
André SpithovenGhent University | UGhent
André Spithoven
PhD in Applied Economics
About
90
Publications
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Introduction
André Spithoven likes to publish on R&D and innovation data within a regional context. He is interested in various topics like technology transfer intermediaries, open innovation, spatial organisation of R&D and innovation, and R&D employees. I'm always willing to collaborate with other scholars and policy advisors on the thrilling domain of innovation studies.
Additional affiliations
October 2014 - present
October 2014 - November 2019
October 2014 - November 2018
Publications
Publications (90)
The COVID-19 pandemic urged policymakers to promote remote work. We showcase the impacts of remote working for the EU administrations in Brussels. Based on meticulous data collection and using an input–output multiplier approach, the paper calculates four scenarios on the socio-economic consequences of value-added and employment for Brussels and it...
Research on Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8) promotes sustained economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work. This paper presents a complementary approach to standard systematic literature reviews and monitors the intended ex-ante research efforts on SDG 8. We introduce a large-scale research project analysis framework to...
We examine the behavioural additionality effects of a wage subsidy in the form of a tax cut on R&D personnel's wages in a population of universities. How does university management use this wage subsidy? The wage subsidy is welcomed by universities as additional slack resources which are free to be used by university management. Its use depends on...
Nous analysons l’ampleur, la croissance et la répartition spatiale de l’emploi à forte intensité de connaissances dans la région de Bruxelles-Capitale et dans l’agglomération bruxelloise au sens large, et les comparons à celles observées dans les entités géographiques voisines. Nous en examinons l’impact sur l’emploi total, au moyen d’une analyse é...
Nous analysons l’ampleur, la croissance et la répartition spatiale de l’emploi à forte intensité de connaissances dans la région de Bruxelles-Capitale et dans l’agglomération bruxelloise au sens large, et les comparons à celles observées dans les entités géographiques voisines. Nous en examinons l’impact sur l’emploi total, au moyen d’une analyse é...
Nous analysons l’ampleur, la croissance et la répartition spatiale de l’emploi à forte intensité de connaissances dans la région de Bruxelles-Capitale et dans l’agglomération bruxelloise au sens large, et les comparons à celles observées dans les entités géographiques voisines. Nous en examinons l’impact sur l’emploi total, au moyen d’une analyse é...
This paper aims to improve the Regional Innovation Scoreboard as an instrument for policy-making. Dynamic slack–based models of data envelopment analysis to measure innovation output efficiency in 207 European regions demonstrate that the scale-based performance classification of the Scoreboard into ‘leader’, ‘strong’, ‘moderate’, and ‘modest’ inno...
R&D activities by indigenous firms create new knowledge and technology in a region, while foreign-owned firms bring advanced knowledge and technologies from their home countries. This paper analyses the spillover effects of R&D-active or foreign-owned firms on total factor productivity of domestic non-R&D active firms. It combines two sets of liter...
Brussels is known worldwide for hosting (most of) the European institutions as well as several other international organisations like North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Besides the symbolic political value, their presence has an economic impact because of their administrative activities and staff remunerations. Estimating the economic impac...
Relationships between firms and universities have been centre stage for some time. However, empirical studies on firms contracting research to universities remains limited. The likelihood of engaging in contract research depends on the characteristics of the firm and the university. Because existing literature further suggests that location is a ke...
This paper focuses on R&D employment effects due to financial slack generated by an R&D tax exemption scheme in Belgium. The tax exemption is granted without firm‐level requirements, which facilitates testing firm‐level contingencies on the influence of the generated financial slack. We find that R&D employment effects increase with the level of th...
This article explores the role of geographical distance and regional co-location as a determinant of the size of contract research from firms to domestic universities. The analysis relies on a panel of three consecutive R&D surveys for Belgium, and controls for firm, university, and network characteristics. The findings reveal that firms tend to en...
The paper proposes a policy evaluation approach to estimate the local multiplier effect of (public) R&I expenditures in the context of regional innovation systems (RIS). Starting from input-output tables and recent improvements in local multipliers, the proposed approach tracks all economic flows generated by the initial public R&I expenditures, di...
