IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/uto/labeco/202505.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Knowledge brokers for Circular Bioeconomy: Evidence from European regions

Author

Abstract

The transition to a Circular Bioeconomy (CBE) requires effective knowledge recombination across scientific and technological domains. This study examines how universities, Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs), and firms contribute to regional knowledge recombination in the CBE domain through their brokerage roles in collaboration networks. Using a unique dataset on CBE-related Horizon 2020 projects (2015–2019) and regional patenting activity, we exploit the structural and geographical dimensions of entities within the CBE research network and employ econometric models to assess the role of inter-organizational partnerships in fostering knowledge recombination. Our findings highlight that universities and RTOs are more effective in facilitating knowledge recombination when acting as brokers in cross-regional collaborations, whereas firms have a stronger impact when brokering connections within their own region. These results provide novel insights into the geography of innovation, emphasizing the importance of brokerage roles in shaping regional technological capabilities. By advancing our understanding of collaborative knowledge spillovers, this study also offers valuable implications for policymakers seeking to strengthen CBE innovation ecosystems.

Suggested Citation

  • Coda Zabetta, Massimiliano & Fusillo, Fabrizio & Quatraro, Francesco & Scandura, Alessandra, 2025. "Knowledge brokers for Circular Bioeconomy: Evidence from European regions," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 202505, University of Turin.
  • Handle: RePEc:uto:labeco:202505
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.est.unito.it/do/home.pl/Download?doc=/allegati/wp2025dip/wp_08_2025.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. De Silva, Muthu & Howells, Jeremy & Meyer, Martin, 2018. "Innovation intermediaries and collaboration: Knowledge–based practices and internal value creation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 70-87.
    2. Howells, Jeremy, 2006. "Intermediation and the role of intermediaries in innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 715-728, June.
    3. Ghisetti, Claudia & Marzucchi, Alberto & Montresor, Sandro, 2015. "The open eco-innovation mode. An empirical investigation of eleven European countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 1080-1093.
    4. Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 577-598.
    5. Giuliani, Elisa & Bell, Martin, 2005. "The micro-determinants of meso-level learning and innovation: evidence from a Chilean wine cluster," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 47-68, February.
    6. Lissoni, Francesco, 2010. "Academic inventors as brokers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 843-857, September.
    7. Gallo, Julie Le & Plunket, Anne, 2020. "Regional gatekeepers, inventor networks and inventive performance: Spatial and organizational channels," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(5).
    8. Cooke, Philip, 2001. "Regional Innovation Systems, Clusters, and the Knowledge Economy," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(4), pages 945-974, December.
    9. de Jesus, Ana & Mendonça, Sandro, 2018. "Lost in Transition? Drivers and Barriers in the Eco-innovation Road to the Circular Economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 75-89.
    10. Keungoui Kim & Dieter F. Kogler & Massimiliano Coda Zabetta, 2024. "New collaborations and novel innovations: the role of regional brokerage and collaboration intensity," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(6), pages 1251-1272, June.
    11. Nathalie Lazaric & Christian Longhi & Catherine Thomas, 2008. "Gatekeepers of Knowledge versus Platforms of Knowledge: From Potential to Realized Absorptive Capacity," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(6), pages 837-852.
    12. Owen-Smith, Jason, 2003. "From separate systems to a hybrid order: accumulative advantage across public and private science at Research One universities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1081-1104, June.
    13. Martina Kauffeld-Monz & Michael Fritsch, 2013. "Who Are the Knowledge Brokers in Regional Systems of Innovation? A Multi-Actor Network Analysis," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(5), pages 669-685, May.
    14. Elisa Operti & Amit Kumar, 2023. "Too much of a good thing? Network brokerage within and between regions and innovation performance," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(2), pages 300-316, February.
    15. De Silva, Muthu & Howells, Jeremy & Khan, Zaheer & Meyer, Martin, 2022. "Innovation ambidexterity and public innovation Intermediaries: The mediating role of capabilities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 14-29.
    16. Ron Boschma & Anne L. J. ter Wal, 2007. "Knowledge Networks and Innovative Performance in an Industrial District: The Case of a Footwear District in the South of Italy," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 177-199.
    17. Stefano Breschi & Camilla Lenzi, 2015. "The Role of External Linkages and Gatekeepers for the Renewal and Expansion of US Cities' Knowledge Base, 1990-2004," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(5), pages 782-797, May.
    18. Thomas Sigler & Zachary Neal & Kirsten Martinus, 2023. "Brokerage as an urban and regional process between systems and scales," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(2), pages 209-214, February.
    19. Fusillo, Fabrizio, 2023. "Green Technologies and diversity in the knowledge search and output phases: Evidence from European Patents," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(4).
    20. Lee Fleming, 2001. "Recombinant Uncertainty in Technological Search," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 117-132, January.
    21. Harro van Lente & Marko Hekkert & Ruud Smits & Bas van Waveren, 2003. "Roles of Systemic Intermediaries in Transition Processes," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 7(03), pages 247-279.
    22. Ernest Miguelez & Rosina Moreno, 2018. "Relatedness, external linkages and regional innovation in Europe," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(5), pages 688-701, May.
    23. Barbieri, Nicolò & Marzucchi, Alberto & Rizzo, Ugo, 2020. "Knowledge sources and impacts on subsequent inventions: Do green technologies differ from non-green ones?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(2).
    24. Francesco Quatraro, 2009. "Diffusion of Regional Innovation Capabilities: Evidence from Italian Patent Data," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(10), pages 1333-1348, December.
    25. Holger Graf, 2011. "Gatekeepers in regional networks of innovators," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 35(1), pages 173-198.
    26. Monica Coffano & Dominique Foray & Michele Pezzoni, 2017. "Does inventor centrality foster regional innovation? The case of the Swiss medical devices sector," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 1206-1218, August.
