Openness and innovation performance in regional innovation systems

Resumen

This thesis deals with the role and effects of openness on innovation performance in regions. The relationship is analysed in a series of empirical studies to shed light around the following research questions: - How does the external environment influence the innovation performance of a country? Knowledge exchanges from collaborative activities with the external environment are segregated into internationalization and openness chapters, based on the distinction of codified and tacit knowledge. - Does increased heterogeneity of the tacit knowledge pools in e RIS by means of migrations increase innovation performance of the regions in terms of higher shares of innovative firms and patents? - Does increased openness to global sources of human and social capital as complementary knowledge source to codified knowledge stock increase tacit knowledge inside the region leading to a higher proportion of creative and cultural industries in the economy? Few studies exist on the role of openness in the regional economy. According to Nooteboom, cognitive proximity between two actors improves the absorptive capacity, while cognitive distance increases the value of novelty. This leads to the formulation of Nooteboom and Boschma proximity paradox. This thesis is based on the proximity paradox, although it distinguishes knowledge in codified and tacit pools. With this distinction in mind, we focus on the best combination as a means to attain the most appropriate cognitive distance for innovation.