Regional Knowledge Capabilities, Entrepreneurial Activity, and Productivity Growth: Evidence from Italian NUTS-3 Regions

Abstract

Knowledge has replaced labor as the key factor for productivity growth in innovation discourse. The Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship (KSTE) provides the theoretical foundation to bridge the gap between knowledge and productivity growth. The way regional knowledge actually contributes to productivity growth requires a theoretical explanation because knowledge capability is an indirect and intangible input for regional productivity growth. Previous research has shown that entrepreneurship alone is insufficient to drive productivity improvements. We examine how knowledge capabilities lead to meaningful growth outcomes of new firms in a region. This study examines the determinants of productivity growth by analyzing the factors of entrepreneurship and knowledge capabilities at the regional level, especially considering the moderating effect of entrepreneurship between knowledge and regional growth; by comparing different dimensions of local knowledge capabilities; and by aggregating the contribution of knowledge capabilities and entrepreneurship to productivity growth at the regional level. The empirical analysis is performed on Italian NUTS-3 regions by utilizing an integrated data set combining patent data from the EPO PATSTAT database, and regional data from Eurostat regional statistics. This study makes two main contributions to the KSTE literature by linking knowledge, entrepreneurship, and regional growth and by providing empirical results on different aspects of regional knowledge capability. Our findings identify which types of local knowledge capabilities are more important and how related innovative activity interacts with entrepreneurial activity, elucidating the mechanisms by which knowledge affects labor productivity through entrepreneurship.

Impact of Innovation and Exports on Productivity: Are There Complementary Effects?

“…The ability of firms of all sizes to increase their productivity while upgrading their technological and innovation capacity is regarded as an essential determinant of competitiveness [23]. Knowledge augments physical labor so that learning or absorbing knowledge increases labor productivity [24,25]. Although much of the literature argues productivity allows substituting labor for capital through innovation and R&D, recent studies show that knowledge frameworks determine the substitutivity between factors of production [26].…”

Innovation scoreboard indicators between Serbia and Hungary

“…Developing countries are generating a high focus on this topic and are trying to establish mutual innovation policies and measures, to increase their innovation capacities and 10.18531/Studia.Mundi.2022.09.03. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] balance their innovation inputs and outputs (see Johnson Cornell University, INSEAD, WIPO, 2015) as they find room to enrich their growth capacities. Although the EU is quite aware of it, knowing how diverse it is, not every member state country has equal innovation capacities and performance levels.…”

“…10.18531/Studia.Mundi.2022.09.03. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Besides all, the IU is examining innovation readiness level and performance by each member state country by evaluating created scheme so-called Regional Innovation Scoreboard, a dashboard based on the evaluation of the set of 25 indicators about the innovation scheme. RIS indicators can be grouped into three main categories: indicators that ensure conditions for the innovations to be created (e.g., human and financial resources), business activities (e.g., business innovators, innovation assets), and outputs (employment in the innovation sector, export of innovative products).…”

Actitud hacia el riesgo de la actividad empresarial: evidencia utilizando modelos logit para dos grupos de países de la OCDE

“…Por tanto, los rasgos de personalidad del emprendedor tienen un gran impacto en diversas actividades empresariales incluyendo la intención de crear un nuevo negocio, el éxito en los negocios y hasta en el incremento de un determinado conjunto de empresas (Metallo et al, 2021;Korez-Vide & Tominc, 2016). Más aún, en tiempos recientes se ha identificado a la persona emprendedora como un mecanismo que convierte el conocimiento económico en crecimiento económico (Kang et al, 2022;Carlsson et al, 2009).…”