Hidden Champions and their integration in rural regional innovation systems: Insights from Germany

Abstract This article studies the integration of Hidden Champions – little-known highly innovative global market leaders – in rural regional innovation systems (RIS) in Germany. These firms are analyzed in relation to their integration into a RIS framework, which differentiates two subsystems: knowledge generation and diffusion, and knowledge application and exploitation. The relevance of firm-internal and firm-external regional influencing factors on rural RIS integration is examined. The article proposes that Hidden Champions are weakly integrated in RIS due to their international sales focus and high technological specialization. To test this premise, 57 expert interviews with Hidden Champions and regional actors were conducted. It was found that key influences for RIS integration of this firm type are ownership structure, firm size, organizational status, location economies, and urbanization economies. Family businesses are on average more integrated than other firm types, but vary significantly in their integration.

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Regionale Innovationssysteme

Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsgeographie ◽

10.1515/zfw.2001.0012 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Walter Thomi ◽

Robert Werner

Keyword(s):

Technological Innovation ◽

Innovation Systems ◽

Knowledge Generation ◽

Information Flows ◽

Regional Innovation Systems ◽

Regional Innovation ◽

National Innovation Systems ◽

Institutional Learning

AbstractThe paper aims to discuss the concept of the Regional Innovation Systems (RIS). Reference is made to the structural background of the discussion as well as to related concepts of Technological Innovation Systems and National Innovation Systems. Key elements of RIS like cluster, governance, institutional learning etc. as well as approaches towards models and typologies are discussed. The RIS approach is classified as a concept with high political and strategic contents and less theoretical groundings. It is argued that the concept is in need for further clarification at the level of Information flows and knowledge generation.

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Regional Innovation Systems and Revolutionary Business Modelling

Handbook of Research on Information Architecture and Management in Modern Organizations - Advances in Information Quality and Management ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8637-3.ch011 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 237-255

Author(s):

Filipe Castro Soeiro

Keyword(s):

Disruptive Innovation ◽

Global Market ◽

Innovation Systems ◽

Regional Innovation Systems ◽

Regional Innovation ◽

Innovative Strategies ◽

Mobile Gaming ◽

Heterogeneous Players ◽

Business Modelling ◽

Value Propositions

Mobile gaming and digital music industries' innovation dynamics and growth show high potential of value network and induce new ways of designing and developing competitive value propositions throughout disruptive network-based innovation strategies. These network-based innovative strategies and processes rely on a large number of heterogeneous players that have the potential to lead to design and development of new products and services, throughout a network of capabilities set, by combining games with music contents, revolutionizing the current media entertainment sector and creating value and disruptive innovation. In view of that, mobile gaming sector dynamics and global market potential were analyzed throughout a wide set of analytical frameworks. Finally, there were discussed industrial integration and innovation processes, industrial clustering and agglomeration economics, which drive into regional innovation systems, economic knowledge, and R&D spillovers, that, ultimately, support blue ocean opportunities, while benefiting customers and key stakeholders through and societal impacts for the future.

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The innovativeness of the Turkish textile industry within similar knowledge bases across different regional innovation systems

European Urban and Regional Studies ◽

10.1177/0969776412448088 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 227-242 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Yeşim Kuştepeli ◽

Yaprak Gülcan ◽

Sedef Akgüngör

Keyword(s):

New Technologies ◽

Innovation Policy ◽

Knowledge Bases ◽

Innovation Systems ◽

Knowledge Generation ◽

Complex Nature ◽

Regional Innovation Systems ◽

Regional Innovation ◽

Network Ties ◽

Lock In

Rapid technological and economic development in the world economy and the systematic and complex nature of innovation processes require specific innovation policy activities, such as having access to new knowledge. Through networking, individuals and organizations can become aware of new technologies and information by engaging in boundary-extending activities. Because there are dissimilarities between knowledge bases, each industrial activity is assumed to have specific types of innovation logics, innovative processes and innovation outcomes. In addition, the generation, diffusion, application and exploitation of knowledge are closely related to a region’s ability to undertake innovations. The objective and contribution of this paper is to compare the innovativeness of two textile-related industries in two cities (Denizli and Adıyaman) in Turkey with similar knowledge bases but differences in regional innovation systems. Denizli is a networked region, but it also shows properties of lock-in deficiency, whereas Adıyaman is an organizationally thin and peripheral region. The results reveal that there are significant differences in the knowledge generation and exploitation structures of the two regions, although they have similar knowledge bases. Such dissimilarities between the regions are explained by their respective knowledge-generating subsystems. The network maps of the Denizli and Adıyaman textile firms show that firms in Denizli have denser regional network ties than those in Adıyaman. The strong network ties of textile firms in Denizli allow the firms to be superior in innovative performance to Adıyaman firms, albeit with the danger of technological lock-in in the Denizli region. Adıyaman, being an organizationally thin region, lacks the necessary institutional structure for networking. Policy tools that are unique to each region are needed to enhance innovativeness.

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