-
Reg
iona
l Inn
ovat
ion
Polic
y Fo
r Sm
all-
Med
ium
Ent
erpr
ises
Edited by
Bjr
n T. A
sheim
Prof
esso
r, Ce
ntre
for T
echn
olog
y, In
nova
tion
and
Cultu
re, U
nive
rsity
of
Oslo
, Nor
way
, and
Pro
fess
or, D
epar
tmen
t of S
ocia
l and
Eco
nom
icG
eogr
aphy
, Uni
vers
ity o
f Lun
d, S
wed
en
Arn
e Is
akse
nA
ssist
ant P
rofe
ssor
, Agd
er U
nive
rsity
Col
lege
, and
Sen
ior R
esea
rche
r,ST
EP G
roup
, Nor
way
Clai
re N
auw
elae
rsSe
nior
Res
earc
her,
Maa
stric
ht E
cono
mic
Res
earc
h In
stitu
te o
n In
nova
tion
and
Tech
nolo
gy (M
ERIT
), Univ
ersity
of M
aastr
icht, t
he N
etherl
ands
Fran
z T
dtlin
gPr
ofes
sor,
Depa
rtmen
t of C
ity a
nd R
egio
nal D
evel
opm
ent,
Vien
naU
nive
rsity
of E
cono
mic
s and
Bus
ines
s Adm
inist
ratio
n, A
ustri
a
Edw
ard
Elga
rCh
elte
nham
, UK
. Nor
tham
pton
, MA
, USA
-
i B
jrn T
. Ashe
im, A
rne Is
aksen
, Clai
re Na
uwela
ers, F
ranz T
dtlin
g 200
3Co
nten
tsA
ll rig
hts r
eser
ved,
No
part
of th
is pu
blic
atio
n m
ay b
e re
prod
uced
, sto
red
ina
retr
ieva
l sys
tem
or t
rans
mitt
ed in
any
form
or b
y an
y m
eans
, ele
ctro
nic,
mec
hani
cal o
r pho
toco
pyin
g, re
cord
ing,
or o
ther
wise
with
out t
he p
rior
perm
issio
n of
the
publ
isher
.Fi
gure
sTa
bles
Aut
hors
Abb
revi
atio
nsFo
rew
ord
Publ
ished
by
Edw
ard
Elga
r Pub
lishi
ng L
imite
dG
lens
anda
Hou
seM
ontp
ellie
r Par
ade
Chel
tenh
amG
los G
L50
lUA
UK
PAR
T I S
MEs
, INN
OVA
TIO
N AN
D RE
GIO
NS: C
ONC
EPTU
ALB
ACK
GRO
UN
D
Edwa
rd E
lgar
Pub
lishi
ng, I
nc.
136
Wes
t Stre
etSu
ite 2
02N
orth
ampt
onM
assa
chus
etts
010
60U
SA
The
role
and
cha
ract
erist
ics o
f SM
Es in
inno
vatio
nDavid Smallbone, David North and Ian Vickers
2 SM
Es a
nd th
e re
gion
al d
imen
sion
of in
nova
tion
Bjr
n T A
sheim
and A
rne Is
aksen
PART
II IN
NO
VA
TIO
N P
ROCE
SSES
AN
D P
OLI
CY C
ON
TEX
T
A c
atal
ogue
reco
rd fo
r thi
s boo
kis
avai
labl
e fro
m th
e Br
itish
Lib
rary
3 Na
tiona
l and
regi
onal
con
text
s fo
r inn
ovat
ion
Arn
e Is
akse
n
4 Inno
vation patterns of SMEs
Ale
xand
er K
aufm
ann
and
Fran
z T
dtlin
gli
brar
y of
Con
gres
s Ca
talo
guin
g in
Pub
lica
tion
Dat
aR
egio
nal i
nnov
atio
n po
licy
for s
mal
l-med
ium
ent
erpr
ises /
edi
ted
by B
jrn
Ash
eim
. . .
let a
Llp. em.
Inclu
des
bibliographical references and index
.1,
Sm
all b
usin
ess -
Tec
hnol
ogic
al in
nova
tions
, 2. T
echn
olog
ical
inno
vatio
ns -
Gov
ernm
ent p
olic
y. 3
. Reg
iona
l eco
nom
ics,
1. A
shei
m, B
jrn
Terje
.
PART II EVALUATION OF INNOVATION POLICY
INST
RUM
ENTS
5 In
novation policies for SMEs: an overview of policy
instr
umen
tsG
ioac
chin
o G
arof
oli a
nd B
erna
rd M
usyc
k
6 Resu
lts and impacts of policy instruments
Javi
er A
lfons
o G
il, A
nton
ia S
ez-
Cala
, Ant
onio
Vz
quez
-Ba
rque
ro a
nd A
na Is
abel
Vi
as-A
paol
aza
7 Co
here
nce
of in
nova
tion
polic
y in
stru
men
tsPo
ul R
ind
Chris
tens
en, A
ndre
as P
eter
Cor
nett
and
Kris
tian
Philp
sen
HD
2341
.R35
34 2
003
338,
6'42
- d
c2l
2003
0439
06
ISBN
1 8
4376
398
2
Prin
ted
and
boun
d in
Gre
at B
ritai
n by
MPG
Boo
ks L
td, B
odm
in, C
ornw
all
v
VLL
V11 ix xv
XV
ll 3 21 49 78 119
139
166
-
..
8. Tow
ards
a n
ew p
arad
igm
for
inno
vati
on p
olic
y?9
Clai
re N
auw
elae
rs a
nd R
en
Win
tjes
8.1
INTR
ODU
CTIO
NIn
nova
tion
rank
s hig
her o
n po
licy
agen
das t
oday
, at n
atio
nal,
Euro
pean
and regional
leve
ls. T
his
evol
utio
n is
nur
ture
d by
the
unde
rsta
ndin
g th
atin
nova
tion
is th
e ke
y to
eco
nom
ic d
evel
opm
ent f
or a
dvan
ced,
hig
h-w
ages
countr
ies,
It is
beco
min
g vi
sible
thro
ugh
a gr
adua
l shi
ft in
pol
icy
state
men
tsfro
m su
ppor
t for
R&
D a
nd te
chno
logy
diff
usio
n to
the
prom
otio
n of
inno
-vat
ion.
The
und
ersta
ndin
g of
inno
vatio
n as
som
ethi
ng d
iffer
ent f
rom
R&
Dan
d th
e di
ffusio
n of
tech
nolo
gy is
gai
ning
gro
und:
inno
vatio
n re
fers
to th
ebe
havi
our o
f ent
erpr
ises,
plan
ning
and
impl
emen
ting
chan
ges i
n th
eir p
rac-
tices
in o
rder
to c
ome
up w
ith n
ew p
rodu
cts,
proc
esse
s, se
rvic
es o
r org
an-
izat
ion.
Thi
s cha
nge
in fo
cus r
efle
cts e
fforts
bas
ed o
n th
e vi
ew th
atinnovation is an interactive, rather than linear, process (Rothwell
1992
). On
this
unde
rsta
ndin
g, tr
aditi
onal
scie
nce
and
tech
nolo
gy p
olic
ies d
o no
t offe
rth
e un
ique
resp
onse
nee
ded
to su
ppor
t inn
ovat
ive
prac
tices
, Ins
tead
, man
yo
ther
ele
men
ts in
add
ition
to sc
ienc
e an
d te
chno
logy
pla
ya ro
le in
inno
va-
tion and need to be tackled by innovation policy (Soete and Arundel
1993
;Co
wan
and
van
de P
aaI2
000).
Env
isage
d in s
uch a
n enla
rged f
ramew
ork,
inno
vatio
n po
liCi
s are
stil
in th
eir i
nfan
cy.
The
thes
is at
the
core
of t
his b
ook
is th
at th
e va
riety
of r
egio
nal c
onte
xts,
the
dive
rsity
in fi
rms'
abilit
ies
and
attit
udes
, and
in d
rivin
g fo
rces
and
bar
-rie
rs to
war
ds in
nova
tion,
pre
vent
s the
sear
ch fo
r one
per
man
ent '
best
prac
-tic
e' po
licy,
val
id fo
r eac
h an
d ev
ery
situa
tion.
