This research explores the global dynamics of innovation performance in four economically important and patent-rich high technology sectors over a 43-year period, from 1975-2017. The analysis is grounded by sector and cluster life cycle theory and it describes the changes in clusters’ innovation performance and explores the varying influence of two important underlying factors: spatial agglomeration and global inter-cluster knowledge networks. The research incorporates two mature sectors, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, and two sectors which emerged and grew rapidly during the study period: information technology and solar photovoltaics. The empirical results show that global knowledge network linkages are positively associated with cluster innovation performance in all sectors, while cluster size often has a negative effect. The results also show that emerging sectors first experience spatial diffusion, increasing the number of clusters globally. During the high-growth phase, growth takes place primarily in existing clusters. After the high-growth phase the density of the knowledge network continues to increase. There are three main implications for businesses and policy makers. First, knowledge network connectedness is a key factor driving cluster innovation performance, rather than agglomeration. Second, establishing a presence in, or building-up a cluster relatively early, lays the foundations for future growth. Third, global cluster hierarchies are dynamic, suggesting that spatial path-dependence can erode over long time periods, even in mature sectors, in step with global shifts in economic activity, notably the rise of certain Asian economies.

Citizen Science has increased in popularity among universities and citizens, particularly concerning health issues, biodiversity in nature, water management, etc. The paper characterizes citizen science, in particular what the core intentions are and how it relates to specific approaches, like citizen sensing. Next, the paper highlights the potentials of citizen science, but also pays attention to reasons for a modest acceptance. A large citizen science project in Belgium – Curious Noses – and smaller local health projects in England serve as examples. Next, in order to progress with successful development of citizen science, attention shifts to what success of citizen science would encompass, given direct and indirect effects, and what factors may influence success.

This paper pictures several risk-taking strategies of young high-tech firms in bringing energy inventions to market and ways urban policy (municipalities) may provide supporting facilities and help accelerate the energy transition. Derived from a longitudinal study of 100 firms in northwest Europe, two findings contribute to practice. Firstly, a share of almost 40 percent of university spin-off firms fails in the market introduction; if the market introduction is reached, 30 percent is relatively late. This development calls for attention to acceleration and risk-taking concerns. However, risk-taking firm strategies, like targeting radical inventions and new markets, tend to hamper early market introduction. Secondly, urban policy supports filling risk-related needs, particularly in large metropolitan networks. Cities (municipalities) may act as launching customers and provide sites and organizations for practical experimentation (e.g., in living labs) alongside steering on cross-faculty application platforms at the university that also connect with city functions. Cities’ initiatives, however, tend to be fragmented and miss priority. Partnering in Triple Helix networks with local universities and businesses may improve the situation, for example, by priority setting, better alignment, and integration. The urban policy also has a role in improving broader conditions, particularly the attraction of related R&D firms to the city/region and the attraction and retention of top-class researchers.

This paper aims at a broad scan of needs for knowledge advancing living labs and broader customer value co-creation in shopping malls. Special attention is given to the meeting and social integration function and metaverse development. Living labs are understood as a methodology of co-creative and open experimentation that is customer-led in a real-life environment. Emerging metaverse development tends to change opportunities and limitations, about which almost nothing is known. The paper uses a qualitative approach in two steps. The first step explores relevant theory on systems, like retail systems, customer-value co-creation (marketing) and capability and personal traits in behavioural change (individuals), while distinguishing between three living lab stages, namely, anticipation, processes on the way, and ex-post evaluation. A few central themes that are becoming increasingly important are the emerging metaverse, if and how traditional malls can continue serving as physical meeting places, and the possibility they will change course towards new combinations of physical and virtual activity. In the second step, a broad array of knowledge-advancing needs is discussed, and this results in a smaller set of knowledge gaps on the basis of urgency, like interests of new ICT stakeholders in shopping malls, impacts from metaverse on site-specificity, and benefits and barriers of disabled persons. The paper also forwards the need for more attention to the ex-post evaluation of co-creation projects, which calls for standard protocols and AI-supported data systems. The paper closes with contributions, management implications, and ideas about future research.

