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on Small Business Management |
| By: | Mery Patricia Tamayo; Elena Huergo |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the determinants of R&D offshoring of Spanish firms using information from the Panel of Technological Innovation. We find that being an exporter, continuous R&D engagement, applying for patents, being a subsidiary, and firm size are factors that positively affect the decision to offshore R&D. In addition, we obtain that the factors that influence this decision for firms that belong to a business group differ depending on whether the firm purchases R&D services within the group or through the market: the lack of information is an obstacle relatively less important for internal R&D offshoring than for external R&D offshoring, while a higher degree of importance assigned to institutional and market sources of information for innovation as compared to internal sources increases the probability of R&D offshoring through the market. |
| Keywords: | R&D offshoring; firms’ strategies; obstacles to innovation; independent firms; sub?sidiaries |
| JEL: | L24 O32 |
| Date: | 2014–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000122:012452&r=sbm |
| By: | Neil Lee |
| Abstract: | Growing cultural diversity is seen as important for innovation. Research has focused on two potential mechanisms: a firm effect, with diversity at the firm level improving knowledge sourcing or ideas generation, and a city effect, where diverse cities helping firms innovate. This paper uses a dataset of over 2,000 UK SMEs to test between these two. Controlling for firm characteristics, city characteristics and firm and city diversity, there is strong evidence for the firm effect. Firms with a greater share of migrant owners or partners are more likely to introduce new products and processes. This effect has diminishing returns, suggesting that it is a ‘diversity’ effect rather than simply the benefits of migrant run firms. However, there is no relationship between the share of foreign workers in a local labour market and firm level innovation, nor do migrant-run firms in diverse cities appear particularly innovative. But urban context does matter and firms in London with more migrant owners and partners are more innovative than others. |
| Keywords: | cultural diversity; innovation; cities; SMEs; migration |
| JEL: | J61 L21 M13 O11 O31 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:57874&r=sbm |
| By: | Behncke, Nadine |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effect of different cooperation forms on innovation in small and medium enterprises in Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Spain using Community Innovation Survey data from 2008. We find that vertical cooperation and knowledge cooperation increases the probability to introduce product innovations in all countries. The positive effect is driven by cooperation in the home country in Germany and Spain while it comes from cooperations with foreign countries in Belgium and Portugal. However, our results suggest that SME are not able to capitalize from these cooperations. We find a significant and positive effect of horizontal cooperation on sales due to product innovation only in Germany. |
| Keywords: | networks,SMEs,innovation |
| JEL: | L14 L25 L2 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:229&r=sbm |
| By: | Han, Junghee (Chonnam National University); Heshmati, Almas (Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS), Jönköping International Business School, & Sogang University) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the patent propensity as an outcome of innovative activities of regional SMEs. To achieve the aims, we apply robust regression analysis to estimate the models to test 5 research hypotheses using 263 firm level data located at Gwangju region in Korea. Our empirical results show that a firm’s industry characteristics, such as machinery and automotive parts industry, is negatively related with propensity to patent innovation. Also, unlike expectations, the InnoBiz firms designated as innovative SMEs by the government are not performing differently than general firms. Only the CEO’s academic credentials are positively related with propensity to patent. From the findings, we can conclude that patenting propensity is not directly related with a firm’s characteristics but mainly to CEO’s managerial strategy. Also, we cannot find evidence for policy effectiveness from public support given to InnoBiz firms as part of the state policy to nurture photonic industry to boost regional economic development. Given the lack of strong policy effects, a new industry policy should be considered to actively promote SMEs innovativeness. |
| Keywords: | Patent propensity; Photonic Industry; SMEs growth; R&D; innovation; InnoBiz; Korea |
| JEL: | C51 D22 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2015–01–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0395&r=sbm |
| By: | Max Nathan |
| Abstract: | High levels of net migration to the UK have contributed to growing cultural diversity, and researchers are turning their attention to the long-term effects of diversity on productivity. Yet little is known about these issues. This paper asks: what are the links between the composition of firms' top teams and business performance? What role do ethnic diversity and co-ethnic networks play? And do cities amplify or dampen these channels? I explore using a rich dataset of over 6,000 English firms. Owners, partners and directors set firms' strategic direction. Top team demography might generate production externalities through diversity (a wider range of ideas/ experiences, helping problem solving) and/or 'sameness' (via specialist knowledge or better access to international markets). These channels may be balanced by internal downsides (lower trust) and external barriers (discrimination), so that overall effects on business performance are unclear. In addition, urban