Technological innovation is fundamental to firm performance and economic prosperity. The aim of this book is to contribute to an in-depth understanding of collective innovation processes by analyzing publicly funded R&D cooperation and innovation networks in the German laser industry. Standing in a neo-Schumpeterian tradition, it employs interdisciplinary analytical concepts and draws upon a unique longitudinal dataset from the laser industry that covers more than two decades of observations. In brief, the book makes a valuable contribution by exploring how and why firm-specific R&D cooperation activities and network positions, large-scale network patterns, and evolutionary network change processes affect the innovative performance of laser source manufacturers in Germany.

The book illustrates the considerable advances in modern evolutionary economics and addresses core questions of economic behaviour, interaction of heterogeneous actors in uncertain environments and the possibility of aggregating observations on a macro-economic level. It presents the foundations of economic change as the major building blocks of an economic approach that focusses on complex processes driven by endogenous innovation as well as crisis. The theoretical considerations are complemented by econometric studies to demonstrate the relevance of evolutionary-economic thinking to improve our understanding of the most challenging issues related to economic growth and development.

Matthias Müller makes a case for the particular role of the demand side in research on innovation. Based on a complex agent-based simulation model, he analyzes the versatile mutual relationships between consumers and producers within the innovation process. Instead of oversimplifying the demand side, the book aims to apply important aspects which too often are only applied to the supply side, e.g., the heterogeneity and bounded rationality of economic actors embedded in networks. The results offer a new perspective on the innovation process, proving that the demand side and consumers are important drivers of innovation, which must be included in future research for a full picture.

Evolutionary economics sees the economy as always in motion with change being driven largely by continuing innovation. This approach to economics, heavily influenced by the work of Joseph Schumpeter, saw a revival as an alternative way of thinking about economic advancement as a result of Richard Nelson and Sidney Winter's seminal book, An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, first published in 1982. In this long-awaited follow-up, Nelson is joined by leading figures in the field of evolutionary economics, reviewing in detail how this perspective has been manifest in various areas of economic inquiry where evolutionary economists have been active. Providing the perfect overview for interested economists and social scientists, readers will learn how in each of the diverse fields featured, evolutionary economics has enabled an improved understanding of how and why economic progress occurs.

This insightful book examines the need to bridge the gap between scientific rigour in entrepreneurship research and its practical relevance to external stakeholders, and demonstrates clearly how this can be achieved in practice. Featuring cutting-edge research, Rigour and Relevance in Entrepreneurship Research, Resources and Outcomes presents and evaluates current critical approaches in the field, analysing their theoretical value and their relevance to policy and practice.

Setting an agenda for a more holistic theory on the emergence, evaluation, and legitimation of novelty, this volume showcases how novelty emergence and novelty recognition correspond to two distinct phases of the journey of novelty, from the moment it is generated to the moment it takes root and propagates.

These proceedings represent the work of contributors to the 10th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ECIE 2015), hosted this year by The University of Genoa, Italy on the 17-18 September 2015. The Conference Chair is Prof Luca Beltrametti and the Programme Co-chairs are Prof Renata Paola Dameri, Prof. Roberto Garelli and Prof. Marina Resta, all from the University of Genoa. ECIE continues to develop and evolve. Now in its 10th year the key aim remains the opportunity for participants to share ideas and meet the people who hold them. The scope of papers will ensure an interesting two days. The subjects covered illustrate the wide range of topics that fall into this important and growing area of research. The opening keynote presentation is given by Marco Doria – Mayor of Genoa on the topic of Innovation and entrepreneurship in Genoa: past, present and future. A second keynote will be given by Flavia Marzano from the National board for innovation and Italian digital agenda on the topic of Innovation: New visions not just new technologies. The second day Keynote will be given by Roberto Santoro, President of the European Society of Concurrent Engineering Network (ESoCE Net) on the topic of People Olympics for healthy and active living: A people driven social innovation platform. In addition to the main themes of the conference there are a number of specialist mini tracks on topics including Innovation and strategy, Entrepreneurship education in action, The theory and practice of collaboration in entrepreneurship and Challenges for entrepreneurship and innovation n the 21st Century. With an initial submission of 275 abstracts, after the double blind, peer review process there are 88 Academic research papers, 6 PhD research papers, 1 Masters Research paper, 4 work-in-progress papers and 1 Non-academic paper published in these Conference Proceedings. These papers represent research from Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, , France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, , Kuwait, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Romania, Russia, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Thailand, UK and USA

Knowledge intensive entrepreneurship lies at the core of the structural shift necessary for the growth and development of a knowledge based economy, yet research reveals that the EU has fewer young leading innovators, and Europe’s new firms do not adequately contribute to industrial growth. This is especially true in the high R&D intensive, high-tech sectors. This structural malaise, undermining Europe’s growth potential, is well diagnosed, but poorly understood. This volume fills this important gap by exploring new firms that have significant knowledge intensity in their activity and develop and exploit innovative opportunities in diverse sectors. Through an evolutionary and systemic approach to entrepreneurship, focusing on knowledge intensive entrepreneurship as both a micro and a macro phenomena and analyzing firms in the context of various socio-economic models, the authors explore firms creation and origins around the world, their organization, strategies and business models as well as the role of innovation systems and institutions in their formation and growth. This comprehensive research text is vital reading for academics, researchers and students of high-tech and knowledge intensive entrepreneurship as well as those with an interest in industrial dynamics, innovation management and public policy.

While intense efforts of clarification have been made to distinguish between the concept of system and ecosystem, and between the different forms of ecosystems, very few works have addressed the issues of how these different forms of ecosystems are interacting in a dynamic perspective, or of how the notion of a dynamic ecosystem could emerge from the static frame of a system approach. The five chapters in this volume precisely aim at adding to this literature by highlighting the interplay between different types of innovation systems. A common thread among the five chapters of the book is the recognition of the need to develop new lenses to formally account for adaptative behaviour within clusters, networks, or regional innovation systems using the ecosystem metaphor. The diversity and heterogeneity of agents, the complexity of relationships, and new forms of organisation (underground, middleground, and upperground) are the main characteristics of innovation ecosystems, in contrast to more traditional concepts like clusters or networks. In essence, the five chapters add various complexity dimensions (relationships, knowledge, systems, etc.) to the existing knowledge on ecosystems. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Industry and Innovation.