Indonesia is facing strong challenges of enhancing the innovation level of the ICT sector. There is a quickly growing domestic demand for ICT products and services in this country, however, domestic firms are not able to fully respond to this demand. This situation calls for more understanding of innovation practice in ICT firms in Indonesia, and accordingly the first part of the paper provides an analysis of firms’ internal (specifically management) and firms’ external conditions, using a survey of more than 200 ICT firms, mainly SMEs. Management factors, like ICT skills, manager’s experience, cognitive capability, and market-related skills, are positively related to innovativeness. Regarding external conditions, collaborative networks in clusters and foreign direct investment also witness a positive association with innovativeness. In the second part, key quantitative findings are enriched with expert opinion revealing a main challenge, namely, to improve quality of the ICT education system with emphasis on modern management (of entrepreneurial risk-taking).

Municipalities are increasingly involved in energy transition planning. There are, however, doubts about whether municipalities are an adequate organization and scale level for this. In this context, the article aims to picture developments of local young technology firms in bringing energy inventions to market, in particular, how municipalities have provided support to them. Such aim, in the context of energy transition, is new. Derived from study in Nordic countries and The Netherlands, two findings make a valuable contribution to literature. Firstly, a share of almost 40% of young technology firms fails in market introduction, and if reached the market, a 30% is rather late. Barriers stem from high risk-taking, late (no) collaboration, and limiting circumstances in metropolitan cities. Secondly, municipalities’ initiatives appear useful in filling young technology firms’ needs, but the initiatives are fragmented and miss priority. However, partnering in professional start-up organizations tends to improve the situation, indicating that the municipal level is promising in transitional change with regard to new technology. In contrast, driving energy transition through regional cluster building, includes different levels of functional interdependence, territorial scale, networking and governance, causing manifold complexity and uncertainty. Not all (large) municipalities seem able to act in a promising manner, however, much empirical research needs to be done.

Science and Technology Parks (STPs) have fueled many debates on their effectiveness in policies to enhance innovation and regional economic growth. Some authors put emphasis on advantages of physical proximity between on-site firms and the university, while others pay increasingly attention to benefits from social capital between the stakeholders involved. According to theory, social capital works as a 'glue that binds' stakeholders who may originally have different interests, visions and different power positions. Adopting the last point of view, the aim of the paper is to increase understanding of the role of social capital in performance of STPs. The paper explores the relationship between growth and innovativeness of STPs and social capital-related power position, trust, and shared visions, using regression analysis. We make use of a survey-based sample of almost 50 STPs in various Asian countries. With regard to stakeholders and social capital, we distinguish between STPs' management, local university, local government and national government. We control for variation on country-level regarding innovativeness and planning culture and for variation in STPs' land-size. Our results show that higher STPs' growth (numbers of firms) tends to go along with some shortage in social capital, mainly on the local level concerning university and government. This situation may point to different opinions about growth, connected to physical limits regarding land and road system. In contrast, social capital on the local level but also national level, tends to be positively associated with degree of R&D orientation of STP firms.

Urban living labs is a practical methodology in improving sustainability in cities by facilitating collaborative learning and innovation in a real-life environment, thereby mainly responding to the needs of users (citizens). The paper aims to filter a list of key learnings on urban living labs through the lens of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). One of the motivations is that key learnings on urban living labs are mainly derived from means-goal effectiveness (MGE) thinking while the urban setting calls for a broader perspective due to complexity and tension from the multi-actor, multifunctional, and multi-scalar character of cities. The filtering reveals almost 40 learnings as 'overlap' and 'exclusive for MGE'. Importantly, five learnings are identified as specific for RRI and potentially enriching living lab methodology: ethical and normative principles like health, safety, security, and equality between societal groups, and a wider distribution of benefits and risks of living lab outcomes, in particular, contradictory sustainability issues. The RRI filtering causes three practical implications: coping with uneven power distribution between stakeholders, limited feasibility of applying the comprehensive learning framework, and challenges of overarching platform structures enabling to better incorporate RRI concerns in living lab methodology. The findings as presented in an adapted list are new, as RRI values and concerns have seldom been applied to practical innovation and have never been explicitly applied to urban living labs' performance beyond the borders of effectiveness thinking.

