Abstract: The presence of universities has been generally associated with technological entrepreneurship. But what is the real impact of new universities on knowledge based firm creation in a region? The present paper applies the propensity score estimator to longitudinal data on the creation of 22 new higher education institutions in Portuguese regions in the period 1996-99 to evaluate the impact of the creation of new universities on subsequent levels of firm entry in those regions. We find that the creation of new universities has a positive and significant effect on subsequent levels of firm entry in regions. These findings suggest that universities likely act as sources of entrepreneurial opportunities and of human capital capable of recognizing and exploiting such opportunities, and thus may contribute positively toward regional economic growth.

Abstract: This article aimed to identify the effect of U-I collaborations on the innovative performance of firms in the advanced materials field. In the advanced materials industry the most effective collaborations are not with “star scientists,” but with “star consulting scientists.” The latter concept was introduced first by the authors, to deepen the present understanding of industrial heterogeneity in innovation processes and to offer new insights for the formulation of corporate innovation strategies. The results of the estimation of a negative binomial regression model applied to a sample of 2726 firms active in the photocatalysis in Japan confirm the idea that engaging in research collaborations with “star consulting scientists” increases firms’ R&D productivity. Firms’ collaborations with “star scientists” exert little impact on their innovative output.

Abstract: While innovation networks provide a setting where widely dispersed resources can be combined in a profitable manner, they are also full of paradoxes. They, for example, simultaneously incorporate autonomy and interdependence, hiding core knowledge and sharing it, and stability and dynamism. Thus orchestrating the network requires the hub firm to strategically manage issues related to the nature of knowledge (e.g., tacit-explicit) and characteristics and motivations of actors sharing it. In this study, orchestration processes of knowledge mobility, network stability and innovation appropriability are discussed. Of these, appropriability is taken under closer examination in order to illustrate the interaction of all the processes. The discussion suggests that taking care of relationships between actors through discreet leadership is central in all orchestration.

Abstract: In this paper we study the relative influence of research and development (R&D) collaborations with universities, suppliers, customers, and competitors on process innovation. We propose that each type of collaboration differs in the depth and ease of transfer of knowledge, resulting in different impact on process innovation. Results from analyses of 781 manufacturing firms indicate that, rather than depth of knowledge, its ease of transfer drives process innovation. We find that R&D collaborations with suppliers and universities, whose knowledge is easier to transfer to the partner firm, have the highest positive impact on process innovation. In contrast, R&D collaborations with customers do not appear to affect process innovation, and collaborations with competitors appear to harm it. Key words: R&D collaboration, process innovation, knowledge depth, knowledge transfer