Regions, innovation systems, and the North-South divide in Italy

Abstract

Using firm-level data collected by Statistics Italy for 2008, 2011, and 2015, we examine the Triple-Helix synergy among geographical and size distributions of firms, and the NACE codes attributed to these firms, at the different levels of regional and national government. At which levels is innovation-systemness indicated? The contributions of regions to the Italian innovation system have increased, but synergy generation between regions and supra-regionally has remained at almost 45%. As against the statistical classification of Italy into twenty regions or into Northern, Central, and Southern Italy, the greatest synergy is retrieved by considering the country in terms of Northern and Southern Italy as two sub-systems, with Tuscany included as part of Northern Italy. We suggest that separate innovation strategies should be developed for these two parts of the country. The current focus on regions for innovation policies may to some extent be an artifact of the statistics and EU policies. In terms of sectors, both medium-and hightech manufacturing (MHTM) and knowledge-intensive services (KIS) are proportionally integrated in the various regions.

Evolutionary and Institutional Triple Helix Models

“…In a series of studies-usually co-authored with colleagues from these nations-a number of national systems of innovation were thus analyzed and the results were decomposed in terms of both regions and technological sectors: Germany (Leydesdorff & Fritsch, 2006;Ruhrmann et al, under review), the Netherlands (Leydesdorff, Dolfsma, & van der Panne, 2006), Sweden , Norway , Italy (Leydesdorff & Cucco, 2019), Hungary (Lengyel & Leydesdorff, 2011), Spain , the Russian Federation (Leydesdorff, Perevodchikov, & Uvarov, 2015), the USA (Leydesdorff, Wagner, Porto-Gomez, Comins, & Phillips, 2019),and China (Leydesdorff & Zhou, 2014).…”

Smart Specialization Strategies at National, Regional, or Local Levels? Synergy and Policy-making in German Systems of Innovation

“…The same applies to the highly industrialized South and the less industrialized North of Germany. Policy-makers should consider addressing the differences between the respective territories in formulating RIS3 strategies rather than focus on policymaking for a single innovation system (Leydesdorff & Cucco, 2019).…”

Policy Recommendations for Promoting Touristic Attractivity from Local Government Perspective in Innovative Environments

“…Therefore, it is expected that cities located on innovative regions could help the hospitality industry to embrace emerging IT prior to other different destinations [28]. An important effect of BCT implementation in the hospitality industry is the fix of different room rates in lodging accommodations located in cities in innovative regions vs non-innovative cities based on their current market based on online travel agencies (OTAs).…”

“…The empirical research was conducted selecting accommodation in 4 Italian cities included into the latest official touristic report provided by the Italian Institute of Statistics [39] -the two most touristic cities (Rome and Milan) and the two less touristic cities which are not considered as "smart cities" (Rosolina and Sorrento)- [28]. These cities are located in innovative (Milan and Rosolina) and non-innovative regions (Rome and Sorrento).…”