This article provides an attempt to better understand the establishment of international knowledge relationships, including changes over time. Internationalization of young high-tech firms is strongly required given the drive for upscaling technology solutions and given the increased global spread of knowledge centers. To increase understanding, a framework of conditions of capability formation in internationalization is developed and measured using a sample of 105 university spin-off firms in Northwest Europe. In early years, 62% of these firms employed knowledge relationships abroad, often crossing continents. The main capabilities in this stage tend to be connected to education (PhD) and market training, innovation activity at practical level, and diversity in preceding domestic networks. Subsequent changes on the firm level show a somewhat stronger internationalization, 74%, associated with other capabilities compared to early years, mainly derived in previous internationalization, pre-start work experience and innovation activity at an advanced level. However, the results also point to a ‘problematic’ segment of firms, including shrinking patterns and persistent absence of internationalization. To summarize, we observe inertia as well as (highly) dynamic patterns of knowledge relationships abroad, with important implications for management and policy.

Can grassroots-driven citizen sensing initiatives triggered by distrust contribute to risk problem-solving? The article inspects such a potential in the field of risks to public health represented by noise pollution. After a conceptual reflection, the Amsterdam Schiphol and the London Heathrow airports’ noise monitoring cases are compared. We inquire: How did lay people use citizen sensing to find solutions to the increase in noise? Which perceptions/actions influence and facilitate the problem-solving potential of citizen sensing? We found that the main citizens’ actions leading to solutions are an adequate contesting of information monopoly through the production of valid data, as well as the challenging of institutional strategies to improve risk-related problem-solving. Accordingly, the citizen sensing initiative may generate mutual understanding and stimulate the institutional recognition of the problem and urgency for solving it. The article provides a novel exploration of evidence on performance of actors showing the problem-solving potential of citizen sensing through a preliminary performance matrix.

This chapter discusses the empirical background which advanced the design of a new research method. It deals with an outline of this method which enables a dynamic micro-approach. The focus will be on insights that can be achieved by the method and on conceptual and methodological issues which need a strong attention when using the method. The chapter explains the proposed research within a broader perspective and identifies how it can contribute to an understanding of changes in development trajectories of regions and cities. It also discusses how microscopic insights into the dynamics of innovation can contribute to knowledge on the development paths of regions and cities. Many micro-oriented studies on innovation in the Netherlands have been based upon traditional theory, such as incubation, filtering-down and contact-systems theories. A longitudinal approach can equally be applied to the analysis of impacts of various cyclical developments on conditions that shape innovation.

Universities are cradles of innovation, with many start-ups involved in sustainable energy solutions. The extent in which such solutions reach the market and the kind of risk-related factors young firms encounter, are hardly known and understood. We aim to clarify market introduction and focus on the empirics of firms' risk-taking behavior related to strategic choices, competences, and interactions with (national) ecosystem conditions. We use a unique dataset of almost 110 university spin-off firms and a small selected sample from this set. A total of 60% of spin-offs are able to reach the market, most of them in the first five years of spin-offs' lives. Wind energy provides the best chances, as compared to such things as solar photovoltaics (PV) and advanced biomass. In-depth results suggest the high probability of quick market introduction in 'Innovation Leader' countries, like Sweden and Denmark, if combined with employing rich collaborative networks. A second set of favorable influences includes a practical mindset and accessing substantial investment capital. In contrast, strong risks tend to be connected to activity in fundamental inventions, highly specialized technology, weakly developed (sub) markets, poorly built networks, and short refunding time of substantial investment. This study provides a unique contribution to understanding the market introduction of sustainable energy solutions and risk-taking in this effort by young high-tech firms, among others, connected to differences between countries.

Many university spin-off firms today are involved in sustainable energy technology. However, to what extent and how spin-offs reach market introduction of their inventions, is not well-understood. Spin-offs may differ in many ways, like entrepreneurial orientation and competences, and opportunities in their ecosystem. To contribute to a better understanding, this paper explores differences in market-introduction (time)and underlying factors. It draws on a carefully selected sample of almost 40 university spin-offs in Europe and it applies rough-set analysis to explore relationships. The results suggest a high probability of positive development if spin-offs grow up in a 'Innovation Leader' country (like Sweden and Denmark) and employ multiple networks. A second set of favourable factors include a practical mind-set in the founding team through education merely at MSc level and accessing of substantial investment capital. In contrast, hampering factors include being involved in solar energy technology as a 'follower', while employing one-sided/poor collaboration networks. Overall, the results suggest substantial differentiation among spin-offs, and concomitant practical (policy) implications.