locations (particularly big cities) may amplify any demographics-performance effects. I create a repeat cross-section of firms from the RDA National Business Survey. I construct measures of diversity and sameness across ethnicity and gender 'bases', alongside information on revenues, product and process innovation. I then regress these measures of business performance on top team demographics, plus firm level controls, area, year and detailed industry fixed effects. My results suggest a non-linear link between diversity and business performance, which is net positive for process innovation and net negative for turnover. Further tests on diverse and minority/female-headed firms find positive links for diverse top teams, negative for minority and female-only top teams. This implies that while diversity has internal and external benefits, penalties from being 'too diverse' probably result from external constraints. Further tests for intervening effects of capital cities, metropolitan hierarchies and urban form find some evidence of amplifying and dampening effects – which are generally stronger in London and larger cities. |
| Keywords: | cities; innovation; entrepreneurship; cultural diversity; migration; gender |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:59250&r=sbm |
| By: | Saul Estrin; Seçil Hülya Danakol; Paul Reynolds; Utz Weitzel |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the effects of foreign direct investment, measured by mergers and acquisitions, on domestic entrepreneurial entry. We use a micro‐panel of more than two thousand individuals disaggregated by industry in seventy countries including both developed and developing economies, 2000-2009. The theory yields ambiguous predictions about the relationship between FDI and entrepreneurship; positive spillovers via dissemination of technology or negative because of crowding out. Our empirical analysis is conducted at three levels of aggregation. We find the relationship between FDI and domestic entrepreneurship in aggregate and intra-industry to be negative. Policies need to consider how to counteract this effect. |
| Keywords: | Foreign direct investment; entrepreneurship; new firm entry; spillovers |
| JEL: | F23 L29 M13 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:60281&r=sbm |
| By: | Brown, James R. (Department of Finance, Iowa State University); Martinsson, Gustav (Institute for Financial Research (SIFR), Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS), Royal Institute of Technology); Petersen, Bruce C. (Department of Economics, Washington University in St. Louis) |
| Abstract: | We study a broad sample of firms across 32 countries and find that strong shareholder protections and better access to stock market financing lead to substantially higher long-run rates of R&D investment, particularly in small firms, but are unimportant for fixed capital investment. Credit market development has a modest impact on fixed investment but no impact on R&D. These findings connect law and stock markets with innovative activities key to economic growth, and show that legal rules and financial developments affecting the availability of external equity financing are particularly important for risky, intangible investments not easily financed with debt. |
| Keywords: | Financial development; Investor protection; Stock markets; R&D; Innovation; Economic growth |
| JEL: | G32 K20 O16 O30 |
| Date: | 2015–01–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0393&r=sbm |
| By: | Stefano Bianchini (Sant' Anna School of Advanced Studies; BETA, Université de Strasbourg); Jackie Krafft (Université Nice Sophia Antipolis; GREDEG-CNRS); Francesco Quatraro (Université Nice Sophia Antipolis and GREDEG-CNRS; Collegio Carlo Alberto; Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis, University of Torino); Jacques Ravix (Université Nice Sophia Antipolis; GREDEG-CNRS) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and innovation according to firms’ age by combining insights from the recent strand of contributions analysing CG and innovation with the lifecycle literature. We find a negative relationship between CG and innovation which is stronger for young firms than for mature ones. The empirical analysis is carried out on a sample of firms drawn from the ISS Risk Metrics database and observed over the period 2003-2008. The parametric methodology provides results that are consistent with the literature and supports the idea that mature firms are better off than young ones. We check for possible non-linearities by implementing a non-parametric analysis and suggest that the negative relationship between CG and innovation is mostly driven by higher values of CG. |
| Keywords: | Corporate governance, Age, Lifecycle, Innovation, Non-parametric regression, ISS Risk Metrics |
| JEL: | G30 L20 L10 O33 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2015-05&r=sbm |
| By: | Tom Broekel (1 Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography, Leibniz University of Hanover, Germany, broekel@wigeo.uni-hannover.de); Matthias Brachert (Department Structural Economics, Halle Institute for Economic Research, Germany; Matthias.Brachert@iwh-halle.de); Matthias Duschl (Department of Geography, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany, Matthias.duschl@staff.uni-marburg.de); Thomas Brenner (Department of Geography, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany,Thomas.brenner@staff.uni-marburg.de) |
| Abstract: | Subsidies for R and D are an important tool of public R and D policy, which motivates extensive scientific analyses and evaluations. The paper adds to this literature by arguing that the effects of R and D subsidies go beyond the extension of organizations’ monetary resources invested into R and D. It is argued that collaboration induced by subsidized joint R and D projects yield significant effects that are missed in traditional analyses. An empirical study on the level of German labor market regions substantiates this claim showing that collaborative R and D subsidies impact regions’ innovation growth when providing access to related variety and embedding regions into central positions in cross-regional knowledge networks. |
