Cristina Chaminade

• PhD in Economics
• Research professor - Profesora de Investigación at Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas

This paper sheds light on how to address, conceptualize and design innovation policies taking into account the specific characteristics of innovation systems in developing countries. The main purpose is to reflect on the policy implications of adopting the innovation system perspective to the particularities of developing countries. It is only rece...

This paper is concerned with the changing role of regional innovation systems and regional policies in supporting the transition of indigenous firms in developing countries from competing on low costs towards becoming knowledge providers in global value chains. Special attention is paid to policies supporting the emergence and development of the re...

Over the last few years, there has been a growing concern among academics and practitioners about the slow pace in which sustainability transformations unfold. While most socio-technical transformations tend to happen over extended periods, research shows that unless some dramatic changes are introduced, we are risking damaging the critical earth s...

This perspective paper aims to contribute to current discussions about responsible innovation and innovation systems for sustainability. The paper interrogates the purposes of innovation and its role in sustainable development. It reflects on the differences between adopting weak or strong sustainability as the final goal in terms of innovation and...

This study aims to investigate the nexus between small-scale freshwater aquaculture and poverty-related factors like income generation and food security in rural Madagascar. Evidence of this relationship is scarce in the Global South, particularly in island states. Using linear and logistic regressions and data collected from fish farmers and consu...

Plastic waste has come to the forefront of academic and political debates as a global problem that demands an urgent solution. Promoted by policymakers, academia, and corporations alike, the circular economy model presents a viable path to reach more sustainable levels of development. Emerging and disruptive technologies can catalyse the transition...

Technological change has transformed the ways knowledge is developed and shared internationally. Accordingly, in the quarter-century since the WTO was established, and since its Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights came into force, both the knowledge dimension of trade and the functioning of the IP system have been rad...

Economic geographers have recently made important contributions to understanding of the relationship between regional transformation, industrial specialisation and innovation networks in the emergence of new industries. However, most contemporary research has focused on the influence of networks on regional trajectories, paying lip service to how r...

Widening income and knowledge inqualities have led to growing expectations for universities to integrate social innovation in their core missions as a response to societal problems.This systematic review of literatureprovides an overview of the state-of-the-art of knowledge on the role of the university in enabling social innovation through its mis...

For firms in symbolic (creative) industries, the region is usually seen as the main arena for knowledge sourcing and exchange. Why and how these firms use global innovation networks remains however poorly understood. This paper draws on in-depth interviews with firm representatives and network data collected through a survey of video game developer...

Scientific advance and innovation are major sources of economic growth and are crucial for making development socially and environmentally sustainable. A critical question is: Will private enterprises invest sufficiently in research technological development and innovation and, if not, to what degree and how should governments engage in the support...

R&D related foreign direct investments represent a powerful mechanism for cross-border knowledge sharing that can stimulate the process of technological catch-up. However, low-income countries and smaller middle-income countries remain largely excluded from this kind of global flows of knowledge. In this chapter, we discuss the motivations and impl...

The type of regional innovation system (RIS) strongly affects possibilities of paths of industrial transformation. This paper argues that traditional manufacturing districts, corresponding to specialized RISs and characterized by various nuclei of specialization and know-how, may foster different trajectories in combination with extra-regional netw...

Over the last decade we have witnessed an unprecedented growth in the number of cross-border R&D investments towards large emerging countries such as China and India. However, small middle-income countries have played a marginal role as recipients of R&D-related FDI despite increasing policy efforts. In particular, several Latin American countries...

Recent literature stresses the increasing importance of global innovation networks (GINs) as a mechanism to organize innovation across geographical space. This paper investigates why and to what extent citizenship diversity of the firm's employees relates to the engagement of small and medium size companies in GINs. Citizenship diversity provides k...

In the last decade we hae witnessed an unprecedented growth in the globalisation of innoation actiities and ore specifically of global innoation networs Is etending into iddleincoe countries oweer hitherto ost of the literature is either theoretical or based on a handful of cases e do not now what are the different fors of openness through networs...

Network failure is one of the factors explaining the failure of innovation systems. This is why innovation managers and policy makers are paying attention to this issue. Although some studies about network failure have been done, the process of network failure, especially in the case that network is going to be built by a triggering entity, has lit...

