Browsing by Author "Conceição, Oscarina"
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- Blue Economy as a Policy-Driven Innovation System: Research Funding and the Direction of Ocean-Related InnovationPublication . Sousa, Cristina; Fontes, Margarida; Conceição, OscarinaABSTRACT: The “Blue Economy” has been identified as a driver of European growth, through the development of new competences and activities that enable a sustainable exploitation of ocean resources. This paper conducted an assessment of the directions followed by the research and innovation activities performed by Portuguese organisations in the fields encompassed by the “Blue Economy”, at the light of national and EU strategies. The paper draws on an analysis of the projects developed by Portuguese actors in the context of European framework programmes to investigate: the areas that are being privileged and the role and positioning of different types of actors in the developments taking place. The results point to the emergence of new activities such as marine biotechnology and marine renewable industries, as well as the development of innovations in established industries exploiting marine living resources (fisheries and aquaculture). They likewise reveal that the research and technological activities towards the revitalisation of other established sea-related industries is still very limited. The results also highlight the prominent position of research organisations in both new and established areas. But they equally uncover the relevant position occupied by new technology intensive firms, particularly in areas that require the development of more application oriented methods, products, services, where they are often involved in tripartite relationships, intermediating between research and industrial application. Finally the results suggest that the international cooperation favoured by these projects permit to open-up the national system, contributing to broaden the organisations’ knowledge bases and to extend their international networks.
- Diversification strategies and the emergence of a new industrial value-chain: challenges and opportunities for companiesPublication . Sousa, Cristina; Fontes, Margarida; Conceição, OscarinaABSTRACT: Marine renewable energy technologies (MRET) can contribute to the decarbonization of energy, as well as to the revitalisation of other sectors, but are still an emerging and uncertain area. The development of these technologies entails the construction of a new industrial value chain, requiring the involvement of established firms from a variety of industries. Thus, it is important to understand how established firms can be mobilised to support MRET development, by pursuing diversification strategies. This paper addresses this question by looking at the case of Portuguese firms that expressed willingness to engage with MRET and investigating how they perceive the opportunities for diversification into the new business area, the changes they may need to introduce in their resources and capabilities to exploit those opportunities, and the obstacles they expect to face.
- Entry by research-based spin-offsPublication . Conceição, Oscarina; Faria, Ana Paula; Fontes, MargaridaReflecting the increasing number of research based spin-offs (RBSOs) created since the nineties, previous studies focus their analysis on the factors that influence university entrepreneurship. However, empirical studies that investigate the determinants of variation on RBSO creation across regions are scarce. Using a unique self-collected dataset that comprehends the population of RBSOs created in Portugal from 1995 until to 2007 we investigate the intensity of spin-offs entry across regions, by focusing on the characteristics of the universities and the region in which the spin-off is located. Our results suggest that the quality and prestige of the universities located in a municipality, as well as the presence of university-affiliated incubators and/or university research parks have a positive impact on the intensity of RBSO creation. Regarding the regional characteristics, the availability of qualified human capital and the urbanization economies seem to exert an important effect on spin-off activity across regions.
