No abstract

The aim of the research is to investigate whether the structure of knowledge networks and the variety of the local industrial structure are important for regional innovation and if the interplay between these two forces has an additional effect on local innovativeness. The research analyses co‐patenting collaborations at firm level in the Italian provinces in three five‐year intervals in the period 2001–2016. Results show that the structure of knowledge networks and agglomeration economies of inventors boost local inventive capacity. It also highlights how these forces have an increasing impact on innovation as the variety of the area increases.

Over the last years, Social Media (SM) have been emphasized as a means for nonprofit organizations to build and strengthen relations with a variety of stakeholders, although empirical studies have found a substantial delay in their adoption compared to profit-driven organizations. Less attention has been devoted to the cultural sector, wherein SM have been widely emphasized as a way to empower visitors. To this purpose, the paper presents a case study of a medium-sized non-profit cultural institution, the Museum of Natural History of Florence (MNH), which has engaged relatively early with SM. First, the role of different social networks within the museum's communication activities is analysed through direct interviews. Moreover, the intensity of the museum's interactions with its stakeholders on SM is measured. Finally, the nature of interactions with stakeholders on SM is identified through a qualitative contents analysis of the museum's profiles on Facebook and Twitter. The empirical analysis allows to compare the theoretical potential of Social Media with their actual implementation in a real-life context, besides shedding light on the organizational challenges that medium-sized cultural institutions such as the MNH have to face when engaging with Social Media.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to capture the role of internal and external characteristics in favouring the growth of innovative start-ups at an early stage of their life. Design/methodology/approach The empirical approach of this paper is based on an econometric analysis applied to all Italian innovative start-ups with four and five years of life. Growth is analysed after four and five years from the constitution, depending on internal investments in research and development (R&D), in tangible assets and on characteristics external to the firm (110 Italian provinces) related to industrial variety, specialisation, public investments in R&D, etc. Findings The results achieved in this study reveal the importance of internal R&D investment even though there is missing evidence on the relevance of general and government specific R&D investment in the area. Other interesting results concern the importance of the firm’s involvement in the technological specialisation of the area and the need for general variety in technological diversification in the area to favour the growth of start-ups. Practical implications The results imply that entrepreneurs should evaluate carefully their strategic choices in terms of the location of the start-up and the investment in R&D as these could be important factors for the firm’s growth. Originality/value This paper is an original attempt to measure the importance of both internal and external characteristics for the growth of start-ups. Moreover, the analysis covers the overall population of a new interesting category of firm, the innovative start-up.

No abstract