The paper proposes a policy evaluation approach to estimate the local multiplier effect of (public) R&I expenditures in the context of regional innovation systems (RIS). Starting from input-output tables and recent improvements in local multipliers, the proposed approach tracks all economic flows generated by the initial public R&I expenditures, di...
We present an integrative framework of science park contribution allowing for deeper insights into its relevancy, and suggesting new approaches to assess science park contribution, while highlighting the need to study mechanisms and conditions by which science parks provide benefits for tenants. Additionally, we underscore the importance of conside...
Over the past decades, public policy has promoted the establishment of science parks to support the development and growth of technology-based firms and, as such, spur economic prosperity. However, despite the worldwide proliferation of science parks and scholarly interest, their contribution is yet to be fully understood. This paper presents the c...
This paper looks at the relation between the R&D knowledge base of city-agglomerations and knowledge sourcing in product innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The small open Belgian economy is used as a test case. The characteristics of the city-agglomeration’s R&D knowledge are posited to be instrumental for SMEs’ reliance on parti...
The aim of this contribution is twofold. First, the presence, use and appreciation of open innovation practices are captured by using five waves of the Community Innovation Survey of Belgium to develop indicators. Second, the relevance of these indicators is observed with respect to the region in which SMEs are located and the effects of open innov...
Integrating the transaction cost economics and relational perspectives, this paper puts forward that technology complexity within new technology-based firms negatively influences the level of interorganizational trust in key partner relationships. Using a data set of 105 key partner relationships of 59 new technology-based firms, we find that the n...
Knowledge brokers have emerged as a new type of actors shaping scientific production, influencing science–policy relationships, and thereby contributing to regional competitiveness. Yet, the spatial dimension of these knowledge brokers has received little attention. Using Framework Programme participations in European cities, we analyse and discuss...
While R&D activities are known for being unevenly distributed across space, how EU policy contributed to their regional dynamics is less explored. Since the 1980s, the EU Framework Programmes (FP) have promoted and supported transnational R&D projects through open and highly competitive calls for funding driven by 'scientific excellence' regardless...
Although research on open innovation practices in larger and smaller organisations has been growing for over a decade, there has been limited evidence on the topic related to new and candidate members of the European Union. Existing studies of open innovation have predominantly focused on the examination of the phenomenon in companies from the most...
While knowledge is intangible, research and development (R&D) activities are known for being unevenly distributed across space. Since the 1980s, cross-national knowledge flows have dramatically increased, and the EU has played a major role in this field with policies such as the Framework Programmes (FP). In this perspective, the “European Research...
The central theme in our chapter revolves around the question of why university graduates choose to start a doctorate. Do they decide to write a doctoral dissertation to improve their competencies and skills so they have better access to high-level, better-paid jobs on the labor market? Or is this decision also based on intrinsic motivations, such...
In this article we assess the impact of public support for R&D activities on the educational mix of R&D employees in private
companies. Data on tax incentives in support of R&D activities of companies in Belgium are matched with R&D survey data to
investigate changes in the share of R&D employees with a specific degree: PhD, higher education (secon...
We study the influence of network characteristics—breadth, composition, and depth—on outcomes of publicly funded university
research projects. These outcomes are classified in Stokes’ research quadrant. The article is based on a combined quantitative–qualitative
evaluation of a competitive publicly funded research program, known as ‘Mobilizing Prog...
In a knowledge-based economy R%D activities are central. Since knowledge is more distributed, the need for networking between agents becomes essential. In innovation systems, all actors interact to source external knowledge, posing new challenges to science parks' missions. Networking leads to a new interpretation of the supporting role of science...
What is the place of Brussels in the European research geography? Brussels is commonly recognised as the EU capital, but mainly for its political and administrative functions. As research is fundamental in a ‘knowledge-based economy’, this paper shows the performance of Brussels in terms of participation in EU R&D projects. Findings show a double r...