- Knowledge bases and variety of networking behaviour among research-based spin-offsPublication . Conceição, Oscarina; Sousa, Cristina; Fontes, MargaridaABSTRACT: The paper addresses the role played by research-based spin-off firms (RBSOs) as knowledge dissemination mechanisms, through their position in knowledge networks. Previous research found that, despite the continued relevance of links with research organisations, these firms frequently play an intermediary role between academia and industry, and started characterising the forms assumed by that role (Conceição, Sousa and Fontes, 2017; 2018). This paper extends this approach by proposing that the composition and structure of the knowledge networks and the position occupied by RBSOs are not homogeneous, but vary between industries, being associated with the nature of the knowledge prevalent in that industry. For this purpose, the paper draws on the notion that innovation process in firms and industries are strongly shaped by their specific “modes of knowledge creation” or “knowledge bases”, which have been categorised as analytical, synthetic or symbolic (Asheim and Coenen, 2005). According to the literature these modes of knowledge creation influence the nature of interactions that take place (Moodysson et al, 2008; Plum and Hassink, 2011; Salavisa et al, 2012) and, therefore, they are expected to introduce some differentiation in the knowledge networking behaviour of the RBSOs. The empirical research is based on the data on the publicly funded collaborative research and technology development projects established by the population of RBSO created in Portugal until 2007, encompassing both domestic projects, funded by national programmes (237 projects) and international projects, funded by European Framework Programmes (216 projects) and covering a broad spectrum of industries. The industries were classified according to their knowledge bases. The knowledge networks, associated with the participation of RBSO in those projects, were (re)constructed and analysed using a set of measures from social network analysis, with a view to uncover and assess their composition and structure. The results show that, despite RBSOs common academic origin, there some differences in the structure of the knowledge networks of firms in different industries, in particular between those characterised by an analytical knowledge base (of which biotechnology emerges as the most paradigmatic case) and a synthetic knowledge base. These differences have implications for position and role of RBSOs in the networks.
- Location of research-based spin-offs: how relevant are regional effects?Publication . Conceição, Oscarina; Faria, Ana Paula; Fontes, MargaridaUsing a unique self-collected dataset that comprehends the population of research-based spin-offs created in Portugal from 1995 until to 2007, we investigate the location choices of these firms. In order to do so we control for both university- and region-related mechanisms. Our results suggest that the latter play a lesser role than university-related mechanisms. Although the availability of qualified human capital and urbanization economies seem to exert some effect on the location choices of research-based spin-offs, our results suggest that the quality and prestige of the universities located in a region, as well as the presence of university-affiliated incubators and/or university research parks have a stronger impact on the intensity of RBSO location across regions.
- Opportunities and challenges for companies diversifying into the value chain: The case study of marine renewable energy technologiesPublication . Conceição, Oscarina; Sousa, Cristina; Fontes, MargaridaABSTRACT: Marine renewable energy technologies (MRET) have the potential to become an important source of clean energy and, simultaneously, contribute to the revitalisation of other sectors (Fontes et al, 2021). The realization of such potential requires the construction of a new industrial value chain that combines the competences associated with the new technologies with complementary resources and competences present in the existing industry (Makitie et al, 2018).
- Research-based spin-offs as agents of knowledge dissemination: evidence from the analysis of innovation networksPublication . Conceição, Oscarina; Sousa, Cristina; Fontes, MargaridaThe paper addresses the role played by research-based spin-offs (RBSOs) as knowledge dissemination mechanisms, through their position in knowledge networks. For this purpose the paper analyses the formal networks established by the Portuguese RBSOs in the context of publicly funded research, technology and pre-commercial product development projects, and investigates their configuration along two levels. At organisational level, in order to understand whether RBSOs extend their reach beyond the academic sphere; and if they do, whether they relate with similar firms or connect to organisations located downstream in the knowledge value chain, and which is their position in networks involving both research organisations and other firms. At spatial level, in order to understand whether RBSOs extend their reach beyond the region where they are created, thus potentially acting as connectors between diverse regions. The analysis starts from the population of RBSOs created in Portugal until 2007 (387) and identifies those that have established formal technological relationships as part of projects funded by all the programmes launched in the period 1993-2012. As a result, the analysis encompasses 192 collaborative projects and involves 82 spin-offs and 281 partners, of which only 20% are research organisations, the remaining being other firms and a variety of other user organisations. The results, although still preliminary, provide some insights into the knowledge networking behaviour of the RBSOs. As expected, research organisations are a central actor in spin-offs’ networks, being the sole partner for some of them. But half of the RBSOs have moved beyond the academic sphere, being frequently a central element in tripartite technological relationships between research and other organisations and occupying an intermediation position in the network, thus potentially acting as facilitators in knowledge circulation and transformation. Also as expected, RBSOs are predominantly located in the main metropolitan areas and tend to relate with organisations similarly located. But while geographical proximity emerges as important in the choice of partners, in about half of the cases, RBSOs knowledge networks have extended beyond regional boundaries. Given their central position in the network this suggests a role as connectors across regions that will be explored in subsequent research.
