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Federica ROSSI

Professore Associato
Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi"

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Pubblicazioni

2023 - ‘How do firms reach out to foreign universities? Inventors’ personal characteristics and the multinational structure of firms’ [Articolo su rivista]
Fassio, C.; Geuna, A.; Rossi, F.
abstract

We analyze the determinants of firm-based inventors’ collaborations with universities abroad, comparing them with collaborations with national universities. We propose a micro-founded theoretical framework that introduces the role of personal linkages and global organizational pipelines as drivers of international academic collaborations, and we empirically investigate collaborations with national and international universities in a sample of inventors in Italy. We find that in general international collaborations depend positively on inventors working for multinational enterprises (MNEs). Instead for collaborations with national universities, the personal local linkages of the inventors play a large role. However, we also find that for collaborations with very distant universities abroad, such as US ones, working for an MNE is less crucial and the personal linkages of inventors become more important. In this case being an inventor with a network of foreign colleagues and with greater acquaintance with the norms of open science facilitates the interaction. This applies also to inventors who work for MNEs. The results point to a hybrid model of global linkages in the case of collaborations between firms and universities, in which both the personal international linkages of the inventors and the global organizational pipelines of MNEs play an important role.

2023 - Intrinsic and strategic complementarity of research and knowledge transfer activities as determinants of knowledge transfer management: evidence from public research organisations [Articolo su rivista]
Ghorbankhani, M.; Rossi, F.
abstract

While public research organisations (PROs) are increasingly expected to actively transfer knowledge to business, government and wider society, limited research exists about how they manage this important function. Particularly, we do not know under what conditions it is more effective for PRO to vertically integrate knowledge transfer management, or to outsource it to specialist providers. Extending the theory of firm boundaries to PROs, we argue that this choice is influenced by two types of complementarity between research and knowledge transfer: intrinsic complementarity (occurring when the knowledge transfer process requires unique tacit knowledge) and strategic complementarity (occurring when the nature of the knowledge recipients matters to the PRO). By exploiting a unique 6 years panel dataset of 33 PROs in the United Kingdom, we confirm that higher degrees of both types of complementarity are associated with greater likelihood to vertically integrate knowledge transfer management, and that these effects are independent of economies of scale and sector specificities.

2023 - Reconceptualising knowledge exchange and higher education institutions: broadening our understanding of motivations, channels, and stakeholders [Articolo su rivista]
Marzocchi, C.; Kitagawa, F.; Rossi, F.; Uyarra, E.
abstract

This Special Issue represents an effort to go beyond a narrow notion of knowledge exchange (KE) and explicitly address broader questions related to the measurement of and incentives towards KE in Higher education institutions (HEI). Specifically, we bring attention to a number of under-researched topics in the literature. These relate to: (i) The participation of a diverse set of academic actors in KE activities–in particular, academics in emerging economies and women academics–whose role in KE is insufficiently investigated in the extant literature; (ii) academics’ engagement with under-explored KE stakeholders, specifically policymakers and the public sector; and (iii) the tensions and tradeoffs that are implicit, but often unacknowledged, in the relationship between HEIs’ traditional teaching and research activities, and KE as a third institutional mission.

2023 - The relationship between universities' funding portfolios and their knowledge exchange profiles: A dynamic capabilities view [Articolo su rivista]
Sengupta, A.; Rossi, F.
abstract

This paper examines how universities' knowledge exchange (KE) profiles evolve in relation to changes in the composition of their funding sources. Using the dynamic capabilities framework as a conceptual lens, we examine how changes in the share of KE versus research income in a university's financial portfolio are related to the mix of KE channels it uses and of types of stakeholders it engages with, that is, its KE profile. Relying on an 8-year panel of 110 UK-based universities we show that, universities whose share of KE income is higher relative to others, are associated with a higher degree specialization in both KE channels and stakeholder types. Conversely, universities whose share of blue-sky research income is higher relative to others, are associated with greater diversification in both. Some of these linkages are negatively moderated by higher levels of tangible and intangible resources: universities with greater intangible resources are less responsive to variations in research and KE income shares on KE channel diversity; while universities with higher tangible resources are less responsive to variations in research income share on KE stakeholder diversity.