This paper analyses the relationship of the accumulation of technological competencies at the firm level, the spatial distribution of the firm's innovation networks and the degree of novelty of product innovation. Firm-based primary data collected in two innovative regions in emerging economies are used to predict higher degrees of novelty in emerg...

Recently, there has been a rise of contributions in innovation and economic geography studies on how firms from specific industries and regional innovation systems (RISs) rely on international networks to innovate. So far, the focus has been on single cases, firms located in well-known RISs and international linkages, without really distinguishing...

South–South technology investments can be important for the development of the Global South because they can have advantages over the (more conventional) North–South investments. As recently argued in academic literature, the technology distance between the countries in South–South investments is potentially lower, thus facilitating the assimilatio...

The article is aimed at understanding the dynamics and consequences of technology-driven foreign direct investments, undertaken predominantly with the aim of accessing and learning to master technologies by Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises (EMNEs) in Europe, with a particular focus on India and China. The results are grounded on a database...

Access to global innovation networks (GINs) has been unequal across the regions of the world. While certain regions are considered knowledge hubs in GINs, others still remain marginalized; this points to the role of regional innovation systems (RISs) in the emergence and development of GINs. Using firm-level data collected through a survey and case...

Recent literature shows that differences in structural characteristics at country level are important determinants of the innovative capacities and growth performance of different countries. Based on firm-level data collected from a survey, this study identifies who are the world leaders, followers, and marginalised firms in a sample of nine countr...

This paper investigates commonalities and differences in firm-level determinants of internationalization of production (production-related investments or PFDI) and innovation (technology-driven investments or TFDI) by multinational enterprises. Our database is based on a cross-country survey which includes firms within Automotive, Agro-processing,...

User–producer interactions have been recognized as important for innovation. With the rapid growth of emerging economies’ markets, and an increasing degree of technological sophistication of both users and producers in those markets, user–producer interaction is becoming global. Using original firm-level data, this paper explores how collaboration...

Since the seminal work of Archibugi and Michie (1995) on the globalization of innovation, several authors have attempted to understand the complex relationship between innovation and internationalization. However, most tend to focus on industrialized countries, just one mode of globalization of innovation and often one traditional indicator of inno...

This paper explores the geography and structure of global innovation networks (GINs) of two multinational companies belonging to industries with different knowledge bases. It contributes to the existing literature on knowledge bases, by studying both intra-firm and inter-firm GINs. By means of social network analysis based on primary data, we ident...

This paper explores the relationship between competences and global innovation networks in the Swedish ICT industry. More specifically this paper combines econometric techniques and case study analysis to capture the interplay between firm level competences (competences as enablers), the availability of competences in the host country (competences...

The paper contributes to research on innovation systems in general and, in particular, to the current debate on rationales for innovation policy by providing a framework to identify systemic problems in a given system of innovation and test the framework empirically. The data were drawn from the Thai Community Innovation Survey in the period after...

The global location of R&D labs by MNCs is a rather new phenomenon; especially when it comes to establishing R&D labs in developing countries. The existing and rather limited literature on globalisation of innovation provides four possible explanations of why multinationals locate R&D labs in developing countries: reduce research costs, access larg...

The access to global innovation networks (GINs) has been extremely unequal across regions around the globe. While certain regions are considered knowledge hubs, able to link to global knowledge flow, other still remain marginalized, pointing out to the role of regional innovation systems in the emergence and development of GINs. Using firm-level da...

The access to global innovation networks (GINs) has been extremely unequal across regions around the globe. For certain countries, while the country as a whole may not be playing a role in GINs certain sub-national regions do, pointing out to the role of regional innovation systems and sub-national institutional frameworks in the emergence and deve...

This paper discusses the concept of transnational innovation systems(TNIS) and presents some experiences in Europe in the formation of TNIS. The real cases show that supporting the emergence of Transnational Innovation Systems has clear benefits for the countries and the regions involved which may be related to the enlargement of consumer, labour a...

The aim of this article is to discuss the role of intermediate organizations in supporting different forms of interactive learning and capability building in small-scale business initiatives in emerging innovation systems in developing countries, using data from Tanzania and El Salvador. It is argued that different types of intermediate organizatio...