Thi
s is n
ot to
say,
how
ever
,th
at n
othi
ng g
ener
al c
an b
e co
nclu
ded
in re
spon
se to
the
ques
tion
of h
owto
impr
ove
the
effc
ienc
y of
pol
icy
instr
umen
ts to
supp
ort i
nnov
atio
n in
SMEs
. Rat
her,
the
resu
lts fr
om th
e an
alys
es o
f a v
arie
ty o
f inn
ovat
ion
polic
y to
ols,
base
d on
the
sam
e co
ncep
tual
bac
kgro
und,
pro
vide
an
answ
erto
this
cruc
ial q
uesti
on. T
he v
ario
us to
ols f
orm
a ri
ch sc
ope
of o
ppor
tu-
niti
es fo
r bet
ter p
ract
ice
rega
rdin
g th
e po
licy
proc
ess o
f add
ress
ing
inno
va-
tion
of S
MEs
in th
eir r
egio
nal c
onte
xt, I
f one
may
cal
l the
shift
from
alin
ear m
odel
of i
nnov
atio
n to
war
ds a
n in
tera
ctiv
e on
e a
shift
in p
arad
igm
,
193
-
then
the
mai
n go
al o
f SM
EPO
L is
to p
rovid
e ev
iden
ce fo
r a s
imila
r shi
ftto
war
ds a
new
inno
vatio
n po
licy
para
digm
. The
aim
of t
his c
hapt
er is
tobr
ing
to li
ght t
he m
ain
elem
ents
of su
ch a
new
pol
icy
para
digm
,Th
e po
ints
of d
epar
ture
of t
his p
olic
y-or
ient
ed st
udy
are
that
inno
vatio
nis
a go
od th
ing
(both
on th
e reg
ional
and f
irm le
vels)
, and
that
there
is a c
allfo
r pub
lic in
terv
entio
n in
ord
er to
get
mor
e of
it. A
s a b
ackg
roun
d, b
ased
on
the
liter
atur
e, th
e fir
st tw
o ch
apte
rs b
uild
on
thes
e ba
sic a
ssum
ptio
ns,
whi
ch in
clud
e tw
o m
ain
argu
men
ts,Fi
rst,
Chap
ter 1
arg
ues t
hat S
MEs
are
an
impo
rtant
targ
et g
roup
for
inno
vatio
n po
licy,
It p
rovi
des t
hree
dist
inct
ive
char
acte
ristic
s of S
MEs
,w
hich
form
the
basis
for a
rgum
ents
and
impl
icat
ions
for i
nnov
atio
n po
licy
dire
cted
to S
MEs
, The
se d
istin
ctiv
e ch
arac
teris
tics (
comp
ared t
o larg
erfirms) are: a li
mited resource base, a distinc
tive
org
aniz
atio
nal
cult
ure
linke
d to
the
prox
imity
bet
wee
n ow
ners
hip
and
man
agem
ent,
and
a lo
wer
abili
ty to
shap
e th
eir e
xter
nal e
nviro
nmen
t. Th
ese
char
acte
ristic
s, w
hich
call
for d
istin
ctiv
e po
licy
appr
oach
es, a
re a
t the
root
of t
he m
ore
info
rmal
,u
nco
difie
d ch
arac
ter o
f man
agem
ent a
nd in
nova
tion
prac
tices
in S
MEs
,Al
so, t
his
chap
ter w
arns
aga
inst
bol
d ge
nera
lizat
ions
on
'the'
SME:
tech
-nolo
gy-d
riven
, tec
hnol
ogy-
follo
win
g, a
nd te
chno
logy
-indi
ffere
nt S
MEs
have
ver
y di
ffere
nt n
eeds
and
apt
itude
s, an
d th
is ca
lls fo
r diff
eren
t typ
es o
fpo
licy
inte
rven
tion,
Acc
ordi
ng to
this
view
, the
thru
st of
pol
icy
appr
oach
essh
ould
be
twof
old:
to in
crea
se th
e av
aila
bilit
y of
ext
erna
l res
ourc
es fo
rSM
Es a
nd to
dev
elop
thei
r int
erna
l abs
orpt
ive
and
lear
ning
cap
aciti
es(C
ohen
and L
evint
hal 1
990).
This
point
s to:
(i) the
cruc
ial ro
le of
interm
e-di
arie
s who
, wor
king
on
the
basis
of p
erso
nal t
rust
rela
tions
, are
abl
e to
codi
fy S
MEs
' nee
ds; (
ii) th
e valu
e of 'p
eer' n
etwork
s as l
earni
ng ch
anne
ls;an
d (ii
i) the
key r
ole of
huma
n cap
ital in
SMEs
,Se
cond
, cha
pter
2 a
sser
ts th
e im
porta
nce
of th
e re
gion
al d
imen
sion
ofin
nova
tion,
The
disc
ussio
n de
velo
ps th
e th
esis
that
pro
xim
ity li
nkag
es c
anbe
inst
rum
enta
l in d
evel
opin
g 'le
arni
ng fi
rms'
and
'lear
ning
regi
ons'.
Also
,br
oade
ning
and
ext
endi
ng th
e co
ncep
t of c
luste
rs to
war
ds o
ne o
f coa
litio
nde
velo
pmen
t poi
nts t
o a
broa
der s
cope
for i
nnov
atio
n po
licy,
that
of s
up-
porti
ng th
e so
cial
and
cul
tura
l asp
ects
of in
nova
tion
and
enha
ncin
g so
cial
capi
tal a
s a
key
elem
ent b
ehin
d we
ll-fu
nctio
ning
regi
onal
inno
vatio
nsy
stem
s, D
evel
opin
g co
llect
ive
capa
citie
s and
net
wor
king
pra
ctic
es a
t the
loca
l lev
el fo
llows
logi
cally
from
this
polic
y ai
m, b
ut th
is go
al s
houl
d al
sobe
com
plem
ente
d w
ith su
ppor
t to
the
deve
lopm
ent o
f lin
kage
s at n
atio
nal
and
inte
rnat
iona
l leve
ls, in
ord
er to
avo
id b
eing
trap
ped
by to
o st
rong
loca
ltie
s, po
ssib
ly le
adin
g to
lock
-in si
tuat
ions
,For the translation of broad policy orientations into operational guide-
lines
, we
use
the
findi
ngs o
f the
SM
EPO
L em
piric
al a
naly
ses,
as d
evel
oped
in th
e su
bseq
uent
cha
pter
s: Ch
apte
r 3 fo
r the
ana
lysis
of t
he v
arie
ty o
f
I
1....
..,..:"
,~ . .,. '"
..
regi
onal
con
text
s, w
hich
we
use
to b
uild
up
cont
ext-s
ensit
ive
polic
y re
com
-m
enda
tions
, Cha
pter
4 o
n th
e pa
ttern
s of i
nnov
atio
n in
SM
Es, w
hich
ilus
-tra
tes
how
the
gene
ric a
ttrib
utes
of S
MEs
tran
slate
into
spe
cific
barri
ers
and
asse
ts fo
r inn
ovat
ion,
and
Cha
pter
5 o
n th
e typ
olog
y of
pol
icy
instr
u-m
ents
, whi
ch a
llow
s us t
o de
velo
p th
e m
ain
thru
st of
our
pol
icy
argu
men
tin
to m
ore
prec
ise g
uide
lines
for e
ach
type
of i
nstru
men
t. To
bui
ld u
p ou
rre
com
men
datio
ns, w
e al
so c
onsid
er th
e re
flect
ions
on
resu
lts a
nd im
pact
s,an
d 'go
od p
ract
ice
elem
ents'
of p
olic
y to
ols,
as d
evel
oped
in C
hapt
er 6
, as
wel
l as t
he th
esis
put f
orth
in C
hapt
er 7
on
the
impo
rtanc
e of
com
bini
ngre
spon
siven
ess a
nd c
o-or
dina
tion
in th
e pr
ogra
mm
ing,
org
aniz
atio
n an
dim
plem
enta
tion
of p
olicy
.Th
e pr
esen
t cha
pter
is o
rgan
ized
as fo
llows
, Bas
ed o
n th
e fin
ding
sac
hiev
ed in
this
com
para
tive
rese
arch
, sec
tions
8.2
and
8,3
lay
the
clai
m fo
ra
new
inno
vatio
n po
licy
para
digm
and
pro
pose
a sh
ift in
ratio
nale
(sec
tion
8.2)
and i
n the
broa
d orie
ntatio
ns (s
ectio
n 8.3)
of in
nova
tion p
olicy
toad
dres
sing
SMEs
in th
eir r
egio
nal c
onte
xt. T
hese
arg
umen
ts ar
e ba
sed
onth
e no
tions
of m
arke
t fai
lure
s and
syste
m d
efic
its, w
hich
show
up
as b
ar-
riers
to in
nova
tion
proc
esse
s in
regi
ons a
nd S
MEs
, and
on
wha
t we
may
cal
lgo
vern
men
t fai
lure
s, sh
own
by th
e ev
alua
tion
of in
strum
ents,
Usin
g th
ese
argu
men
ts, se
ctio
n 8.
