Suyash Jolly (p), Petr Rumpel

Eleftherios Podimatas

This paper focuses on the development of an emerging cleantech innovation ecosystem in peripheral and old industrial regions that have been historically characterized by specialization in natural resource-based, traditional, and heavy engineering-based industries and facing challenges such as negative environmental impacts linked to air pollution, gradual deindustrialization, ageing population and outmigration of talented youth to other metropolitan regions. By using insights from the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems, regional innovation systems and institutional work from the institutional theory, the paper traces the role and actions of different regional actors in supporting the development of a cleantech innovation ecosystem. The study discusses the case of the Moravian Silesian region, Czechia, which has been considered an old peripheral industrial region. The region now has embarked on " MSR 2030+ = smart and green region“ agenda and aims at creating new value-added activities in the region related to new environmental climate technologies, new energy storage technologies, hydrogen development and new waste management technologies. Regarding the research method, the paper utilizes a qualitative case study approach and draws upon archival data sources and semi-structured interviews with regional stakeholders in the Moravian Silesian region. The paper provides novel insights regarding developing new entrepreneurial ecosystems in the context of lagging behind peripheral industrial regions and the potential for green transformation.

Georgios Papastamatiou, Eleftherios Podimatas (p), Vassiliki Delitheou

Alexander Kopka

Innovation is a critical driver of long-term economic growth, social prosperity, and global political influence, making it a top priority for both businesses and nations. The European Union (EU) aspires to lead in global research and innovation, as outlined in the 2024 Budapest Declaration. However, the EU lags significantly behind its competitors, such as the US and China, in key innovation metrics. For instance, EU businesses invest half the percentage of GDP in R&D compared to the US, and the EU holds only 17% of global patent filings, trailing behind the US (21%) and China (25%). Additionally, the EU has just three universities in the global top 50 for scientific research, compared to 21 in the US and 15 in China. Despite initiatives like Horizon Europe, the EU’s innovation ecosystem faces challenges such as fragmented funding, bureaucratic hurdles, and limited venture capital, with only 5% of global venture capital raised in the EU compared to 52% in the US. Regulatory complexity, data restrictions, and reliance on third countries for critical resources further hinder innovation.

Within this context, each member state has a significant role and responsibility to effectively develop the means and tools to leverage the opportunities available to them. Greece, the member state that this paper explores, has made strides in fostering innovation through initiatives like Equifund and Elevate Greece, supported by EU programs and financial instruments. However, challenges such as bureaucratic inefficiencies, limited access to venture capital, and gaps in commercializing research persist. To unlock its innovation potential, Greece must enhance academia-industry collaboration, develop a robust venture capital ecosystem, streamline regulations, and foster an entrepreneurial culture. Leveraging EU programs like Horizon Europe and adopting international best practices, such as Germany’s Fraunhofer institutes or Israel’s entrepreneurship training, can further strengthen Greece’s innovation ecosystem. By addressing these barriers and investing strategically in human capital and infrastructure, Greece can transition toward a competitive, innovation-driven economy and contribute to the EU’s broader goals of global leadership in research and innovation.

Alexander Kopka (p), Johannes Dahlke, Nils Grashof

Enrique Lopez-Bazo

As a general-purpose technology, artificial intelligence (AI) offers multiple pathways for value creation and capture. The economic impact of AI varies substantially depending on how firms choose to implement it: while using AI primarily for process automation may yield efficiency gains, deploying AI to enhance innovation capabilities appears to enable higher productivity growth through continuous technological improvements.
This knowledge, however, is not uniformly distributed. The AI industry exhibits distinct patterns of knowledge creation and diffusion across different types of organizations: basic research producers, industrial intermediaries, and end-users.
This study investigates how the combination of basic and applied AI knowledge affects firm performance, with particular attention to the role of inter-firm networks in knowledge acquisition and exploitation. Our research addresses three sequential questions:
(a) What distinct patterns emerge in how firms combine basic research, applied technological developments, and practical AI implementation capabilities?
(b) How do these different knowledge combinations impact firm economic outcomes, particularly productivity?
(c) To what extent can firms compensate for limitations in their internal AI knowledge base through external collaborations?

The empirical strategy leverages a unique dataset combining publication data (capturing basic research), patent statistics (representing applied research), and web-based indicators (measuring AI implementation) at the firm-level. Publication data is provided by the SCOPUS database, where based on a keyword search string, AI-related publications where identified. To assess patent statistics, PATSTAT is used. AI patents are identified through a classification as well as keyword approach using both CPCs and IPCs and patent titles and abstracts. The web-based indicators are based on the website text of companies and also assess the proficiency of their AI knowledge by not only doing a simple keyword search but also to include the embeddedness of these keywords in the text.
In addition to firms internal knowledge and capabilities base, we also take a relational perspective and consider the external collaborations of firms, distinguishing between networks relating to knowledge on AI applications and on AI implementation.

In general, the aim of this study is to estimate how membership in different taxonomical categories affects productivity and whether external collaborations can compensate for limitations in internal knowledge. This research therefore contributes to innovation economics by establishing a novel taxonomy of how firms combine different types of AI knowledge, revealing whether certain knowledge integration patterns lead to different economic outcomes, and assessing how these patterns relate to firm network positions.

Enrique Lopez-Bazo (p), Alessia Matano

Suyash Jolly

This paper investigates how import competition from China affects the innovation output of firms in Spain, with a focus on geographical disparities. Using data from the PITEC (Technological Innovation Panel) and trade statistics on sectoral import competition across Spanish regions from 2004 to 2013, we control for firm-level heterogeneity and address endogeneity through an instrumental variable approach. Our findings show that China's import share has a positive and significant effect on firms' radical innovation—marked by the introduction of market-new products and higher sales from them—while its effect on incremental innovation is negligible. This indicates that firms respond to Chinese competition by prioritizing groundbreaking innovations over minor product improvements. Moreover, the impact of Chinese import competition on radical innovation intensifies in regions with greater manufacturing specialization. These findings underscore the need for tailored innovation policies that address regional differences. Specifically, firms with limited innovative capacity in less specialized regions are more vulnerable to global competition and should be prioritized in place-based innovation strategies to enhance resilience and foster regional innovation.