Innovation Governance Nexuses: Mapping Local Governments' University–Industry Relations and Specialization in High Technology in Sweden

Abstract

In this paper, we take as a point of departure an assumption that innovation governance matters as a local and regional policy instrument, and consequently we investigate whether local policy can be linked to local industry. To do this, we use Swedish survey data on policy and high-tech agglomeration at the level of municipalities and present evidence on innovation governance nexuses, i.e. locations with greater industrial specialization paired with stronger formalization of innovation governance. Theoretically, this paper follows the literature on regional advantage, but a novel approach is used in which innovation governance literature is linked to that advantage. The findings indicate that these types of policy instruments are useful by creating networks that channel and direct resource and knowledge flows, particularly at locations with higher education institutions.

Acknowledgements

Parts of this paper were first presented in 2008 at the Triennial Congress of the Nordic Political Science Association in Tromsø, Norway. In addition to the anonymous referees, we want to thank Maureen McKelvey, Jon Pierre and Mariane Figueria for their constructive comments on earlier versions of this article. We are also very grateful to Oskar Cliffordson for his work with the survey. This research was funded by the Swedish governmental agency VINNOVA.