4 di
scus
ses h
ow th
e SM
EPO
L in
strum
ents
coul
d be
impr
oved
, dra
win
g le
sson
s fro
m g
ood
prac
tice.
The
key
mes
sage
of t
his
chap
ter i
s syn
thes
ized
in se
ctio
n 8,
5, w
here
a sty
lized
vie
w o
n th
e con
tent
of a
soun
d re
gion
al in
nova
tion
polic
y fo
r SM
Es is
pre
sent
ed, S
ectio
n 8,
6de
als w
ith th
e qu
estio
n of
how
to b
uild
a c
oher
ent p
ortfo
lio o
f pol
icy
inst
rum
ents
, tak
ing
into
acc
ount
bot
h re
gion
al s
ituat
ions
and
spe
cific
SMEs
' nee
ds in
term
s of i
nnov
atio
n, T
he m
essa
ge d
eliv
ered
is th
at th
ere
isnO
.'one
-size
-fits
-all'
polic
y po
rtfol
io. T
he c
onclu
ding
sec
tion
draw
s th
ele
sson
s fro
m th
e w
hole
exe
rcise
of e
valu
atin
g, in
a c
ompa
rativ
e fa
shio
n, a
var
iety
of p
olic
y to
ols,
with
in a
com
mon
con
cept
ual f
ram
ewor
k, O
nesa
lient
ele
men
t of t
he c
onclu
sion
is th
e ne
ed fo
r mor
e 'p
olicy
inte
lligen
ce'
in th
is c
ompl
ex fi
eld,
8.2 THE
RATIONALE FOR POLICY
INTE
RVEN
TIO
N: F
AIL
URE
S, B
ARR
IERS
,AND BOUNDARIES
Whe
ther
we
talk
abo
ut m
arke
ts, sy
stem
s or g
over
nmen
ts in
rela
tion
toin
nova
tion,
it a
ll co
ncer
ns c
omm
unic
atio
n, a
pro
cess
of e
xcha
ngin
g in
for-
ma
tion
and
know
ledg
e. In
ord
er to
be
usef
ul a
nd v
alua
ble
to o
ther
s in
afir
m, m
arke
t, sy
stem
or g
over
nmen
t adm
inist
ratio
n, te
chno
logi
cal (
and
oth
e\-)
know
ledge
has t
o be d
iffus
ed an
d poli
cy le
ssons
have
to be
learn
ed.
-
196
SMEs
, inn
ovat
ion
and
regi
ons:
desig
ning
pol
icie
s
The
typi
cal a
nd tr
aditi
onal
app
roac
h to
com
mun
icat
ion
in e
cono
mic
sfo
cuse
s on
mar
kets
whe
re p
rice
med
iate
s sup
ply
and
dem
and
whe
reas
, the
'ne
o-c
lass
ical
' gov
ernm
ent t
ypica
lly c
omm
unica
tes
powe
r bas
ed o
n a
hir
-ar
chic
alpo
sitio
n vi
s--
vis t
he e
cono
mic
age
nts t
hey
gove
rn. I
n ac
cord
ance
with
trad
ition
al m
arke
t-hie
rarc
hy d
icho
tom
ies,
the
typi
cal a
rgum
ent f
orgo
vern
ent i
nter
vent
ion
is wh
en m
arke
ts fa
il in
com
mun
icatio
n. E
ither
the
mar
ket o
r the
gov
ernm
ent w
ould
pro
vide
the
best
solu
tion.
In g
ener
al,
inte
ract
ive
com
mun
icat
ion
is no
t con
sider
ed to
be
of v
ital i
mpo
rtanc
e in
the
proc
ess
of fi
ding
and
reac
hing
sol
utio
ns, T
his
linea
r per
spec
tive
pre-
vai
led
even
bef
ore
it ha
d be
en a
pplie
d to
inno
vatio
n,W
hen
ever
ybod
y kn
ows i
n ad
vanc
e w
hat (
produ
cts, re
sourc
es, te
chno
lo-gi
es, c
apab
ilitie
s etc
.) are
being
talke
d abo
ut an
d eve
rybod
y wou
ld ag
ree on
its (p
resen
t and
futur
e) ec
onom
ic va
lue, th
e mark
et is
perfe
ctly a
ble to
com-
munic
ate
supp
ly an
d de
man
d, In
thes
e sit
uatio
ns th
ere
is no
nee
d fo
r int
er-
active communication.
Whe
ther
it is
the
'dem
ande
r' or
the
'supp
lier'
who
nam
es th
e pr
ice,
the
mar
ket w
il, in
a li
near
resp
onse
, com
e up
with
the
prop
er a
nswe
r. Fo
r the
exc
hang
e of
cer
tain
goo
ds o
r ser
vices
, the
pric
e m
aybe
the
only
aspe
ct th
at h
as to
be
com
mun
icate
d, H
owev
er, w
here
kno
wl-
edge
or i
nnov
atio
n is
conc
erne
d, th
e pr
ice
mec
hani
sm m
ay n
ot fu
nctio
nve
ry w
ell,
Follo
win
g th
e sa
me
logi
c fo
r pol
icy
deci
sion-
mak
ing,
a c
entra
l que
stion
for a
pol
icy-
mak
er is
: how
do
I rec
ogni
ze w
here
and
whe
n m
arke
ts fa
il, so
that
I kn
ow w
here
and
whe
n to
inte
rven
e? If
it is
per
fect
ly cle
ar to
pol
icy-
mak
ers w
here
mar
kets
fail,
and
it is
wid
ely
agre
ed u
pon
wha
t the
gov
erne
dre
gion
add
itiona
lly 'n
eeds
' and
'has
to o
ffer'
(more
spec
ificall
y, wh
at firm
s'n
eed'
from
thei
r reg
ion,
incl
udin
g go
vern
men
t, an
d w
hat t
hey
have
to o
ffer
thei
r reg
ion
and
its p
olicy
goa
ls), th
en th
ere is
no ne
ed fo
r inter
actio
n,Ev
eryt
hing
is c
lear
: the
re is
no
know
ledg
e le
ft to
be
codi
fied,
ther
e is
only
info
rmat
ion
to b
e pa
ssed
on.
Sin
ce in
tera
ctio
n is
costl
y in
term
s of t
ime
and
ener
gy, l
inea
r and
top-
dow
n co
mm
unic
atio
n is
likel
y to
be
mor
e ef
fcie
nt.
How
ever
, to
deal
with
the
unce
rtain
ties
atta
ched
to k
nowl
edge
and
inno
-v
atio
n (D
osi 1
988),
econ
omic
and p
olicy
agen
ts ma
y wan
t to co
mmun
icate
mo
re th
an p
rice
or a
utho
rity,
The
trad
ition
al c
once
pt o
f mar
kets
and
(state
) hier
archie
s with
their
anon
ymou
s, lin
ear a
nd fo
rmal
comm
unica
-tio
n, fa
ils to
inco
rpor
ate
thes
e br
oade
r inf
orm
atio
n ne
eds.
