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Concentrated versus Distributed Efforts: What contributes most to Regional Technology Development? An Investigation of Texture Characteristics of European Biotech Regions

Innovative activities, especially in knowledge-intensive industries, display a tendency to cluster geographically (Audretsch and Feldman, 1996; Lecocq et al., 2009). Technology clusters (St. John and Pouder, 2006) are local environments where knowledge is created and diffused through (frequent) interactions between a variety of innovation actors (Leydesdorff and Etzkowitz, 1996; Lundvall, 1992; Freeman, 1987; Nelson, 1993). On the role and importance of different types of innovation actors (knowledge institutes, private firms and individual entrepreneurs), however, different perspectives are being advanced. While some authors acknowledge and stress the importance of knowledge generating institutes such as universities (e.g. Saxenian, 1994), other studies emphasize the importance of large(r) private firm(s) for a region to become a leading technology region (e.g. Agrawal and Cockburn, 2003). While the development and growth of clusters has been studied from a wide range of perspectives, quantitative studies examining the relationship between composition in terms of innovation actors – and technological performance of the region are scarce. This paper engages in such an analysis for the field of biotechnology in Europe (EU-15 and Switzerland). Based on patent data, we investigate whether biotech regions in Europe differ in terms the role and size of different sectors and to what extent this impacts the overall technological performance of the region. The following hypotheses are guiding our efforts: Hypothesis 1a: Regions will perform better in terms of technology development to the extent that technological development efforts are of a more distributed nature (across different types of actors). Hypothesis 1b: Regions will perform better in terms of technology development to the extent that efforts are concentrated within a limited number of strong actors (firms). Next, we complement this analysis by looking at the specific impact of international collaboration on the performance of regions. While cluster research focuses on collaborative dynamics within the region, it is clear that relevant knowledge is also created outside technology clusters. Even in the most dynamic clusters, firms and other innovation actors therefore might benefit from an outward stance (Porter, 1998). Previous empirical work in the field of biotechnology (Lecocq and Van Looy, 2009) revealed such beneficial effects of international collaboration during different phases of the technology life cycle. Building on these ideas, we advance the following hypotheses: Hypothesis2a: Regions that engage more in collaboration on an international scale, benefit in terms of technology development. Hypothesis2b: Beneficial effects of international collaboration will be more outspoken, to the extent that the local texture is more concentrated.