Innovation, Interaction and Space

Innovation is widely regarded as the driving force behind economic growth and sustaining prosperity. There is a growing literature dedicated to the process of innovation within businesses and it is increasingly clear that a business' ability to innovate is conditioned by the characteristics of its location. For example, Michael Porter of Harvard Business School maintains that sustainable competitive advantages in a global economy lies increasingly in local things knowledge, relationships and motivation . Even with this growing acceptance that the environment within which a business is located influences its ability to innovate, it remains difficult to measure and test the effect on innovation of these external factors. In this thought-provoking book, Declan Jordan sets out the current state of thinking in relation to the effects of external interaction and geographic proximity on innovaiton in business-level innovation. Drawing on evidence from Ireland, the book challenges the widely-held policy consensus on innovation and poses important questions for anyone involved (or interested) in the development of so- called smart economies.

Autorentext

Declan Jordan gained substantial management experience before joining the Department of Economics in UCC. He teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in business economics and his research interests include innovation, regional development and competitiveness, business performance and strategy and innovation and enterprise policy.