Using firm-level data collected through a survey in 2008 followed by semi-structured interviews with firms in 2009–2010, this article systematically compares the geography of linkages of the software industry between two regions, one in India (Pune) and one in China (Great Beijing). In contrast to what the literature on knowledge bases and regional...

The issue of the rationale for public intervention under the system of innovation (SI) perspective has recently received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. However, with few exceptions, this literature has been based on the analysis of innovation policies and innovation systems in industrialized countries neglecting almost comple...

The rapid move of China and India from low-cost producers to innovators has triggered an increasing interest in the globalization of innovation activities and more specifically, on the surge of global innovation networks (GINs). However, hitherto most of the literature is either theoretical or based on a handful of cases. We do not know what are th...

This comprehensive Handbook explores the interactions between the practice, policy, and theory of innovation. The goal is twofold: to increase insight into this dynamic process, searching for options to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of both policy and innovative practice, and to identify conceptual or empirical lacunae and questions that...

This paper examines the dynamics of a technological innovation network (TIN) of a state-owned textile company in underdeveloped southwest China. It addresses tow research questions: how the structure of the TIN evolved in the past 10 years; and what impact it had on the technological performance of the firm. The case study reveals that the general...

The vast literature of systems of innovation is rich in theoretical and empirical studies about the complexity and institutionally-embedded processes of interaction and learning. So far, however, this literature has not studied in a comprehensive manner the nature and types of strategic choices that public actors in systems of innovation are facing...

This paper focuses on the systems-of-innovation (SI) approach and its policy implications. It introduces the topic by briefly reviewing the emergence, development, and diffusion of this approach and, then, spells out the constituents, activities, and boundaries of the SI approach. On this basis, the paper discusses the reasons for public policy int...

'... this ambitious project definitely succeeds in putting together coherently a relatively recent body of research, and in arguing that a new policy approach to development is needed: one that puts knowledge accumulation at its core, that recognises the complex nature of learning processes and the need of new institutions to stimulate them. For th...

The Innovation system approach emerged as a theoretical framework in the industrialized world in the mid 1990s to explain innovation and growth in the developed world. This Handbook is the first attempt adapt innovation systems approach to developing countries from a theoretical and empirical view point

This paper is concerned with unpacking the role of the cluster supporting the SMEs move from competing on low-costs to innovating in the global value chain. By comparing 4 clusters in different industries in Asia, we highlight significant differences in the learning paths of the clustered SMEs. The paper contributes to current discussion on upgradi...

The global location of R&D centres by MNCs is a rather new phenomenon; especially when it comes to establishing R&D centres in developing countries. The existing and rather limited literature on globalization of innovation provides four possible explanations of why multinationals locate R&D departments in developing countries: reduce research costs...

This paper discusses the importance of global-local linkages for the development of indigenous production in cultural clusters by analyzing the interplay between the indigenous film production cluster in Toronto, Canada, and Hollywood's runaway productions. Global-local linkages are at the forefront of the current debate in cluster studies, the dis...

This paper is concerned with the role of universities and public research organizations initiating and sustaining the development of regional innovation systems in developing countries, focusing the discussion on the Bangalore software cluster. Innovation systems research has paid significant attention to the importance of universities and other pu...

This paper illustrates the importance of global-local linkages in cultural cluster-studies by discussing the impact of Hollywoods runway productions on the indigenous film cluster in Toronto, Canada. While global-local linkages are at the forefront of the current debate in cluster studies, the discussion has not yet permeated the research on cultur...

The issue of the rationale for public intervention under the systems of innovation perspective has recently received an increasing attention among scholars and practitioners. However, with few exceptions, this literature has been based on the analysis of innovation policies and innovation systems in the industrialized countries neglecting almost co...

The paper builds up on the pioneer work of Martin Bell, who started studying the Thai S&T policy already in the sixties. In one of his latest work (Bell, 2002) Martin strongly highlights the need to move from a traditional approach to science and technology policy to a broader system of innovation policy, that focuses on capability building and on...

The main objective of this chapter is to discuss the implications of the adoption of the Systems of Innovation (SI) Approach in innovation policymaking. One of the main criticisms of the SI approach is the difficulty in translating it into real policymaking. This paper proposes a way of dealing with this complex problem. By breaking down the operat...