| Keywords: | collaborative R and D projects, related variety, regional innovation |
| JEL: | L14 O31 R12 |
| Date: | 2015–01–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2015-01&r=sbm |
| By: | Carlo Altomonte; Tommaso Aquilante; Gábor Békés; Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano |
| Abstract: | We use a representative and cross-country comparable sample of manufacturing firms (EFIGE) to document patterns of interaction among firm-level internationalization, innovation and productivity across seven European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom). We find strong evidence of positive association among the three firm-level characteristics across countries and sectors. We also find that the positive correlation between internationalization and innovation survives after controlling for productivity, with some evidence of causality running from the latter to the former. Our analysis suggests that export promotion per se is unlikely to lead to sustainable internationalization because internationalization goes beyond export and because, in the medium to long term, internationalization is likely driven by innovation. We recommend coordination and integration of internationalization and innovation policies 'under one roof' at both the national and EU levels, and propose a bigger coordinating role for EU institutions. |
| Keywords: | economic integration; European Union; export; globalization; industrial enterprise; industrial policy; innovation; manufacturing; sustainable development |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:54877&r=sbm |
| By: | Nick Bloom; Mark Schankerman; John Van Reenen |
| Abstract: | The impact of R&D on growth through spillovers has been a major topic of economic research over the last thirty years. A central problem in the literature is that firm performance is affected by two countervailing "spillovers" : a positive effect from technology (knowledge) spillovers and a negative business stealing effects from product market rivals. We develop a general framework incorporating these two types of spillovers and implement this model using measures of a firm's position in technology space and productmarket space. Using panel data on U.S. firms, we show that technology spillovers quantitatively dominate, so that the gross social returns to R&D are at least twice as high as the private returns. We identify the causal effect of R&D spillovers by using changes in federal and state tax incentives for R&D. We also find that smaller firms generate lower social returns to R&D because they operate more in technological niches. Finally, we detail the desirable properties of an ideal spillover measure and how existing approaches, including our new Mahalanobis measure, compare to these criteria. |
| Keywords: | market value; patents; productivity; R&D; spillovers |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O32 L1 F23 |
| Date: | 2013–07–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:46852&r=sbm |
| By: | Hombert , Johan; Matray , Adrien |
| Abstract: | The authors study whether R&D-intensive firms are more resilient to trade shocks. They correct for the endogeneity of R&D using tax-induced changes to the cost of R&D. On average across US manufacturing firms, rising imports from China lead to slower sales growth and lower profitability. These effects are, however, significantly smaller for firms with a larger stock of R&D -- by about half when moving from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile of the R&D stock distribution. As a result, while the average firm in import-competing industries cuts capital expenditures and employment, R&D-intensive firms downsize considerably less. |
| Keywords: | R&D; Innovation; Product Market Competition; Trade Shocks |
| JEL: | F14 G31 O33 |
| Date: | 2014–12–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:heccah:1075&r=sbm |
| By: | Mohammadi, Ali (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Basir, Nada O. (Faculty of Business and IT, University of Ontario Institute of Technology); Beyhaghi, Mehdi (College of Business,University of Texas at San Antonio) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study how R&D investment affect financial analyst’s earnings forecasts and how intellectual capital endowments moderate this effect. We argue that high information asymmetry and uncertainty associated with R&D investment increase a financial analysts’ earnings forecast error. Patents can remedy this relationship by signaling the ability of a firm in transforming research investments into new and valuable knowledge. Using a panel of 2,253 publicly listed U.S firms, we find that higher R & D intensity is positively correlated with financial analysts’ earnings forecast error. The endowment of intellectual capital (i.e. patents) moderates this relationship negatively. However we do not find any moderating effect for the value of patents measured as forward citations. |
| Keywords: | R&D intensity; Analyst forecasts; Patent; information asymmetry; uncertainty; Capital market |
| JEL: | G24 O32 O34 |
| Date: | 2015–02–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0397&r=sbm |
| By: | Michael Fritsch (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena); Sandra Kublina (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena) |
| Abstract: | We distinguish four types of regional growth regimes based on the type of relationship between new business formation and economic development. The distinguishing characteristics of these regime types are analyzed in order to identify the reasons for different growth performance. Although growth regimes are highly persistent over time, typical transition patterns between regime types can be identified. We explain these patterns and draw conclusions for policy. The evidence clearly suggests that entrepreneurship is a key driver of economic development, and one that has long-run effects. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, new business formation, economic development, regional growth regimes |