A re
ason
why
mar
kets
as c
o-or
dina
tion
and
com
mun
icat
ion
mec
hani
sms m
ay n
ot fu
nc-
tion
very
wel
l reg
ardi
ng in
nova
tion
is re
late
d to
the
unce
rtain
ties a
ttach
edto
pre
dict
ing
the
futu
re (C
owan
and F
oray 1
997),
The m
arket
may f
ail to
predi
ct t
he e
conomic value of new technologies, new products, new
reso
urc
es,
new
fim
s or
new
ent
repr
eneu
rial c
apab
ilitie
s. T
ypica
lly, t
hem
arke
t wil,
for i
nsta
nce,
not
be
able
to v
alue
a st
art-u
p fir
m, A
lthou
ghpo
licy-
mak
ers a
lso h
ave
diffc
ultie
s in
pred
ictin
g th
e fu
ture
, thi
s kin
d of
"'~
'':"
.' r'
" i
Tow
ards
a n
ew p
arad
igm
for i
nnov
atio
n po
licy?
197
market failure is a wid
ely accepted
justifi
cation
for p
ublic
inter
venti
on, F
orex
ampl
e, a
gen
eric
nat
iona
l pol
icy
tool
, lik
e a
tax-
redu
ctio
n sc
hem
e, se
ems
rele
vant
to 'p
rote
ct' t
hese
you
ng, n
ew e
ntre
pren
euria
l exp
erim
ents,
pro
vid-
ing
them
a c
hanc
e to
pro
ve th
emse
lves
and
to c
onvin
ce th
e m
arke
t (tha
t is,
cust
omer
s, b
ut a
lso fi
nanc
ial a
nd la
bour
mar
kets)
of th
eir po
tentia
l and
,m
ore
ov
er, to
con
vinc
e th
e go
vern
men
t of t
heir
pote
ntia
l con
tribu
tion
to th
ere
gion
and
its p
olic
y go
als,
The
sam
e ar
gum
ents
may
hol
d fo
r new
sect
ors
or
tech
nolo
gies
or a
you
ng re
gion
al c
luste
r of f
irms,
or e
ven
olde
r non
-in
nova
tive
firm
s tha
t wan
t to
and
are
tryin
g to
bec
ome
inno
vativ
e.O
ther
pla
ces
wher
e th
e m
arke
t obv
ious
ly fa
ils is
in c
omm
unica
ting
cert
ain
envi
ronm
enta
l and
soci
al c
osts
and
bene
fits,
If ec
onom
ic a
gent
s do
not t
ake
thes
e ki
nds o
f 'co
sts' i
nto
acco
unt,
gove
rnm
ents
may
wan
t to
inte
r-ven
e an
d ex
tend
the
boun
darie
s of t
he ra
tiona
lity
of th
e ag
ents
they
gov
ern,
e.g,
by
influ
enci
ng th
eir c
ost-b
enef
it ca
lcul
atio
ns w
ith e
nviro
nmen
tal t
axes
.Th
e jus
tificat
ion fo
r trad
itiona
l tech
nolog
y or R
&D po
licy h
as be
en pu
tfo
rth b
y A
rrow
, and
is b
ased
on
the
mac
ro-le
vel a
rgum
ent t
hat w
hen
soci
alef
fect
s are
take
n in
to a
ccou
nt, t
here
is u
nder
-inve
stmen
t in
R&D
, The
risk
and
unce
rtain
ty a
ttach
ed to
R&D
by
priva
te a
ctor
s ca
lls fo
r pub
lic in
ter-
ven
tion
beca
use,
at t
he m
acro
-leve
l, it
is co
nsid
ered
wor
thw
hile
to p
ublic
lyta
ke th
e ris
k fo
r the
sake
of s
ocie
ty, e
.g. b
y fin
anci
ng p
ublic
R&
D in
uni
-ver
sitie
s or,
agai
n, b
y in
fluen
cing
priv
ate,
mic
r-le
vel c
ost-b
enef
it ca
lcul
a-tio
ns w
ith ta
x de
duct
ions
or s
ubsid
ized
facil
ities,
The
idea
that
ther
e is
a ro
le fo
r pol
icy-m
aker
s, if
mar
kets
fail,
does
not
impl
y th
at p
olic
y-m
aker
s are
per
fect
, but
that
the
abov
e-m
entio
ned
gene
ral
or
stru
ctur
al m
arke
t fai
lure
s m
ay v
ery
well b
e ef
fect
ively
and
effc
ient
lyad
dres
sed
by g
ener
ic p
olic
y in
strum
ents,
des
igne
d an
d de
liver
ed a
t the
natio
nal p
olicy
leve
L. F
urth
er, t
o di
ffuse
info
rmat
ion
on n
eeds
and
sup
port,
linea
r com
mun
icat
ion
seem
s app
ropr
iate
, How
ever
, kno
wle
dge
diffe
rs fr
omin
form
atio
n, F
or in
stanc
e, d
istan
ce d
oes n
ot se
em to
be
a ba
rrier
to th
etr
ansm
issio
n of
info
rmat
ion,
but
in th
e tra
nsm
issio
n of
kno
wle
dge
it do
es,
The
impo
rtanc
e of
the
tacit
dim
ensio
n (P
olany
i 199
6), th
e info
rmal,
unco
difie
d an
d di
sem
bodi
ed a
spec
ts of
the
know
ledg
e co
ncer
ned,
bot
h at
the regional
leve
l and
for S
MEs
, und
ersc
ores
the
loca
lized
nat
ure
of k
now
l-edge spil
over
s (S
torpe
r 199
7), T
he lin
ear c
ommu
nicati
on ar
gume
nts us
ingth
e ol
d m
arke
t-hie
rarc
hy a
ppro
ache
s fai
l to
addr
ess t
his,
Prox
imity
mat
ters
to knowledge spil
over
s an
d in
tera
ctio
n be
twee
n re
gion
al a
gent
s (bo
thpr
ivat
e an
d pu
blic
) matt
ers in
deali
ng w
ith th
e unc
ertain
ties a
ttach
ed to
inno
vatio
n pr
oces
ses i
n re
gion
s and
SM
Es, T
he v
arie
ty o
f situ
atio
nsre
gard
ing
inno
vatio
n, S
MEs
and
regi
ons
call f
or c
omm
unica
tive
inte
rac-
tion
(Nau
welae
rs an
d Morg
an 19
99), L
ocal
discu
ssion
s, pri
vate
and
publ
ic-p
rivat
e on
es, c
an sh
ed m
ore
light
on
the
unce
rtain
ty is
sues
,Ex
chan
ging
taci
t visi
ons,
conv
ergi
ng id
eas a
nd c
o-or
dina
ting
inve
stmen
t
-
deci
sions
(pub
lic, p
rivate
and p
ublic
-priva
te on
es) m
ay pr
ovide
the k
nowl
-ed
ge b
ase
for a
n in
nova
tion
strat
egy
conc
erni
ng S
MEs
and
thei
r reg
ions
(Lun
dvall
I996),
Espe
cially
con
cern
ing
inno
vatio
n pr
oces
ses
in re
gion
s an
d SM
Es, t
heco
nce
pt o
f sys
tem
s (or
netw
orks o
r clus
ters)
seems
a mo
re rea
listic
mod
elto
follo
w th
an th
e tra
ditio
nal c
once
pts o
f mar
kets
and
hier
arch
ies (
Grab
her
1993
a), A
regio
nal in
nova
tion s
ystem
s app
roach
stres
ses th
e imp
ortan
ce of
the
diffu
sion
of k
now
ledg
e an
d in
tera
ctiv
e le
arni
ng w
ithin
the
regi
on a
s asy
stem
(Morg
an 19
97). T
he no
n-ano
nymo
us re
lation
s, the
comp
lemen
tar-
ity o
f act
iviti
es, a
nd th
e hi
storic
al se
tting
are
stre
ssed
in sp
ecify
ing
the
regi
onal
con
text
and
the
prof
ile o
f the
regi
on's
SMEs
. The
se g
ive
the
regi
onal
syste
m it
s ide
ntity
, so
to sp
eak
(Feld
man 1
994),
Furth
er, in
orde
rto
find
out
and
arti
cula
te w
hat a
par
ticul
ar re
gion
or f
irm n
eeds
, or w
hat i
sla
ckin
g co
ncer
ning
inno
vatio
n, re
gion
al p
roxi
mity
and
com
mun
icat
ive
inte
ract