2023 - Which regional conditions facilitate university spinouts retention and attraction? [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.; Baines, N.; Smith, H. L.
abstract

We discuss the economic and institutional factors that contribute to regions retaining university spinouts (USOs) founded within their borders as well as attracting USOs from other regions. Using UK data, we find that those regions with high USO retention rates have lower urbanization and localization economies. This suggests that locally founded USOs take advantage of cheaper inputs in addition to benefits that come from proximity to their home university. However, regions with high USO attraction rates have higher localization economies and innovation resources, suggesting that USOs move there to benefit from dynamic innovation systems. This study offers some general implications for regional and national industrial policy, including the ‘levelling up’ regional policy agenda.

2022 - Anchoring Innovation Districts. The Entrepreneurial University and Urban Change [Recensione in Rivista]
Rossi, Federica
abstract

2022 - Implementing strategic changes in universities’ knowledge exchange profiles: The role and nature of managerial interventions [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.; Sengupta, A.
abstract

In a context of increasing managerialization of higher education and growing importance of the so-called ‘third mission’, universities increasingly seek to align their knowledge exchange (KE) profiles—i.e., the KE channels they use and the stakeholders with which they interact—to their institutional objectives. Using the lens of management control systems theory, we mapped changes in KE profiles to different management interventions. Building on 12 case studies of UK universities and combining content analysis and qualitative comparative analysis, we found that a) universities that had diversified their KE profiles had implemented belief and interactive control system interventions to encourage all staff members to exploit a wide range of KE opportunities; b) universities that had increased their KE specialization had implemented boundary and diagnostic control system interventions targeted at staff members performing specific KE activities; and c) universities that had reoriented their KE profiles had used a mix of interventions.

2022 - Long-Term Innovation Outcomes of University–Industry Collaborations: The Role of ‘Bridging’ vs ‘Blurring’ Boundary-Spanning Practices [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.; De Silva, M.; Baines, N.; Rosli, A.
abstract

We explore the link between the long-term innovation outcomes of university–industry collaborations (UICs) – in particular, whether the UIC has led to further exploitative or exploratory innovation – and the adoption of boundary-spanning practices. This extends the current literature on UICs, which has mainly focused on short-term innovation outputs and on the features of boundary-spanning individuals and teams. Relying on a unique, purposefully constructed evidence base combining information from 95 semi-structured interviews with participants in 75 UICs and from publicly available databases, we find that adopting a ‘bridging’ approach to boundary spanning – through formal and structured practices and communication procedures – increases the likelihood that the UIC will lead to further exploitative innovation. A ‘blurring’ approach to boundary spanning – through informal practices to de-emphasize boundaries between organizations – increases the likelihood that the UIC will lead to further exploratory innovation. The choice of each boundary-spanning approach is in turn influenced by the collaborators’ prior experience with internal knowledge creation and collaborative knowledge co-creation. Management and policy implications are discussed.

2022 - Mapping regional strengths in a key enabling technology: The distribution of Internet of Things competences across European regions [Articolo su rivista]
Russo, Margherita; Caloffi, Annalisa; Colovic, Ana; Pavone, Pasquale; Romeo, Saverio; Rossi, Federica
abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) can trigger innovation processes across all sectors of the economy. However, this potential is not available to all regions. As with other ena-bling technologies, the competences required to develop IoT solutions are numerous and varied, ranging from hardware to software and related services, and are often pro-vided by different companies. To map the application potential of these technologies across European regions, we use textual analysis to identify the NACE codes associat-ed with five main IoT domains. We identify clusters of regions characterised by differ-ent mixes of competences in IoT technologies and we discuss the policy implications of our findings at both European and regional levels.