| JEL: | L26 R11 O11 |
| Date: | 2015–01–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2015-002&r=sbm |
| By: | Thesmar , David; Sraer , David |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that collateral constraints restrict firm entry and post-entry growth, even in the long-run. The authors' empirical strategy uses French administrative data and exploits cross-sectional variation in local house-price appreciation as shocks to the value of collateral available to homeowners. They control for local demand shocks by comparing homeowners to two control groups that live in the same region but do not experience collateral shocks: (i) renters and (ii) homeowners with a mortgage outstanding, who -- in France -- cannot take out a second mortgage on their house. In both comparisons, the authors find that an increase in collateral value leads to a higher probability of becoming an entrepreneur. Conditional on entry, entrepreneurs with access to more valuable collateral start larger firms, use more debt, and create more value added, for at least six years after creation. |
| Keywords: | Collateral; Entrepreneurship; Real estate |
| JEL: | L26 |
| Date: | 2014–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:heccah:1077&r=sbm |
| By: | Ashish Arora; Sharon Belenzon; Andrea Patacconi |
| Abstract: | Scientific knowledge is believed to be the wellspring of innovation. Historically, firms have also invested in research to fuel innovation and growth. In this paper, we document a shift away from scientific research by large corporations between 1980 and 2007. We find that publications by company scientists have declined over time in a range of industries. We also find that the value attributable to scientific research has dropped, whereas the value attributable to technical knowledge (as measured by patents) has remained stable. These effects appear to be associated with globalization and narrower firm scope, rather than changes in publication practices or a decline in the usefulness of science as an input into innovation. Large firms appear to value the golden eggs of science (as reflected in patents) but not the golden goose itself (the scientific capabilities). These findings have important implications for both public policy and management. |
| JEL: | O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20902&r=sbm |
| By: | Kavusan, K. (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management) |
| Abstract: | As a result of the surging rate of technological innovation in the last decades, firms in high-technology industries increasingly rely on alliances to tap into external knowledge sources and to develop new products and services. While alliances are of vital importance to many firms to develop new capabilities, they also inflict substantial economic costs to firms engaging in these activities, making effective design and management of alliance strategies crucial. Nevertheless, empirical evidence about the specific strategies for firms to benefit from alliances as well as about how firms make alliance formation decisions remains inconclusive. To address these issues, the three studies in this dissertation explore the antecedents and consequences of capability development through alliances in high-technology industries. By illuminating the antecedents and outcomes of different knowledge utilization strategies in alliances, the findings of this dissertation aim to improve the understanding and management of strategic alliances and provide actionable guidelines to managers and other corporate stakeholders in shaping the corporate development strategies of their firms. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiutis:8eb736a5-b217-4718-ac13-d8b9759eab74&r=sbm |
| By: | Riccardo Crescenzi; Max Nathan; Andrés Rodríguez-Pose |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how physical, organisational, institutional, cognitive, social, and ethnic proximities between inventors shape their collaboration decisions. Using a new panel of UK inventors and a novel identification strategy, this paper systematically explores the net effects of all these ‘proximities’ on co-patenting. The regression analysis allows us to identify the full effects of each proximity, both on choice of collaborator and on the underlying decision to collaborate. The results show that physical proximity is an important influence on collaboration, but is mediated by organisational and ethnic factors. Over time, physical proximity increases in salience. For multiple inventors, geographic proximity is, however, much less important than organisational, social, and ethnic links. For inventors as a whole, proximities are fundamentally complementary, while for multiple inventors they are substitutes. |
| Keywords: | innovation; patents; proximities; cities; regions; knowledge spillovers; collaboration; ethnicity |
| JEL: | O31 O33 R11 R23 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:57926&r=sbm |
| By: | Oriana Bandiera; Raffaella Sadun |
| Abstract: | CEOs affect the performance of the firms they manage, and family CEOs seem to weaken it. Yet little is known about what top executives actually do, and whether it differs by firm ownership. We study CEOs in the Indian manufacturing sector, where family ownership is widespread and the productivity dispersion across firms is substantial. Time use analysis of 356 CEOs of listed firms yields three sets of findings. First, there is substantial variation in the number of hours CEOs devote to work activities, and longer working hours are associated with higher firm productivity, growth, profitability and CEO pay. Second, family CEOs record 8% fewer working hours relative to professional CEOs. The difference in hours worked is more pronounced in low competition environments and does not seem to be explained by measurement error. Third, difference in diffrences estimates with respect to the cost of effort, due to weather shocks and popular sport events, reveal that the observed difference between family and professional CEOs is consistent with heterogeneous preferences for work versus leisure. Evidence from six other countries reveals similar findings in economies at different stages of development. |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2013–12–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:58162&r=sbm |