What is the place of Brussels in the European research geography? Brussels is commonly recognised as the EU capital, but mainly for its political and administrative functions. As research is fundamental in a “knowledge-based economy”, this paper shows the performance of Brussels in terms of participation in EU R&D projects. Findings show a double r...
What is the place of Brussels in the European research geography? Brussels is commonly recognised as the EU capital, but mainly for its political and administrative functions. As research is fundamental in a “knowledge-based economy”, this paper shows the performance of Brussels in terms of participation in EU R&D projects. Findings show a double r...
We focus on the managerial implications of the introduction of a fiscal scheme for advance payment partial exemption in favor of highly qualified researchers in business enterprises in Belgium. The amount deliberated by the exemption can be freely used by the company. The paper adds to the literature on managerial cognition by highlighting that str...
In this paper we assess the impact of public support for R&D activities on the educational mix of R&D employees in private companies in Belgium, covering the period 2001-2009. Data on federal tax incentives in support of R&D activities are matched with R&D survey data to investigate changes in the share of R&D employees with a specific degree: PhDs...
The EU Framework Programme (FP) is by far the most important European intervention for research and technological development (RTD). While this policy has been repeatedly reformed, the FP has also shaped European research since 1984. The largest part of the FP aims to promote transnational RTD projects granting funds for ‘excellent research’ (the s...
Whereas the provision of R&D subsidies has been central to public policy for many years, governments have recently become increasingly involved in stimulating cooperation for innovation and R&D. In many countries, financial support for technology intermediaries has become one of the key measures of indirect public support. However, little research...
Few studies on open innovation (OI) have addressed OI practices in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and how their use of OI and resulting benefits differ from large enterprises. The lack of resources in SMEs to engage in looking outward is said to be a barrier to OI, but at the same time this shortage is cited as a motive for looking beyon...
The literature on 'open' innovation emphasises the need to engage in external knowledge relations in order to innovate. Particularly for SMEs, research cooperation and R&D outsourcing can offer possibilities to complement the often limited internal research resources. However, they also bring in their wake requirements in terms of absorptive capaci...
This paper looks at firm-level differences in R&D intensity and sales from product innovations. R&D intensity and innovative sales are explained by a model using harmonised firm-level data from the Third Community Innovation Survey for three European countries: Belgium, Germany and Spain. For each country, the average estimates suggest that incomin...
The literature on ‘open’ innovation emphasises the need to engage in external knowledge relations in order to innovate. Particularly for SMEs, research cooperation and R&D outsourcing can offer possibilities to complement the often limited internal research resources. However, they also bring in their wake requirements in terms of absorptive capaci...
Small research and development (R&D) active firms in knowledge‐intensive business services (KIBS) can be characterised as technology experts in niche markets. Their reliance on expertise in one or a few key technology areas involves a continuous challenge to make strategic decisions in terms of future technology and market positioning. The formal m...
This paper looks at firm-level differences in R&D intensity and sales from product innovations. R&D intensity and innovative sales are explained by a model using harmonised firm-level data from the Third Community Innovation Survey for three European countries: Belgium, Germany and Spain. For each country, the average estimates suggest that incomin...
Few studies on open innovation (OI)
address OI practices in small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) and how their use of OI and the
resulting benefits differ from those of large enterprises.
The lack of resources in SMEs to engage in
looking outward is said to be a barrier to OI, but at the
same time this shortage is cited as a motive for
looking...
This paper analyses behavioural additionality of subsidies by regional and EU framework programme public funding granted to
business enterprises in terms of the ‘instalment’ of research cooperation between industry and science. Acknowledging their
specificities in terms of research orientation, research scale, and management of research, the scienc...
Knockaert M. and Spithoven A. Under which conditions do technology intermediaries enhance firms' innovation speed? The case of Belgium's collective research centres, Regional Studies. So far little research has analysed the role of technology intermediaries in enhancing firms' innovation speed. This research aims to fill this gap by studying a spec...
Open innovation is about firms' external relations with other firms and organisations. It is a topic which has attracted an immense amount of attention, but which has also been heavily criticised due to the diversity of the ideas and fuzziness of its key concepts. To date, the bulk of the literature on open innovation draws on case study material t...
