Regional innovation systems: Systematic literature review and recommendations for future research

Figures & data

Table 1. Publications by Journal from January 1997 to July 2017

Journals^1	1997–2000	2001–2005	2006–2010	2011–2017	Total	%
European Planning Studies		4	6	16	26	33
Regional Studies	1	4	5	8	18	23
Technological Forecasting and Social Change			1	11	12	16
Research Policy	1	3	2	1	7	9
European Urban and Regional Studies	2			2	4	5
Scientometrics		1	2	1	4	5
Technovation		2	1	1	4	5
Entrepreneurship and Regional Development			1	1	2	3
Economic Development Quarterly				1	1	1
	4	14	18	42	78	100

Note: ¹The journal impact factors according to JCR (up to 2016) are as follows: Research Policy (4.495), Technovation (3.265), Scientometrics (2.147), Regional Studies (2.780), Technological Forecasting and Social Change (2.625), European Urban and Regional Studies (2.077), Entrepreneurship and Regional Development (1.776), European Planning Studies (1.332), and Economic Development Quarterly (0.673).

Table 2. Most cited articles regarding RIS

Author(s)	Title of the article	Journal	Citations	Methodology	Findings
Cooke, P; Uranga, MG; Etxebarria, G	Regional innovation systems: Institutional and organisational dimensions	Research Policy	618	Theoretical and conceptual analysis	The concept of Innovation System, widely dealt with in literature on technical change and regional economy, need not have its validity restricted to the limits of national states. Regional Innovation Systems (RISs) are valuable and interesting object of study. In the article, RISs were conceptualized in terms of a collective order based on micro-constitutional regulation conditioned by trust, reliability, exchange, cooperative interaction and learning.
Chung, S	Building a national innovation system through regional innovation systems	Technovation	390	Theoretical analysis Multiple case study (Document analysis)	Korean national innovation system is relatively weak, as it has only three advanced, six fast developing and seven less developed regional innovation systems. They should be further developed based on the active support by the central government, policy measures for activating interactive learning between innovation actors, and the close cooperation between the central and regional governments.
Iammarino, S	An evolutionary integrated view of regional systems of innovation: Concepts, measures and historical perspectives	European Planning Studies	95	Theoretical analysis Case study (Document analysis)	By adopting an evolutionary integrated approach, the RSI framework provides an adequate conceptual base from which to investigate whether and why a region is an innovation system. Adequate data and robust indicators to identify structural regularities and patterns of socio-economic change in RSI are urgently required.
Asheim, BT; Coenen, L	Knowledge bases and regional innovation systems: Comparing Nordic clusters	Research Policy	94	Empirical study Quantitative research methodologies Descriptive statistics	The regional level often provides a grounded approach embedded in networks of actors acknowledging the importance of the knowledge base of an industry. The traditional regional innovation system, consisting on clusters surrounded by innovation supporting organizations, is nearly always to be found in industries with a synthetic knowledge base, while the existence of regional innovation systems as an integral part of a cluster will be the case of industries with an analytical knowledge base.
Koch, A; Stahlecker, T	Regional innovation systems and the foundation of knowledge intensive business services. A comparative study in Bremen, Munich, and Stuttgart, Germany	European Planning Studies	62	Empirical study Qualitative research methodology Multiple case study (guided interview and document analysis)	The regional techno-economic and institutional structures influence the early development of the KIBS sector and low entry barriers for talent and qualified people are also a precondition. In newly founded KIBS, geographical proximity to their suppliers and clients play a crucial role due to the flows of tacit knowledge.
Buesa, M; Heijs, J; Pellitero, MM; Baumert,T	Regional systems of innovation and the knowledge production function: the Spanish case	Technovation	60	Empirical study Quantitative research methodology Descriptive statistics and multivariate data analysis	Four main factors have an impact on the regional innovation capacity: The Regional Production and Innovation Environment, the University, the Public Administration and Private Enterprise. Regional Production and Innovation Environment have greater impact than the other factors on innovative capacity considering patents as a measure
Leydesdorff, L; Fritsch, M	Measuring the knowledge base of regional innovation systems in Germany in terms of a Triple Helix dynamics	Research Policy	57	Empirical study Quantitative research methodology Descriptive and inferential statistics	Medium-tech manufacturing is the main driver of the knowledge-based configuration in a regional economy (being a better indicator of the knowledge-based economy than that of high-tech manufacturing), and knowledge-intensive services tend to uncouple the economy from the regional configuration.
Christopherson, S; Clark, J	Power in firm networks: What it means for regional innovation systems	Regional Studies	52	Theoretical analysis (Qualitative Quantitative)	Because of their size, scale, and political as well as economic power, transnational corporations can shape the governance environment within which they operate at the regional, national and international scale, in favor of their innovation interest and agenda, affecting the SMEs accessibility to these resources.
Belussi, F; Sammarra, A; Sedita, SR	Learning at the boundaries in an “Open Regional Innovation System”: A focus on firms’ innovation strategies in the Emilia Romagna life science industry	Research Policy	51	Empirical study Quantitative research methodology Descriptive statistics and econometric analyses (binomial model)	An open innovation model better explains firms’ innovative performance than a closed one and research collaborations contribute significantly to the determination of firms’ innovative output.
Asheim, BT; Smith, HL; Oughton, C	Regional innovation systems: Theory, empirics and policy	Regional Studies	50	Theoretical analysis (Qualitative)	The labor market has an impact on the organizational absorptive capacity, and this last is crucial for the knowledge transfer process necessary to integrate not only regional but also national policy initiatives. Competitive advantage can be built through the understanding of the regional knowledge base to leverage the effectiveness of RIS