2022 - New business models for public innovation intermediaries supporting emerging innovation systems: The case of the Internet of Things [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, Federica; Annalisa, Caloffi; Colovic, Ana; Russo, Margherita
abstract

In several countries, governments have assigned to public innovation intermediaries (PIIs) the mandate to support the digital transition, by facilitating the development and adoption of new digital technologies on the part of firms and other organisations. This new mandate requires PIIs to upgrade their business models, moving beyond their traditional involvement in firms’ technology upgrading and university-industry knowledge transfer, toward supporting the creation of new innovation systems around the emerging digital technologies. To understand how PIIs are reconfiguring their business models to support the digital transition, we study four cases of PIIs operating in the United Kingdom and France, whose mandates include providing support for firms and other organisations in the implementation of new digital technologies, focusing in particular on the Internet of Things (IoT). We show that, despite their differences, all four PIIs have substantially reconfigured their business models in similar ways in order to fulfil these mandates. Both the formal legitimacy arising from their policy mandate, and the knowledge resources and informal legitimacy they have developed, have played a decisive role in their ability to orchestrate the development of innovation systems around IoT.

2021 - Does affective evaluation matter for the success of university-industry collaborations? A sentiment analysis of university-industry collaborative project reports [Articolo su rivista]
De Silva, M.; Rossi, F.; Yip, N. K. T.; Rosli, A.
abstract

University-industry collaborations (UICs) play a crucial role in the knowledge-based economy; however, past research has paid surprisingly little attention to the role played by the ‘subjective’ determinants of collaborations and their influence on ‘objective’ collaboration outcomes. By performing a sentiment analysis on a dataset of 415 final reports from completed UICs, we find that there is a negative relationship between the collaborators’ perceived challenges and benefits of UICs, mediated by negative affective evaluation. Instead, a positive affective evaluation of the UIC is positively correlated with its perceived benefits, which, in turn, are a predictor of an important objective outcome of UICs: the likelihood of future collaboration. A positive affective evaluation also negatively moderates the positive relationship between perceived challenges and negative affective evaluation. Therefore, a positive affective evaluation may increase the likelihood of future collaboration, even in a context in which a UIC is perceived to be challenging. Besides generating theoretical implications, our findings are of significant value for practitioners, as we highlight the need to regulate perception and affective evaluation to achieve successful UICs. We showcase sentiment analysis as a helpful foresight tool to identify those UICs that are more likely to continue over time.

2021 - Mapping the distribution of Internet of Things competences across European regions [Working paper]
Russo, Margherita; Annalisa, Caloffi; Colovic, Ana; Pavone, Pasquale; Romeo, Saverio; Rossi, Federica
abstract

Digital transformation is a key strategic issue for countries and regions aiming to boost economic growth, job creation, technology development and innovation. With a focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) the paper maps the potential of IoT technologies across European regions, using textual analysis applied to the description of companies’ activities. Results identify three categories of regions (IoT leaders, co-designers and suppliers) capturing their potential to harness opportunities in IoT, based on the variety of IoT competences that are present. This mapping can support regional policies, particularly in the context of smart specialization strategies building on IoT systems.

2021 - Public innovation intermediaries and digital co-creation, [Working paper]
Rossi, Federica; Colovic, Ana; Caloffi, Annalisa; Russo, Margherita
abstract