Firms have become increasingly open towards collaboration to become more innovative. Opening up the innovation process and letting knowledge percolate through the boundaries of the firm is however not a guarantee to success. Many small and medium sized firms simply have insufficient resources to collaborate on innovation and lack in-house absorptiv...
An extensive stream of literature has studied incubators, however, few researchers have focused on business centres, which typically host a broader set of firms, including medium- and low-tech firms. This paper studies the role of business centres in the networking capabilities of their residents and the impact of residence at a business centre on...
Knowledge has become an important production factor. Tacit knowledge is embodied in the minds of people, and is part and parcel of their skills. Since businesses concentrate on strategic tasks, many others are outsourced. This also applies to R&D. External knowledge sources help firms to leverage their internal R&D efforts. Internal and external kn...
This article aims to assess whether firms' strategies of R&D outsourcing determine changes in their internal R&D employment intensity. Four strategic decisions are investigated: to start, increase, decrease or stop outsourcing. It is found that internal R&D employment intensity decreases when firms decide to start, to increase, or to stop R&D outso...
Product innovation is the result of a constant interaction between the in-house research and development (R&D) department and knowledge exchanges with the firm's environment. Knowledge exchanges come in different forms. They break down into information gathering applied in new product development, research cooperation on particular innovation proje...
There has been an increased interest in technology transfer activities. This increased interest is inspired by the observation that not all generated knowledge gets translated into commercial products or processes, which is generally referred to as the knowledge paradox. Many researchers have studied academic spin-offs. Within the resource based vi...
The discussion on open innovation suggests that the ability to absorb external knowledge has become a major driver for competition. For R&D intensive large firms, the concept of open innovation in relation to absorptive capacity is relatively well understood. Little attention has; however, been paid to how both small firms and firms, which operate...
The discussion on open innovation suggests that the ability to absorb external knowledge has become a major driver for competition. In the case of inbound open innovation, companies screen their environment to search for the appropriate technology and knowledge and do not exclusively rely on in-house R&D. A key precondition is that firms dispose of...
Governments have increasingly become involved in stimulating cooperation for innovation and R&D and have less focused on direct R&D subsidies. One set of initiatives is targeted at providing financial support for technology intermediaries. In this paper, we shed light on when technology intermediaries contribute to learning or networking outcomes g...
Teirlinck P. and Spithoven A. The spatial organization of innovation: open innovation, external knowledge relations and urban structure, Regional Studies. The increased use of external knowledge relations, complementary to in-house research and development, influences the way firms are organized to manage innovation. The ‘new’ imperative of open in...
This paper brings the concepts of proximity and trust empirically together in order to gain insights in their relationship in the context of resource deficient young, technology-based firms and its key partner network. More specifically, we examine the influence of cultural, cognitive and social proximity on the level of interorganizational trust b...
The new paradigm on ‘open innovation’ emphasises the increasing dependence of internal innovation’s on knowledge present outside the boundaries of the own organisation. Shaping a network with external partners is an important part hereof and implies strategic decisions on the level of the innovating enterprise. This article focuses on both the choi...
This empirical paper focuses on the unequal spatial pattern of R&D activities in private business enterprises at the district (NUTS 3) level in Belgium in 2001. From the OECD R&D survey, we use both R&D expenditures and the number of R&D establishments to stress the importance of the appropriate indicator when describing a region's attractiveness f...
This empirical article describes the spatial dimension of R&D expenditures in the business enterprise sector in Belgium. When looking at the regional dispersion of GDP per employee between 1992 and 1999 at the "regional", "provincial", and "district" level, we find that the inequality grows and that the highest dispersion of GDP per employee is at...
Outsourcing R&D can be an important way to stimulate or complement a firm s innovation. However, so far little evidence has been brought foreward on the effects of the qualitative decision to outsource R&D on the internal R&D intensity. Based on a panel of R&D active firms in Belgium, it is investigated how a corporate decision to start, sustain or...