https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6723-7534
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ABSTRACT
Discovering regional technological capabilities is key to underpinning the place-based and evidence-driven logic of Smart Specialisation. However, a comprehensive methodological approach for operationalizing the mapping, assessment and benchmarking of regional technological knowledge is urgently required. To address this need, we design and test a patent-based methodology that helps to profile technological domains in European Union regions, detects technological competitive advantages and opportunities for knowledge recombination, assesses selected S3 priorities against regional innovation performance measures, and conducts benchmarking activities. This study lays the foundation for tailoring a digital application to complement the suite of online services for S3 development currently available.
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. Some technological developments may be overlooked because not all inventions are patented (Zuniga et al., Citation2009). Additionally, there is a time lag between the research and development (R&D) effort and the subsequent patent application, which may limit the timeliness of the measures (Kondo, Citation1999). Finally, different propensities to patent may characterize distinct technological sectors and geographical areas (Albino et al., Citation2014), but this can be mitigated by using relative measures.
2. For TechGenerality and the following three indicators, the first four digits of the IPC technological classes were used.
3. For TechGenerality and SearchBreadth, we did not weigh the forward and backward citations, respectively, because this action could introduce bias in the information offered by both indicators.