Location in scientific-technological parks, dynamic capabilities, and innovation

ABSTRACT

Determining the sources of business success in highly dynamic and turbulent environments is very complicated. A broad consensus exists in this respect about the need to contemplate the innovation as a key element for competitiveness. This reasoning stems from its positive effects on growth and on efficiency, of innovative firms in comparison with non-innovative ones. Geographical location provides a unique and different context and this paper aims to analyse the influence exerted by the territory on dynamic capabilities and, consequently, on business competitiveness. Using a sample of 610 high-technology companies drawn from the Technological Innovation Panel (2012), it is confirmed not only that firms located in scientific-technological parks are more innovative but also that dynamic capabilities play a mediating role in this relationship.

KEYWORDS:

• Agglomeration
• innovation
• parks
• dynamic capabilities
• absorptive capacity
• alliance management capacity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Enrique Claver-Cortés (Ph.D., University of Alicante) is professor of Business Administration and Strategic Management Organization at the University of Alicante (Spain). He holds a PhD in Business and Economics. His doctoral dissertation focused on Corporate Social Responsibility, but his primary areas of research cover Tourism Management and Strategic Management also. Likewise, he is member of the Tourism Research Institute at UA. He is the author of several books, book chapters and articles related to Strategic, Tourism and Human Resource Management. He has taken part in various public projects highlighting, amongst many others, the public competitive project for the creation of the Tourist Observatory of the Valencian Community area in Spain. He also holds the position of director of the Department of Business Administration at the Alicante University.

Bartolomé Marco-Lajara is a Senior Lecturer of Business Organization at the University of Alicante (Spain). He holds a PhD in Economics and his doctoral dissertation focused in strategic alliances management. His research interests are on Strategic Management and Tourism Management. He is author of several books, book chapters and articles related to teaching methodology and the areas above mentioned. On the other hand, he is member of the Tourism Research Institute at the University of Alicante since its foundation. He is the main investigator of a public competitive project for the creation of the Tourist Observatory of the Valencian Community (Spain), but he has taken part in others public and private projects, such as the development of the strategic plan of the Alicante province for the period 2010–2020. He holds the position of assistant dean of the Economics Faculty at the University of Alicante.

Encarnación Manresa-Marhuenda holds a PhD in Economics and is Lecturer of Business Organization at the University of Alicante. She has published several articles and has participated in national and international conferences. Her research is focused in agglomeration, dynamic capabilities and innovation.

Francisco García-Lillo is a Senior Lecturer of Business Organization at the University of Alicante (Spain). He holds a PhD in Economics and his doctoral dissertation focused in entrepreneurship. His research interests are on Strategic Management. He is author of several books, book chapters and articles related to teaching methodology and the areas above mentioned. On the other hand, he is member of the Tourism Research Institute at the University of Alicante since its foundation.

Notes

1 Despite the frequent use in the literature of measures related to R&D expenditure, our choice was to discard them because AC not only depends on the implementation of such investments, and its use as an indicator could penalise the importance of smaller-sized organisations which are not able to carry out R&D activities on a regular basis.