| By: | Michael Noel; Mark Schankerman |
| Abstract: | Strategic patenting is widely believed to raise the costs of innovating, especially in industries characterised by cumulative innovation. This paper studies the effects of strategic patenting on R&D, patenting and market value in the computer software industry. We focus on two key aspects: patent portfolio size, which affects bargaining power in patent disputes, and the fragmentation of patent rights (‘patent thickets’) which increases the transaction costs of enforcement. We develop a model that incorporates both effects, as well as knowledge spill overs. Using panel data for 121 firms covering the period 1980–99, we show that strategic patenting and spill overs affect innovation and market value of software firms, that there is a patent premium accounting for 20 per cent of the returns to R&D, and that software firms do not appear to be trapped in a prisoners' dilemma of ‘excessive patenting. |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:57372&r=sbm |
| By: | Matthew A. COLE; Robert J R ELLIOTT; OKUBO Toshihiro; Eric STROBL |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine the role of industrial clusters and infrastructure in mitigating or magnifying the impact of the 1995 Kobe earthquake on the survival of manufacturing plants and their post-earthquake economic performance. Our methodological approach is to use information on building-level and infrastructure damages and other plant and building-characteristics including district-level variables to control for spatial dependencies to estimate a cox-proportional hazard model. Our results show that plants that were members of existing clusters were less likely to survive although we found some evidence that damaged plants in stronger clusters had a better survival probability. Further analysis shows that the strength of the cluster had no impact on a number of performance indicators including productivity, employment and output. Road damage in the nearby locality has a negative impact on plant survival. |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:15008&r=sbm |
| By: | José-Antonio Belso-Martínez; Manuel Expósito-Langa |
| Abstract: | Shifting away from traditional approaches orientated towards the analysis of the benefits associated with brokerage, this paper provides valuable insights on the dynamics of this particular network position. Using fine grain micro data collected in a Spanish industrial cluster, the evolution of five different brokerage profiles is analysed in depth. Particularly, we observe how firm-level characteristics (status, former mediating experience and external openness), and their interactions may generate changes in the different brokerage roles over a period of time. Findings endorse our expectations mainly based on the social capital and network approaches. Status and previous mediating experience facilitate the creation of partnerships, fostering brokerage. Conversely, interaction effects demote brokerage activity at the intra-cluster level, suggesting the selective nature of broker’s relational behaviour. |
| Keywords: | Brokerage, Clusters, Social Network Analysis, Social Status, Extra-cluster Linkage |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1501&r=sbm |
| By: | Alejandro Jara; Daniel Oda |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we apply a multivariate method to classify banks according to their degree of similarity, known as cluster analysis. Using balance sheets data for the period 2008-2013 on a set of 23 banks in Chile, we find that the banking industry can be clustered into seven groups of homogeneous institutions: (i) large multi-banks, (ii) medium size multi-banks, (iii) medium size specialized banks, (iv) retail banks, (v) treasury banks, (vi) foreign trade banks, and (vii) banks dedicated to financial services. Additionally, we show that this classification of banks is stable over time, and that can contribute to improve the banking system surveillance in Chile. |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chb:bcchwp:744&r=sbm |
| By: | Max Nathan; Emma Vandore |
| Abstract: | The digital industries cluster known as 'Silicon Roundabout' has been quietly growing in East London since the 1990s. Now rebranded 'Tech City', it is now the focus of huge public and government attention. National and local policymakers wish to accelerate the local area's development: such cluster policies are back in vogue as part of a re-awakened interest in industrial policy in many developed countries. Surprisingly little is known about Tech City's firms or the wider ecosystem, however, and existing cluster policies have a high failure rate. This paper performs a detailed mixed-methods analysis, combining rich enterprise-level data with semi-structured interviews. We track firm and employment growth from 1997-2010 and identify a number of distinctive features: branching from creative to digital content industries, street-level sorting of firms, the importance of local amenities and a lack of conventional cluster actors such as universities or anchor businesses. We also argue that the existing policy mix embodies a number of tensions, and suggest areas for improvement. |
| Keywords: | digital economy; cities; clusters; innovation; London; silicon roundabout; tech city |
| JEL: | L2 L52 M13 O18 O31 R11 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:58424&r=sbm |