John Hobbs (p), Eoin Byrne , Panu Jalas

Igone Porto Gomez

Purpose – The research aims to provide inputs for Anticipated Structural Change planning in Pyhäjärvi, Finland due to the closure of the Pyhäsalmi Mine in 2019. As mining is the central component of the NIHAK region’s Regional Innovation System strategy (RIS3) it is imperative that future proofing of employment in the region is addressed in the context of future strategies and enterprise support. The study applies V-LINC (www.cit.ie/vlinc) a methodology which maps, visualises and analyses key relationship data collected from sectoral ecosystems, to inform strategy and policy development for the mining services sector in NIHAK region.

Design/methodology/approach – Linkages and networks play a key role in regional innovation systems. Network theory has potential to support policy makers understanding in this area. The paper presents an application of V-LINC, to the Pyhäsalmi mining services sector in the Nihak region of Northern Finland. A sample of 13 micro-enterprises and SMEs were interviewed to record, visualise and analyse their linkages, enabling the nature of the linkage types across the RIS to be demonstrated. Network visualisations are presented and the importance of networks are measured through the business impact of linkages.

Findings – The research illustrate the Pyhäsalmi mining services sector through: 1) showcasing both the internal and external linkages of the sector; 2) identifying the key connectors within the sector; 3) developing targeted policy recommendations to support the mining sector and build on its strengths; and 4) providing an overview of the projected future portfolio of customers planned by respondent firms to maintain their business after the closure of the Pyhäsalmi Mine in 2019, and supplementary linkages required to compete for this business.

Practical implications – The paper’s findings are of practical relevance to private and public policy makers with regard to the management and financing of the mining services sector to secure and maximise its sustainable development. The application of V-LINC provides a consistent replicable method to visualise and analyse regional innovation systems. Furthermore, findings from the testing of a new method towards planning for anticipated structural change are presented.

Originality/value – A bottom-up assessment of Pyhäsalmi mining services sector’s linkages is provided in a visual, numerical, structural and geographical format through applying V-LINC. This is the first time that V-LINC has been utilised for the mining sector and its first application in Finland.

Funded by Regional Innovations and Experimentations (AIKO) programme, Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs & Employment.

Noirin McCarthy (p), Justin Doran , Marie O'Connor

John Hobbs

This paper analyses the importance of local, national and international collaboration for innovation using the Community Innovation Survey for Ireland. The open innovation paradigm, which stresses the importance of external linkages, is used to examine the impact of different external knowledge sources on innovation. The key contribution is to provide an empirical test of the relative importance of geographically proximate versus distant interaction, using a two-step procedure to remove potential endogeneity in interaction decisions. The findings support hypotheses on the importance of both geographically proximate and distant interaction for innovation.

Igone Porto Gomez (p), David Doloreux

Noirin McCarthy

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