    27. Andrea Morrison, 2008. "Gatekeepers of Knowledge within Industrial Districts: Who They Are, How They Interact," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(6), pages 817-835.
    28. Orsatti, Gianluca & Quatraro, Francesco & Pezzoni, Michele, 2020. "The antecedents of green technologies: The role of team-level recombinant capabilities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(3).
    29. Gianluca Orsatti & Francesco Quatraro & Alessandra Scandura, 2024. "Green technological diversification and regional recombinant capabilities: the role of technological novelty and academic inventors," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(1), pages 120-134, January.
    30. Pablo D'Este & Frederick Guy & Simona Iammarino, 2013. "Shaping the formation of university--industry research collaborations: what type of proximity does really matter?," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 537-558, July.
    31. Lorenzo Ciapetti & Paolo Perulli, 2018. "New tech spaces for old tech places? Exploring the network of research and technology organizations across North Italian Regions," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 192-211, January.
    32. Boari, Cristina & Riboldazzi, Federico, 2014. "How knowledge brokers emerge and evolve: The role of actors’ behaviour," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 683-695.
    33. Alan Murray & Keith Skene & Kathryn Haynes, 2017. "The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Concept and Application in a Global Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 369-380, February.
    34. Lee Fleming & Charles King & Adam I. Juda, 2007. "Small Worlds and Regional Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(6), pages 938-954, December.
    35. Stefano Breschi & Francesco Lissoni, 2009. "Mobility of skilled workers and co-invention networks: an anatomy of localized knowledge flows," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(4), pages 439-468, July.
    36. Jason Owen-Smith & Walter W. Powell, 2004. "Knowledge Networks as Channels and Conduits: The Effects of Spillovers in the Boston Biotechnology Community," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(1), pages 5-21, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gallo, Julie Le & Plunket, Anne, 2020. "Regional gatekeepers, inventor networks and inventive performance: Spatial and organizational channels," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(5).
    2. Raquel Coelho Reis & Eduardo Gonçalves & Juliana Gonçalves Taveira & André Suriane da Silva & Pedro Vasconcelos do Amaral, 2023. "How do gatekeepers in networks influence the production of new knowledge? Evidence from Brazilian co‐invention networks," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(9), pages 2046-2064, December.
    3. Julie Le Gallo & Anne Plunket, 2016. "Technological gatekeepers, regional inventor networks and inventive performance," Working Papers hal-01422916, HAL.
    4. Eduardo Gonçalves & Ademir Rocha & Raquel Reis, 2023. "The key to knowledge: evaluating the role of gatekeepers on regional inventive performance," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1274-1299, August.
    5. Pablo Galaso & Jaromír Kovářík, 2021. "Collaboration networks, geography and innovation: Local and national embeddedness," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(2), pages 349-377, April.
    6. Pierre-Alexandre Balland & Ron Boschma, 2021. "Complementary interregional linkages and Smart Specialisation: an empirical study on European regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(6), pages 1059-1070, June.
    7. Tom Broekel & Wladimir Mueller, 2018. "Critical links in knowledge networks – What about proximities and gatekeeper organisations?," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(10), pages 919-939, November.
    8. Huasheng Zhu & Kelly Wanjing Chen & Juncheng Dai, 2016. "Beyond Apprenticeship: Knowledge Brokers and Sustainability of Apprentice-Based Clusters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-17, December.
    9. Díez-Vial, Isabel & Montoro-Sánchez, Ángeles, 2016. "How knowledge links with universities may foster innovation: The case of a science park," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 50, pages 41-52.
    10. Abbasiharofteh, Milad & Kogler, Dieter F. & Lengyel, Balázs, 2023. "Atypical combinations of technologies in regional co-inventor networks," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 52(10), pages 1-1.
    11. Uwe Cantner & Holger Graf, 2011. "Innovation Networks: Formation, Performance and Dynamics," Chapters, in: Cristiano Antonelli (ed.), Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Joan Crespo & Raphaël Suire & Jérôme Vicente, 2016. "Network structural properties for cluster long-run dynamics: evidence from collaborative R&D networks in the European mobile phone industry," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 25(2), pages 261-282.
    13. Stefano Breschi & Camilla Lenzi, 2015. "The Role of External Linkages and Gatekeepers for the Renewal and Expansion of US Cities' Knowledge Base, 1990-2004," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(5), pages 782-797, May.
    14. Ron Boschma, 2021. "Global Value Chains from an Evolutionary Economic Geography perspective: a research agenda," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2134, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Nov 2021.
    15. Galaso, Pablo & Kovářík, Jaromír, 2018. "Collaboration Networks and Innovation: How to Define Network Boundaries," MPRA Paper 85108, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Mariane Santos Françoso¹ & Nicholas S. Vonortas, 2023. "Gatekeepers in regional innovation networks: Evidence from an emerging economy," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 821-841, June.
    17. Barbosa, Sergio & Sáiz, Patricio & Zofío, José L., 2024. "The emergence and historical evolution of innovation networks: On the factors promoting and hampering patent collaboration in technological lagging economies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    18. Andrea Morrison, 2023. "Towards an evolutionary economic geography research agenda to study migration and innovation," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 16(3), pages 529-542.
    19. Nils Grashof & Holger Graf, 2023. "Universities that matter for regional knowledge base renewal - the role of multilevel embeddedness," Jena Economics Research Papers 2023-009, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    20. Sverre Herstad & Øyvind Pålshaugen & Bernd Ebersberger, 2011. "Industrial Innovation Collaboration in a Capital Region Context," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 2(4), pages 507-532, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:uto:labeco:202505. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Laura Ballestra or Cinzia Carlevaris (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/leifrit.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.