- Research-based spin-offs as agents of knowledge dissemination: evidence from the analysis of innovation networksPublication . Conceição, Oscarina; Sousa, Cristina; Fontes, MargaridaThe paper addresses the role played by research-based spin-offs (RBSOs) as knowledge dissemination mechanisms, through their position in knowledge networks. For this purpose the paper analyses the formal networks established by Portuguese RBSOs, in the context of publicly funded research, technology and pre-commercial product development projects, and investigates their configuration across two levels. At organisational level, in order to understand whether RBSOs extend their reach beyond the academic sphere; and if they do, whether they connect to organisations located downstream in the knowledge value chain, and which is their position in networks involving both research organisations and other firms. At spatial level, in order to understand whether RBSOs extend their reach beyond the region where they are created, thus potentially acting as connectors between diverse regions. The analysis starts from the population of RBSOs created in Portugal until 2007 (327 firms) and identifies those that have established formal technological relationships, as part of projects funded by all the relevant programmes launched in the period 1993-2012. As a result, the analysis encompasses 192 collaborative projects and involves 82 spin-offs and 281 partners, of which only 20% are research organisations, the remaining being other firms and a variety of other downstream organisations. The results, although still preliminary, provide some insights into the knowledge networking behaviour of the RBSOs. As expected, research organisations are a central actor in spin-offs’ networks, being the sole partner for some of them. But half of the RBSOs have moved beyond the academic sphere, being frequently a central element in tripartite technological relationships between research and other organisations, and occupying an intermediation position in the network, thus potentially acting as facilitators in knowledge circulation and transformation. Also as expected, RBSOs are predominantly located in the main metropolitan areas and tend to relate with organisations similarly located. But while geographical proximity emerges as important in the choice of partners, in about half of the cases, RBSOs knowledge networks have extended beyond regional boundaries. Given their central position in the network, this suggests a role as connectors across regions that will be explored in subsequent research.
- The role of research-based spin-offs in innovation ecosystemsPublication . Conceição, Oscarina; Sousa, Cristina; Fontes, MargaridaABSTRACT: The objective of the paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the various roles played by research-based spin-offs (RBSOs) in knowledge dissemination. It investigates if RBSOs act as connectors and knowledge translators, both between different types of organisations within an innovation ecosystem and across different geographical scales and knowledge environments. This latter role has been relatively less investigated but is important to open local innovation ecosystems. The paper analyses the networks formed by Portuguese RBSOs in the context of research, technology and product development projects. The results suggest that RBSOs play an intermediary role in the country's innovation ecosystem, which can assume different forms. In the national networks, they frequently bridge research and downstream organisations, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge within the ecosystem. In the international networks, their most important role may be as connectors and conveyors of advanced knowledge produced in external knowledge environments
- The role of research-based spin-offs in innovation ecosystemsPublication . Conceição, Oscarina; Sousa, Cristina; Fontes, MargaridaABSTRACT: The objective of the paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the various roles played by research-based spin-offs (RBSOs) in knowledge dissemination. It investigates if RBSOs act as connectors and knowledge translators, both between different types of organisations within an innovation ecosystem and across different geographical scales and knowledge environments. This latter role has been relatively less investigated but is important to open local innovation ecosystems. The paper analyses the networks formed by Portuguese RBSOs in the context of research, technology and product development projects. The results suggest that RBSOs play an intermediary role in the country’s innovation ecosystem, which can assume different forms. In the national networks, they frequently bridge between research and downstream organisations, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge within the ecosystem. In the international networks, their most important role may be as connectors to and conveyors of advanced knowledge produced in external knowledge environments.