This paper sheds light on the role of the regional innovation system in facilitating the Bangalore Software clusters transition from a development model based on offering low cost activities/services towards a model based on an independent innovation profile. Recent research has documented that Bangalore has become one of the most important IT clus...

This paper discusses the implications of the adoption of the National Innovation Systems approach for innovation policy. It starts by positioning the systemic approach against other theoretical approaches, such as neoclassical theories. The authors argue that the adoption of one or the other frameworks leads to different criteria for intervention....

This paper sheds light on the role of the regional innovation system facilitating the transition from competing on low cost activities/services towards competing in innovation, using Bangalore software industry as an example. Recent research has documented that Bangalore has become one of the most important IT clusters outside the US. According to...

El presente artículo discute el papel de la cultura nacional en el surgimiento de empresas intensivas en conocimiento y en la implantación de modelos de gestión del conocimiento en una selección de empresas de países europeos. Los autores concluyen que las diferencias culturales influyen en el nacimiento de empresas intensivas en conocimiento y en...

La mayoría de los trabajos académicos sobre intangibles y capital intelectual tienden a vincular el uso intensivo del conocimiento con empresas y sectores de alto contenido tecnológico. El presente artículo muestra cómo empresas de sectores tradicionales, como el sector eléctrico pueden ser también intensivas en conocimiento. La discusión teórica s...

The point of departure for this paper is that in developing countries SMEs are responsible for the largest part of employment and a significant share of added value. And that innovation policy supporting the particularities of SMEs has been widely ignored (occasionally SMEs have even been discriminated). This chapter aims at shedding some light on...

The aim of the present article is to put culture on the agenda when discussing and working with IC reporting and IC management. Differences between Spain and Sweden in the Meritum work are discussed in relation to the interest and experience of IC among firms; and the way the firms develop IC management and IC reporting. We propose that culture mig...

The implementation of the intellectual capital (IC) concept at firm level introduces a new vocabulary to the existing language set. Firms are attempting to make sense of the concept and, in the process, operationalize it in terms of specific management tools. This paper provides a comparative analysis of intellectual capital trajectories in Norway...

The existing bodies of literature about the knowledge-based firm and the resource-based theory of the firm (micro-level) and the economics of technical change (macro-level) have evolved concurrently but with few interactions. However, during the last decade, knowledge-based theories of the firm have

This article attempts to contribute to the development of a positive theory on the management of intangibles by building a model that describes the process followed by business firms willing to implement a system for the management of intangibles. The study reveals that companies usually take three steps: the identification of critical intangibles...

Estamos moviéndonos hacia una sociedad impulsada por el conocimiento, donde los activos tangibles tradicionales están perdiendo valor a favor de los intangibles. Sin embargo, nuestra comprensión de los procesos de creación, adquisición y gestión del conocimiento es muy escasa. En este contexto, las técnicas de investigación cualitativa, como los es...

The point of departure for this chapter is that in developing countries SMEs2 are responsible for the largest part of employment and a significant share of added value. And that innovation policy supporting the particularities of SMEs has been widely ignored (occasionally SMEs have even been discriminated). This chapter aims at shedding soe light o...

Sweden is considered to be one of the most advanced countries in terms of innovation worldwide. Sweden always ranks high in all international reports on Science and Technology indicators such as the ones regularly published by the OECD or Eurostat. As many small countries, the Sweden economy has a strong international orientation and this is also r...

Clusters are considered an adequate tool for development by governments and international organizations. Existing literature assumes that cluster policy can be universally applied & that industries cluster in similar ways. By comparing clusters in Asia, we highlight significant industrial differences in the relative importance of the cluster soft a...

This chapter explores the role of regional innovation systems supporting capability building among indigenous SMEs in two different RIS in Mexico. It explicitly attempts at testing the validity of the underlying assumptions in RIS literature in the context of developing countries, such as the importance of interactive learning with foreign subsidia...

Tesis doctoral inédita. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Departamento de Estructura Económica y Economía del Desarrollo. Fecha de lectura: 15-12-98 Bibliografía: p. 209-244

This paper links innovation system analysis to economic development. Both fields are young and interdisciplinary. The origins of research on innovation systems goes back to the early 1980s (Freeman 1982, Lundvall 1985, Freeman 1987) although it links to several predecessors such as Babbage (1832, 3rd edition), List (1941) or Marshall (1965). Develo...