This chapter summarizes the important findings of the previous chapters and identifies the different challenges in leadership roles of cities with regard to enhancing sustainability transitions. Accordingly, the discussion focuses on challenges in responding to favourable localized assets that are inherited, from nature or from past developments, and challenges in active city policies that connect and enhance seedbed functions, cluster formation/strengthening and bottom-up initiatives. Specific attention is given to the key condition of attracting and retaining talent, in other words a highly skilled and diverse workforce. The chapter closes with a discussion of factors that will enhance city leadership (in the future) and indicates a few important directions of future research.

This chapter investigates the extent to which university spin-off firms in new medical technology reach the market and create job growth, for example, in support in care-providing, minimally invasive surgery, tissue engineering (organs), and information and communications technology (ICT)-supported diagnosis. The study draws on a small selective sample and employs rough-set analysis to identify preliminary causal patterns. One of the strongest influences seems the subsector indicating diversity in technical complexity (risk) and regulation (testing and approval), while management experience and access to venture capital also have a role. Furthermore, drawing on in-depth case study analysis, the preliminary conclusion is drawn that spin-offs in complex and risk-taking fields are able to survive in close research collaboration with the ‘mother’ university and/or academic hospital, and through this link, with universities and hospitals in global networks. Others that lack such relationship tend to be much more vulnerable, particularly due to healthcare budget constraints and firm-specific lack of management experience.

This chapter investigates adoption of medical technology in the form of eHealth solutions in hospitals. A model of organizational eHealth adoption is developed and empirically explored using a survey among hospitals in cities in the Netherlands and structural equation modelling (SEM). Technology adoption is seen as a process in different stages, revealing a high level of interest (about 60 per cent of hospitals) but very limited actual adoption (ranging from 6 per cent to 23 per cent). Furthermore, adoption levels tend to be higher in larger cities, and this is confirmed by significant direct influence of urban size on eHealth adoption. Other important factors tend to be organizational readiness and top management of hospitals, but these are not affected by urban size. The results leave the question open as to what makes hospitals in large cities more often adopt new technology if this is not mediated by hospital size and other organizational characteristics.

Living labs, as a methodology to enhance user-centric innovation, have large potentials in bringing inventions to the marketplace, but their performance can benefit more from evaluation. This article develops a novel framework for evaluation of living labs, including (1) a system approach providing an analytical view on living labs’ performance and results; (2) a focus on actor-complexity and boundary-spanning needs; (3) a set of questions concerning, e.g. absorption of user-feedback, satisfaction among actors, and openness and connecting with larger networks; (4) a list of key performance factors; and (5) a focus on participatory evaluation. The design of this evaluation framework rests on a comprehensive literature search and case studies representing different actor complexity, namely home-solutions in healthcare, reconstruction of large (multi)functional buildings, and multiple combinations of activity (university campuses). Key performance factors are found to be: an early involvement of adequately skilled users in multiple learning processes, including absorption of feedback, and a broader but balanced set of actors connecting with upscaling and acceptance in the market. Also, boundaries need to be better bridged by learning how to handle conflicts and deal with intermediation, while respecting shared goals and interests. Specifically, university living labs call for maintaining a solid relation with cities and their actors. Overall, an explicitly designed evaluation framework is a key part of the working plan of living labs. The results also indicate a need for stronger attention for boundary-spanning in evaluation, because living labs are increasingly applied in comprehensive multi-activity settings.

This chapter studies living labs as a methodology of user-centric innovation. The focus is on sustainability in healthcare and increasing efficiency, affordability and inclusiveness. The real-life environments are residential homes for elderly people, hospitals and a shopping mall, the latter as an example of increasing accessibility for wheelchairs. The chapter aims to identify critical factors in the performance of living labs, drawing on literature and in-depth case studies in Eindhoven and Maastricht (Netherlands), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Montreal (Canada). Important critical factors are: early involvement of users, including feedback from them, and sufficient involvement of a wider network of stakeholders with the required expertise/input. An appropriate selection of promising inventions is also important. A preliminary analysis of network building through living labs found a trend for both local and global networking, with an emphasis on the latter. These findings touch on a leadership challenge for local governments, namely as a ‘connector’ between different local/ regional organizations.