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Abstract
The primary aim of this paper is to contribute to current discussion, concerning the role of geography of knowledge sources in knowledge-intensive industries from the perspective of a post-communist country (the Czech Republic), with its specific cultural and historical heritage, as well as its specific institutional and policy context. The article analyses the extent, to which the theoretical conceptualization of analytical and synthetic knowledge bases could be relevant for the geography of knowledge sources, within the emerging ICT and biotech sectors, in two selected regions of the Czech Republic (Prague and Ostrava regions). Our findings confirm the existence of significant variation in the geography of knowledge sources, according to the type of knowledge base (analytical versus synthetic) and the type of knowledge itself (technological versus market knowledge). The article is an outcome of the international project “Constructing Regional Advantage: Towards State-of-the-art Regional Innovation Systems Policies in Europe?”.
Acknowledgements
The paper was prepared with financial support from the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (grant no. CRP/07/E005) and Research Programme No. MSM 0021620831, sponsored by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. The helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper received from Ron Boschma and other colleagues during the 4th International Seminar on Regional Innovation Policies, 15–16 October, 2009, Edinburgh as well as comments by guest editors and anonymous referees are also gratefully acknowledged.