ion
are
appr
opria
te to
add
ress
the
taci
t and
late
nt a
spec
ts of
such
nee
ds (L
anda
baso
1997
), Prov
iding
R&D
tax r
educ
tion o
r sub
sidies
may
no
t be
enou
gh to
cha
nge
the
ratio
nality
(nor
its bo
unda
ries)
of SM
Esre
gard
ing
inno
vatio
n pr
oces
ses,
Tho
se a
rgum
ents
und
erpi
n th
e gr
owin
gim
porta
nce
take
n by
clu
ster p
olic
ies,
as th
e co
ncep
t see
ms t
o fit
qui
te w
ell
the
pres
crip
tions
of a
n in
tera
ctiv
e vi
ew o
n in
nova
tion
(Nau
welae
rs 20
01),
8.3
LESS
ONS FROM EVALUATIN
G 40
INN
OVAT
ION
POLI
CY T
OO
LS IN
11
EURO
PEA
N R
EGIO
NS
Hav
ing
disc
usse
d th
e ra
tiona
le fo
r pol
icy
inte
rven
tion
in in
nova
tion,
this
sect
ion
deal
s with
the
cont
ent o
f suc
h po
licie
s, pr
opos
ing
gene
ral p
rinci
ples
for t
heir
desig
n an
d im
plem
enta
tion
(secti
on 8,
3,1) a
nd ob
servin
g how
these
prin
cipl
es c
ompa
re w
ith p
ract
ice
in th
e ca
se-s
tudy
regi
ons (
sectio
n 8.3,
2),
8,3,1 Basic Prin
ciples for Innovation Policies
Bui
ldin
g on
the
conc
eptu
al a
nd e
mpi
rical
find
ings
of t
he S
MEP
OL
proje
ct,th
is an
alys
is pu
ts fo
rth th
e fo
llow
ing
prop
ositi
on: s
ince
the
mai
n di
stin-
guish
ing
feat
ures
of t
he m
ajority
of SM
Es, w
ith re
gard
to the
inno
vatio
npr
oces
s, ar
e th
at th
ey h
ave
a lim
ited
reso
urce
bas
e, th
ey n
eed
exte
rnal
orie
n-ta
tion
to u
nder
stan
d an
d (pr
o-acti
vely)
adap
t to th
eir en
viron
ment,
and
they
eng
age
in in
nova
tion
in a
n in
form
al m
ode,
ther
efor
e th
e m
ain
role
for
inno
vatio
n po
licy,
whi
ch a
ims t
o in
crea
se th
e ca
paci
ty o
f a re
gion
and
the
capa
bilit
ies o
f its
SMEs
to in
nova
te, i
s to
foste
r int
erac
tive
lear
ning
with
inth
e fir
ms a
nd w
ithin
the
regi
on. T
his c
alls
for a
n in
tera
ctiv
e m
ode
of p
olic
yin
terv
entio
n.
i
"l."
,,~.-.,,,.- -:;
Of c
ours
e, th
is sta
tem
ent s
tand
s as q
uite
a b
old
gene
raliz
atio
n of
bot
hSM
Es' c
hara
cter
istic
s and
pol
icy
chal
leng
e, S
ome
SMEs
hav
e qu
ite a
nad
vanc
ed k
now
ledg
e ba
se (e
,g, ne
w tec
hnolo
gy-ba
sed fi
rms),
othe
rs ha
vede
velo
ped
exce
llent
inno
vatio
n m
anag
emen
t cap
abili
ties a
nd e
xplic
it in
no-
vat
ion
strat
egie
s, an
d so
me
firm
s in
nich
es re
ally
shap
e th
eir b
usin
ess e
nvi-
ronm
ent r
athe
r tha
n be
ing
depe
nden
t on
it. A
lso, t
here
are
pro
blem
s of
anoth
er n
atur
e w
hich
kee
p SM
Es fr
om in
nova
ting,
such
as t
he n
eed
for r
iskfin
ancin
glO
or t
he n
eces
sity
to a
cces
s st
ate-
of-th
e-ar
t tec
hnol
ogy,
How
ever
,.th
e m
eani
ng o
f thi
s pro
posa
l is t
o po
int t
o ne
w o
rient
atio
ns o
f pol
icie
s to
addr
ess t
he k
ey n
eeds
of t
he m
ajority
of SM
Es in
most
regio
ns, w
hich a
renot properly taken into account in traditional policy approaches, This does
not imply that
lin
ear
appr
oach
es a
nd t
ools
are
not
rel
evan
t an
y mo
re,
but
rath
er, i
t put
s the
latte
r in
pers
pect
ive,
It m
eans
that
pro
vidi
ng re
sour
ces t
oin
nova
te (f
inanc
e, tec
hnolo
gy) i
s not
suffc
ient if
the f
irms d
o not
posse
ss the
man
ager
ial a
nd o
rgan
izat
iona
l abi
litie
s to
deal
with
the
inno
vativ
e pr
oces
s(C
obbe
nhag
en 19
99), T
he vi
ew of
an 'a
utoma
tic' fl
ow of
tech
nolog
ical
resources thr
ough
the
fir
m, o
r fr
om t
he R
&D s
ecto
r in
to t
he f
i, i
s ar
gued
against here,
whi
le i
ncre
ased
att
enti
on i
s gi
ven
to t
he i
nnov
atio
n pr
oces
s
(with
in an
d arou
nd th
e firm
) itse
lf, in
a bro
ader
sense
(Nau
welae
rs 20
00),
Nev
erth
eles
s, fo
sterin
g in
tera
ctiv
e le
arni
ng, a
s a p
olic
y go
al, s
houl
d no
tbe
read
in a
dog
mat
ic e
galit
aria
n se
nse,
lim
iting
the
view
to th
e de
velo
pmen
to
f 'Th
ird-It
aly'
type
of h
oriz
onta
l net
wor
king
and
rela
tions
hips
as a
n id
eal
way
to fo
ster t
hat p
roce
ss, H
iera
rchi
cal r
elat
ions
hips
mig
ht b
e ve
ry re
leva
ntw
ays
to a
chie
ve s
uch
an o
bjecti
ve to
o, de
pend
ing on
the e
nviro
nmen
t. As
deve
lope
d in
sect
ion
8,2,
the
role
of g
eogr
aphi
cal p
roxi
mity
mig
ht b
e im
por-
tant to nurture learning relationships, but it is not a necessary ingredient
ever
ywhe
re. T
he p
oint
her
e is
that
bei
ng o
pen
to o
utsid
e so
urce
s of k
now
l-ed
ge, a
nd h
avin
g th
e ca
paci
ty to
inte
grat
e th
ese
with
inte
rnal
kno
wle
dge
inthe firm in a
con
tinu
ous
mode
, is
key
to
the
inno
vati
on p
roce
ss,
Such
an
obje
ctive
has i
mplic
ation
s both
on th
e sup
ply si
de (o
utside
resou
rces s
hould
exist
, be
orga
nize
d an
d ac
cess
ible
to fi
rms)
and o
n the
dema
nd si
de (t
hefir
m's
abso
rptio
n ca
pacit
y an
d its
wilin
gnes
s to
ent
erta
in lin
ks w
ith th
eouts
ide
shou
ld b
e en
hanc
ed), D
evelo
ping s
trateg
ic ca
pabil
ities,
at the
firm,
org
aniz
atio
n an
d po
licy
leve
ls, li
es a
t the
hea
rt of
this
chal
leng
e,Th
e id
ea o
f an
inte
ract
ive
mod
e of
pol
icy
impl
emen
tatio
n m
eans
not
on
ly th
at s
ervic
es s
houl
d be
bot
h de
signe
d an
d de
liver
ed in
co-
oper
atio
nw
ith th
e be
nefic
iarie
s, bu
t also
that
the
polic
y im
plem
ente
rs c
an b
e pa
rtner
sin
the
supp
orte
d ac
tion
or p
rojec
t, so t
hat le
arning
can h
appe
n both
way
s- be
twee
n po
licy
impl
emen
ters
and
firm
s, th
at is
wha
t we
calle
d 'co
mm
uni-
cativ
e in
tera
ctio
n' in
sec
tion
8.2
abov
e. In
this
appr
oach
, the
tacit
nat
ure
ofin
nova
tion
in S
MEs
is b
ette
r add
ress
ed th
an in
mor
e hi
erar
chica
l pol
icym
ode
s.
