-1264, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eurpls:v:23:y:2015:i:7:p:1245-1264
    DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2014.919250
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anja Dettmann & Sidonia Proff & Thomas Brenner, 2015. "Co-operation over distance? The spatial dimension of inter-organizational innovation collaboration," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 729-753, September.
    2. Giacomo Becattini & Marco Bellandi & Gabi Dei Ottati & Fabio Sforzi, 2003. "From Industrial Districts to Local Development," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2884.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jugend, Daniel & Jabbour, Charbel Jose Chiappeta & Alves Scaliza, Janaina A. & Rocha, Robson Sø & Junior, José Alcides Gobbo & Latan, Hengky & Salgado, Manoel Henrique, 2018. "Relationships among open innovation, innovative performance, government support and firm size: Comparing Brazilian firms embracing different levels of radicalism in innovation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 74, pages 54-65.
    2. Rossi, Federica & Caloffi, Annalisa & Russo, Margherita, 2016. "Networked by design: Can policy requirements influence organisations' networking behaviour?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 203-214.
    3. Beynon, Malcolm J. & Jones, Paul & Pickernell, David, 2023. "Evaluating EU-Region level innovation readiness: A longitudinal analysis using principal component analysis and a constellation graph index approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    4. Konan Alain N'Ghauran & Corinne Autant-Bernard, 2020. "Effects of cluster policies on regional innovation networks: Evidence from France," Working Papers halshs-02482565, HAL.
    5. Fassio, Claudio & Geuna, Aldo & Rossi, Federica, 2019. "International knowledge flows between industry inventors and universities: The role of multinational companies," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201917, University of Turin.
    6. Konan Alain N'Ghauran & Corinne Autant-Bernard, 2020. "Assessing the collaboration and network additionality of innovation policies: a counterfactual approach to the French cluster policy," Post-Print halshs-03128972, HAL.
    7. Riccardo Righi, 2016. "Community detection of agents interacting through regional innovation policies: structures, processes and functions," Department of Economics 0100, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    8. Annalisa Caloffi & Federica Rossi & Margherita Russo, 2017. "A tale of persistent network additionality, with evidence from a regional policy," Working Papers 38, Birkbeck Centre for Innovation Management Research, revised May 2017.
    9. D'Anghela, Mariapia & Murmura, Federica, 2020. "The Impacts of EU Support Programs on SMEs: A Literature Review," Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference (2020), Virtual Conference, in: Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference, Virtual Conference, 10-12 September 2020, pages 353-364, IRENET - Society for Advancing Innovation and Research in Economy, Zagreb.
    10. Konan Alain N’Ghauran & Corinne Autant-Bernard, 2020. "Effects of cluster policies on regional innovation networks: Evidence from France," Working Papers 2005, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    11. Annalisa Caloffi & Francesca Gambarotto, 2017. "Cognitive distance in public procurement and public–private partnerships: An analysis of the construction sector," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(5), pages 765-783, August.

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