-
200
SMEs
, inn
ovat
ion
and
regi
ons:
desig
ning
pol
icie
s
8,3,2 Application of the Basic Principles
With
the
abov
e pr
opos
al a
s a
theo
retic
al c
halle
nge
for p
olicy
, how
doe
s it
com
pare
with
pra
ctic
e, a
s exp
erie
nced
in th
e re
gion
s cov
ered
by
the
SMEP
OL
study
? Th
e ho
rizon
tal o
verv
iew
and
com
paris
on o
f the
ana
lyse
sof 4
0 po
licy
tool
s in
11 E
urop
ean
regi
ons s
how
s tha
t suc
h a
chal
leng
e is
hard
ly m
et b
y th
e ac
tual
pol
icies
. Bot
h th
e co
nten
t and
the
mod
es o
f del
iv-er
y of
pol
icie
s are
in m
ost c
ases
not
inte
ract
ive
and
fit b
ette
r with
a m
arke
t-hi
erar
chy
than
a sy
stem
app
roac
h, M
ore
prec
isely
, the
SM
EPO
L an
alys
esde
liver
the
follo
win
g pi
ctur
e:
1. T
he g
ener
al s
ituat
ion
is th
at lin
ear t
ools
are
dom
inat
ing
the
polic
ysc
ene, bu
t tha
t eve
rywh
ere
an e
volu
tion
towa
rds
mor
e in
tera
ctive
supp
ort i
s vis
ible
, The
follo
wing
quo
tes
from
the
natio
nal s
tudi
es ilu
s-tr
ate
this
poin
t,
In B
elgi
um: '
One
can
ana
lyse
the
actu
al st
ate
of th
e em
ergi
ng W
allo
on in
no-
vat
ion
polic
y as
follo
ws:
this
polic
y is
in fa
ct fo
unde
d on
two
diffe
rent
par
-adigms - broadly-speaking the linear and the interactive views
on
inno
vatio
n - t
he fo
rmer
bei
ng e
mbo
died
in th
e "m
ains
tream
" pol
icy w
hile
the
latte
r is t
rans
late
d in
the
"frin
ge",
an u
narti
cula
ted
and
rath
er fu
zzy
set
of i
nitia
tives
, tria
l-and
-erro
rs e
fforts
, ins
pire
d by
the
"loca
lized
ext
erna
l-iti
es" a
ppro
ach
and
muc
h le
ss lin
ear i
n sc
ope'
(Nau
welae
rs et
al. 19
99),
In A
ustri
a: 'T
he A
ustri
an in
nova
tion
supp
ort s
yste
m is
dom
inat
ed b
y a
few
fund
ing
orga
niza
tions
, mai
nly
offe
ring
dire
ct su
ppor
t lik
e gr
ants
and
loan
s with
in th
e fra
mew
ork
of se
vera
l pro
gram
mes
, Ins
titut
ions
and
pro
-gr
amm
es a
re o
rgan
ized
alon
g th
e lin
ear i
nnov
atio
n m
odeL
. (How
ever)
There
are
serio
us d
oubt
s abo
ut th
e ef
fcie
ncy
of tr
aditi
onal
dire
ct su
ppor
t for
R&
D a
nd in
nova
tion'
(Kau
fman
n and
Td
tling 1
999).
How
ever
in th
e N
ethe
rland
s: 'T
he "i
nter
activ
e" c
onte
nt o
f Lim
burg
'sin
nova
tion
polic
y is
larg
ely
due
to th
e RT
P Li
mbu
rg in
itiativ
e, T
he R
TPfra
mew
ork
and
the
way
Lim
burg
has
impl
emen
ted
it ha
s led
to a
n ex
tens
ion
of t
he "i
nter
activ
e" p
olic
y, "I
nter
activ
e" in
strum
ents
are
not "
deliv
ered
" on
pape
r at t
he fr
ont d
oor,
but a
re m
ainl
y im
plem
ente
d in
per
sona
l com
mun
i-cative interaction with the actors involved. The regional intermediates
Synt
ens
and
LlO
F pl
aya
vital
role
in th
e im
plem
enta
tion
of L
imbu
rg's
"in
tera
ctiv
e" p
olic
y' (N
auwe
laers
et al.
1999
),
2. A
set
of
poli
cy i
nstr
umen
ts,
in g
ener
al,
does not form a system: lack of
co-o
rdin
atio
n an
d of
syne
rgie
s am
ong
tool
s, or
'lac
k of
ext
erna
l coh
er-
ence
' in
the
wor
ds o
f Cha
pter
7, i
s the
rule
.
In It
aly:
'It s
eem
s tha
t the
re is
a lo
t of o
verla
ppin
g in
miss
ions
of d
iffer
ent
insti
tutio
ns w
orki
ng w
ithin
the
Apu
lia re
gion
, with
a la
ck o
f cap
abili
ty o
fco
-ord
inat
ion
for w
hat c
once
rns
the
Apul
ia R
egio
n in
stitu
tion'
(Garo
fo1i
1999
a),
'ij
Tow
ards
a n
ew p
arad
igm
for i
nnov
atio
n po
licy?
201
In D
enm
ark:
'Non
e of
the
acto
rs h
ave
mad
e str
ateg
y- a
nd a
ctio
n-or
ient
edlin
ks b
etwe
en th
e fo
rthco
min
g kn
owle
dge-
base
d ec
onom
y an
d th
e at
tem
ptto
form
ulat
e a
cohe
rent
lear
ning
and
inno
vatio
n pr
ogra
mm
e, M
ost i
nitia
tives
are
of a
sing
le p
rogr
amm
e na
ture
. A st
imul
atin
g str
ateg
y try
ing
to in
tegr
ate
and
co-o
rdin
ate
the
dive
rse
inno
vatio
n sc
hem
es is
lack
ing'
(Chri
stens
en et
al.
1999
).
3, F
ew p
olicy
inst
rum
ents
are
des
igne
d an
d im
plem
ente
d in
an
user
-ori-
ente
d m
ode,
taki
ng b
oth
expr
esse
d an
d la
tent
nee
ds o
f use
rs in
toac
cou
nt:
the
majo
rity of
tools
are d
evelo
ped i
n a re
active
, top-d
own
fash
ion
and
at b
est c
onsid
er fi
rms'
need
s ex
pres
sed
(but n
ot lat
ent),
How
ever
, in
case
s whe
re 'v
oice
' of u
sers
(i,e,
firm
s' exp
ressed
, or e
ven
late
nt, n
eeds
) is t
aken
into
acco
unt, t
he to
ols be
come
muc
h more
user-
orie
nted
.
In It
aly:
'Tec
nopo
lis re
pres
ents
a ty
pica
l mod
el o
f tec
hnol
ogic
al p
ark
base
don s
upp
ly sid
e, s
tarti
ng fr
om th
e ex
isten
ce (a
nd re
dund
ancy
) of c
ompe
tence
s(. .
,), al
ways
postp
oning
the m
omen
t of m
onito
ring t
he po
tentia
l nee
ds of
loca
l (or
exter
nal)
firms
to fa
cilita
te int
eracti
on be
twee
n rese
arch c
entre
and
eco
no
mic
act
iviti
es' (G
arofol
i 199
9),H
owev
er in
Spa
in: 'L
ocal
ent
repr
eneu
rs b
elon
g to
the
"Con
sejo
Rec
tor"
, the
gov
erni
ng b
ody
of th
e Te
chno
logi
cal I
nstit
utes
, so
that
they
parti
cipat
e in
the
desig
n of
act
ivitie
s an
d po
licie
s (. .
.) Th
e Ins
titutes
'st
rong
poi
nts a
re th
eir n
earn
ess t
o fir
ms,
thei
r con
nect
ions
to o
ther
inte
r-natio
nal c
ente
rs o
f thi
s ty
pe a
nd th
e kn
owle
dge
trans
ferre
d to
the
firm
sth
roug
h th
em (.
. ,) T
he T
echn
ologic
al Ins
titutes
show
a hig
h deg
ree of
effectivene
ss in adapting to innovation support needs as expressed
by th
ee
ntre
pren
eurs
of t
he S
MEs
in th
e fo
ur s
ecto
rs s
tudi
ed' (V
zqu
ez- B
arque
roe
t al.
1999
).
4, P
olic
y le
arni
ng is
stil
rare
and
und
erde
velo
ped
(Nau
welae
rs 19
97), I
fit
occu
rs a
t the
leve
l of o
rgan
izat
ions
, it t
akes
pla
ce in
an
occa
siona
l,not routinized way, Intense policy-learning practices may, however,
resu
lt in
und
esira
ble
vola
tility
in th
e po
licy
syste
m. A
t the
oth
erex
trem
e, it
seem
s unju
stifie
d to m
aintai
n a ra
nge o
f tools
that
are vi
r-tu
ally
not
use
d by
firm
s. Th
e ch
alle
nge
lies i
n fin
e-tu
ning
the
polic
yto
ols w
ithou
t let
ting
firm
s suf
fer f
rom
the
insta
bilit
y of
the
syste
m.
This
trade
-off
betw
een
resp
onsiv
enes
s and
org
aniz
atio
nal c
oher
ence
has b
een
disc
usse
d at
leng
th in
Cha
pter
7,
In A
ustri
a: 'M
ost s
uppo
rt in
strum
ents
are
not e
valu
ated
syste
mat
ical
ly. O
fco
urs
e, th
ere
is an
ong
oing
lear
ning
pro
cess
in th
e in
stitu
tions
abo
ut th
eef
fect
s of s
uppo
rt ac
tiviti
es, a
bout
pro
blem
s and
nee
ds o
f firm
s reg
ardi
ngth
eir i
nnov
atio
n pr
oces
ses.
But i
t is b
ased
on
pers
onal
exp
erie
nce
and
info
r-m
atio
n ex
chan
ge, t
he le
arni
ng p
roce
ss is
not
insti
tutio
naliz
ed o
r rou
tinel
yorg
aniz
ed' (K
aufm
ann a
nd T
dtlin
g 199
9),
-
How
ever
in th
e N
ethe
rland
s: 'N
atio
nal p
olic
y-m
aker
s hav
e le
arne
d fro
mse
ver
al re
gion
al in
nova
tion
polic
y in
itiat
ives
and
inte
grat
ed th
em in
to th
en
atio
nal i
nnov
atio
n po
licy,
The
ana
lyse
d K
IM -
and
KIC
- sc
hem
es a
rego
od e
xam
ples
from
Lim
burg
of t
his b
otto
m-u
p po
licy
lear
ning
pro
cess
'(N
auwe
laers
et al.
1999
),H
owev
er in
Nor
way
: 'Po
licy
lear
ning
take
s pla
ce fr
om e
valu
atio
ns in
the
supp
ort s
yste
m, T
hus,
TEFT
and
NT
have
bee
n ch
ange
d du
ring
thei
r "lif
e",
partl
y as
a re
spon
se to
kno
wle
dge
acqu
ired
thro
ugh
eval
uatio
ns. T
EFT
also
carr
ied
out m
onito
ring
rese
arch
, whi
ch is
impl
emen
ted
in th
e ne
w R
EGIN
Npr
ogra
mm
e to
o, R
USH,
bei
ng a
n ex
perim
enta
l pro
gram
me,
in p
artic
ular
,w
ould
nee
d pr
oced
ures
for s
yste
mat
ic ev
alua
tions
and
lear
ning
, how
ever
lack
ing
in th
is ca
se' (I
saksen
et al
. 199
9 cha
pter 4
),
5. T
here
is a
n em
ergi
ng n
ew te
nden
cy o
f dev
elop
ing
'over
all s
chem
es',
gath
erin
g in
to a
sing
le p
rogr
amm
e, in
strum
ent,
or o
rgan
izat
ion
a se
t of
tool
s tha
t tra
ditio
nally
are
pro
pose
d se
para
tely
to c
ompa
nies
, Thi
sap
proa
ch is
pro
misi
ng in
that
it fi
ts w
ell w
ith th
e gl
obal
per
cept
ion
ofin
nova
tion
with
in fi
rms:
it im
ping
es o
n al
l act
iviti
es o
f the
firm
,
In th
e N
ethe
rland
s: 'T
he 1
8 Sy
nten
s org
aniz
atio
ns a
re th
e m
ost i
mpo
rtant
inte
rmed
iary
org
aniz
atio
ns in
the
Net
herla
nds (
and t
hus L
imbu
rg) fo
rin
nova
tion'
pol
icy a
ddre
ssed
at S
MEs
. The
role
of t
he IC
s gr
adua
llych
ange
d fro
m b
ringi
ng te
chno
logy
to re
gion
al S
MEs
(tec
hnolo
gy pu
sh) t
oan
inte
rmed
iate
role
of "
brok
er",
and
mor
e re
cent
ly it
fulfi
ls th
e ro
le o
f"o
rgan
izer
, ani
mat
or o
r coa
ch".
The
"new
" org
aniz
atio
ns a
re m
ore
able
tode
liver
"all-
roun
d" se
rvic
e an
d su
ppor
t to
SMEs
and
they
go
by th
e ne
wn
ame
of "
Synt
ens:
an in
nova
tion
netw
ork
for e
ntre
pren
eurs
'" (N
auwe
laers
et al.
199
9),
Exam
ple
from
Nor
way
: 'N
T pr
ovid
es a
lso a
mor
e al
l-rou
nd su
ppor
t for
inno
vatio
n th
an th
e ot
her p
rogr
amm
es th
at c
once
ntra
te o
n a
singl
e co
mpo
-n
en
t in
the
inno
vatio
n sy
stem
. . .
NT fo
cuse
s on
firm
's in
nova
tion
proje
cts,
and
tailo
r-mad
e su
ppor
t to
firm
s' sp
ecifi
c ne
eds,
both
tech
nolo
gica
l and
non-t
echn
olog
ical
supp
ort'
(Isak
sen et
al. 1
999 c
hapte
r 4)
6. T
he m
ajority
of in
strum
ents
aim at
impro
ving o
r faci
litatin
g exis
ting
inno
vatio
n pr
ojects
, rathe
r than
indu
cing n
ew in
nova
tion p
ractic
es,Pr
ovid
ing
gran
ts fo
r R&
D, f
or e
xam
ple,
seem
s to
indu
ce a
rath
ersm
all i
ncre
men
tal b
ehav
iour
al e
ffect
(in t
erms o
f cha
nging
strat
egy,
man
agem
ent o
r cul
ture
rega
rdin
g in
nova
tion,
co-
oper
atio
n an
d in
ter-
activ
e le
arni
ng). T
heref
ore, th
e valu
e-add
ed of
such
polic
y ins
tru-
me
nts
, see
n fro
m a
regi
onal
per
spec
tive,
is q
uest
iona
ble.
It fo
llows
from
this
that
the
ques
tion
of p
enet
ratio
n ra
te o
f the
tool
s in
the
busi-
ness
sect
or is
not
alw
ays
addr
esse
d in
pol
icy s
ettin
gs, F
or e
xam
ple,
whe
re a
'pic
king
-the-
win
ner'
appr
oach
is ta
ken,
a fo
cus o
n th
e vi
sibil-
ity o
f res
ults
may
act
to th
e de
trim
ent o
f the
val
ue-a
dded
of t
hesc
hem
e.
..1
In th
e U
K: '
Ther
e is
a m
ismat
ch b
etw
een
the
char
acte
ristic
s of e
ntre
pren
-eu
rs a
nd
SMEs
in th
e Le
e V
alle
y ar
ea, .
, an
d th
e el
igib
ility
crit
eria
for t
he(S
MAR
T) sc
heme
. Its c
ompe
titive
natur
e, us
ing na
tiona
l asse
ssmen
t crit
e-ria
, whi
ch a
re w
eigh
ted
towa
rds
new
to th
e in
dust
ry in
nova
tions
, has
mea
ntth
at re
lativ
ely
few
pro
jects
from
withi
n the
Lee V
alley
have
quali
fied,
As a
resu
lt, th
e SM
ART
sche
me
is no
t mak
ing
muc
h co
ntrib
utio
n to
raisi
ng th
ele
vel o
f inn
ovat
ion
in S
MEs
in th
is ar
ea' (S
mallb
one e
t al. 1
999),
In A
ustri
a: 'I
n ge
nera
l, fin
anci
al su
ppor
t see
ms t
o be
act
ually
"ove
r-effe
ctive
" (, ,
,) This
is es
pecia
lly ob
vious
in th
e cas
e of th
e more
inno
vativ
eSM
Es, T
his r
aise
s the
que
stion
if th
ere
is a
signi
fican
t sha
re o
f the
app
lied
fund
s los
t to
firm
s and
pro
jects,
whic
h do n
ot rea
lly ne
ed th
em, b
ut tak
eth
em a
long
as a
wel
com
e ad
ditio
nal s
ourc
e of
fund
ing.
A sp
ecia
l pro
blem
of t
he d
irect
supp
ort p
rogr
amm
es se
ems t
o be
the
emer
genc
e of
long
-term
stab
le re
latio
ns to
a s
pecia
l clie
ntel
e co
nsist
ing
of w
ell-k
nown
inno
vativ
efir
ms'
(Kau
fman
n and
Td
tling 1
999),
7, Very often, too
ls designed at regional
leve
l wor
k un
der a
clo
sed
visio
nof t
he re
leva
nt so
urce
s of k
now
ledg
e us
eful
for f
irms,
as th
e bo
unda
r-ie
s of t
he sy
stem
are
def
ined
in a
dmin
istra
tive
term
s, If
tool
s wou
ld b
em
ore
use
r-orie
nted
, the
re is
no
need
for s
uch
a re
stric
ted
view,
In B
elgi
um: '
Mos
t of t
he "f
ringe
" ini
tiativ
es w
ork
unde
r irre
leva
nt g
eo-
graphical limits,.
of a
n ad
min
istra
tive
natu
re, a
nd im
pose
d by
the
sour
ces o
fpu
blic
fund
ing:
pro
vinc
ial l
imits
, Obje
ctive
1 or
2 zon
es, (.
. .) w
hich d
o not
necessarily correspond with the natural areas of actions of the targeted
firm
s' (N
auwe
laers
et al.
1999
),In
Den
mar
k: 'T
he n
atio
nal/i
nter
natio
nal c
lient
issu
e te
nds t
o ov
er-
shad
ow th
e iss
ue o
f a re
gion
alize
d te
chno
logi
cal s
ervic
e sy
stem
, Mos
tre
spon
dent
s app
roac
hed
tend
to d
isreg
ard
the
regi
onal
issu
e as
a re
leva
ntiss
ue w
ith th
e ar
gum
ent t
hat t
he se
rvic
e un
its w
il be
too
smal
l, If
ever
yre
gion
is g
oing
to h
ave
a se
rvic
e ce
ntre
, the
n th
e G
TS sy
stem
wil
lose
eco
n-om
ies
of s
cale
as
well a
s of
sco
pe' (C
hriste
nsen
et al
. 199
9).
8. O
vera
ll,
there is an uneven degree of policy concern, among the five
follo
win
g in
nova
tion-
supp
ort n
eeds
repo
rted
by S
MEs
:
. Fin
ance
/ris
k sh
arin
g. Techn
olog
y/te
chni
cal
know
-how
. Qu
alif
icat
ions
/per
sonn
el. Marke
t ac
cess
/inf
orma
tion
. Ti
me
cons
train
ts/O
rgan
izatio
n/St
rate
gic
capa
biliti
es,
The
lack
of '
mar
ket o
rient
atio
n' of
the
polic
y to
ols,
or th
eirla
ck o
f foc
uson .th
e co
mm
erci
aliz
atio
n as
pect
s of i
nnov
atio
n, a
re p
artic
ular
ly e
vide
nt,
In B
elgi
um: 'T
here
is a
nee
d to
rein
forc
e fu
rther
the
hum
an s
kils
com
po-
nent of
inno
vati
on.
The
take
-up
of e
xist
ing
huma
n re
sour
ces
sche
mes
is
-
204
SMEs
, inn
ovat
ion
and
regi
ons:
desig
ning
pol
icie
s
quan
titat
ivel
y lim
ited,
so th
ere
is a
need
to a
lso u
pgra
de e
xter
nalis
atio
nca
paci
ties o
f firm
s to
othe
r sou
rces
than
uni
vers
ities
or k
now
ledg
e so
urce
insti
tutio
ns, t
o fa
vour
bet
ter c
omm
erci
al c
apac
ities
with
in th
e fir
m, a
nd to
supp
ort s
trate
gic
capa
citie
s fo
r SM
E m
anag
ers
on a
wid
er s
cale
, int
rodu
c-in
g m
ore
inno
vatio
n m
anag
emen
t too
ls an
d cr
eativ
e th
inkin
g in
SM
Es(N
auwe
laers
et al.
1999
).H
owev
er in
the
UK
: 'Th
e em
phas
is of
BIC
s is o
n th
e co
mm
erci
alisa
tion
ofin
nova
tive
idea
s. In
this
resp
ect,
BI C
s ai
m to
pro
vide
a co
mpr
ehen
sive
pack
age
of s
uppo
rt fo
r inn
ovat
ive
new
ven
ture
s and
exi
sting
pro
jects.
In em
phasi
sing
the
com
mer
cial
app
licat
ion
of in
nova
tion,
BIC
s also
aim
to a
ddre
ss th
e w
eak-
nes
s w
hich
has
bee
n co
nsist
ently
iden
tifie
d in
smal
l tec
hnol
ogy
base
d fir
ms,
ofan
over
emph
asis
on te
chni
cal d
evel
opm
ent a
t the
exp
ense
of m
arke
ting
and
gene
ral m
anag
emen
t skil
ls' (S
mallb
one e
t al. 1
999),
8.4.
STR
ENG
THS,
WEA
KNES
SES
AND
WAY
S TO
IMPR
OV
E IN
NO
VA
TIO
N P
OLI
CYIN
STRU
MEN
TS
The
pre
cedi
ng s
ecti
on d
rew
hori
zont
al c
oncl
usio
ns f
rom
the
anal
yses
carried out on inn
ovat
ion
poli
cy t
ools
in
11 E
urop
ean
regi
ons,
Bro
adly
spea
king
, the
mes
sage
was
that
the
gene
ral p
rinci
ples
for s
ound
inno
vatio
npo
licie
s wer
e no
t met
in m
ost o
f the
cas
es st
udie
d. In
this
sect
ion,
we
try to
go fu
rther
by
aski
ng th
e fo
llow
ing
ques
tion:
how
cou
ld th
e to
ols s
tudi
ed,
take
n in
divi
dual
ly, b
e al
tere
d so
as t
o ge
t clo
ser t
o th
ese
prin
cipl
es?
In C
hapt
er 6
, the
inno
vatio
n po
licy
instr
umen
ts ha
ve b
een
clas
sifie
d,acc
ord
ing
to th
eir n
atur
e, u
nder
five
type
s, re
flect
ing
the
diffe
rent
goa
ls an
dta
rget
s of t
hese
pol
icy
instr
umen
ts. W
e us
e th
is ty
polo
gy fo
r our
refle
ctio
n:
1, D
irect
supp
ort s
chem
es fo
r R&
D a
nd in
nova
tion
proje
cts;
2, T
echn
ical
personnel introduction schemes;
3, T
echn
olog
y ce
ntre
s an
d sc
hem
es fo
ster
ing
tech
nolo
gica
l diff
usio
n to
SMEs
;4.
Mobility sche
mes
for
rese
arch
ers;
5, Innovation Br
okers and innovation advisers,
For e
ach
-cat
egor
y, w
e lis
t the
rele
vant
sche
mes
stud
ied
in S
MEP
OL,
we
prop
ose
a su
mm
ariz
ed v
iew
on
the
mai
n ch
alle
nges
to b
e m
et b
y th
ese
sche
mes
, and
we
indi
cate
pos
sible
goo
d-pr
actic
e le
sson
s to
be le
arne
dacross instrument
s, T
he r
eade
r is
ref
erre
d to C
hapt
er 5
for
a d
etai
led
desc
riptio
n of
eac
h in
strum
ent a
nd to
Cha
pter
6 fo
r the
resu
lts o
f eac
hin
strum
ent's
eva
luat
ion,
The
dire
ctio
ns p
ropo
sed
belo
w a
re se
en a
s bas
esfor practice-ori
ented benchmarking exercises
inv
olvi
ng p
olic
y-ma
kers
them
selv
es, a
nd, p
ossib
ly, b
enef
iciar
ies.
"~
'
~ To
war
ds a
new
par
adig