The emerging digital technologies pose new challenges to innovation intermediaries. In this chapter we build on a case base of evidence on selected public intermediaries in France (pôles de compétitivité) and in the UK (digital catapults), to argue that public innovation intermediaries, which carry public policy mandates, have a specific role to play, particularly in the context on the emerging, complex, and yet not fully commoditised set of technologies underpinning the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. In particular, we reveal that by connecting a plurality of actors on the demand and supply side, public innovation intermediaries facilitate co-creation of complex technological solutions, and that in doing so, they create both social and economic value. The goals of examined co-creation activities revolve around finding highly innovative solutions to complex problems triggered by the digital transformation. The co-creation initiatives that we study take place at the national level, but their outputs have broader impact on the activities of the parties involved. Our evidence suggests that, when co-creating a complex technological solution, the intermediary is involved in two complementary, often intertwined, but distinct processes that bring together organisations that demand technology and those that supply technological solutions. On the demand side, the intermediary helps the organisation looking for a technological solution (a large company, an SME, or a municipality) to articulate their demand, and eventually find it as well. We call this ‘demand-led’ co-creation. On the supply side, the intermediary brings together a system of technology providers (large companies, SMEs, universities and public research organisations) able to devise, develop and implement a technological solution to match the needs of the organisation on the demand side. We call this ‘supply-led’ co-creation. The intermediary is present from the beginning to the end of the co-creation processes, with its activities extending beyond co-creation processes to ensure post-project continuity between the involved actors. Among demand-led co-creation processes, we identified at least two different approaches devised by Catapults and Pôles de compétitivité - the development of an open challenge, and the development of a proof-of concept. On the supply side, we noted the creation of the so-called ‘groupement’ of SMEs by pôles de compétitivité, whereby the pôle facilitates the creation of a value-chain that is able to respond to complex demands of organisations looking for technological solutions. Our study shows that public intermediaries are able to play their unique role in co-creation processes thanks to several factors: the legitimacy they have to act as intermediaries, as they are endowed with public mandates; the presence of long-term public funding that enables intermediaries to be perceived as neutral agents, to gain reputation and trust over time; the networks of trusted experts on whom they can rely to successfully complete their mission; a well functioning evaluation process that spurs intermediaries to act effectively and efficiently and to be responsive to demands from their stakeholders.

2020 - Public innovation intermediaries and digital co-creation. Research contribution to the OECD TIP Co-creation project [Altro]
Rossi, Federica; Caloffi, Annalisa; Colovic, Ana; Russo, Margherita
abstract

The emerging digital technologies pose new challenges to innovation intermediaries. In this chapter we build on a case base of evidence on selected public intermediaries in France (pôles de compétitivité) and in the UK (digital catapults), to argue that public innovation intermediar-ies, which carry public policy mandates, have a specific role to play, particularly in the context on the emerging, complex, and yet not fully commoditised set of technologies underpinning the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. In particular, we reveal that by connecting a plurality of actors on the demand and supply side, public innovation intermediaries facilitate co-creation of complex technological solutions, and that in doing so, they create both social and economic value. The goals of examined co-creation activities revolve around finding highly innovative solutions to complex problems triggered by the digital transformation. The co-creation initiatives that we study take place at the national level, but their outputs have broader impact on the activities of the parties involved. Our evidence suggests that, when co-creating a complex technological solution, the intermediary is involved in two complementary, often intertwined, but distinct processes that bring together organisations that demand technology and those that supply technological solutions. On the demand side, the intermediary helps the organisation looking for a technological solution (a large company, an SME, or a municipality) to articulate their demand, and eventually find it as well. We call this ‘demand-led’ co-creation. On the supply side, the intermediary brings together a system of technology providers (large companies, SMEs, universities and public research or-ganisations) able to devise, develop and implement a technological solution to match the needs of the organisation on the demand side. We call this ‘supply-led’ co-creation. The intermediary is present from the beginning to the end of the co-creation processes, with its activities extending beyond co-creation processes to ensure post-project continuity between the involved actors. Among demand-led co-creation processes, we identified at least two different approaches devised by Catapults and Pôles de compétitivité - the development of an open challenge, and the development of a proof-of concept. On the supply side, we noted the creation of the so-called ‘groupement’ of SMEs by pôles de compétitivité, whereby the pôle facilitates the creation of a value-chain that is able to respond to complex demands of organisations looking for technolog-ical solutions. Our study shows that public intermediaries are able to play their unique role in co-creation processes thanks to several factors: the legitimacy they have to act as intermediaries, as they are endowed with public mandates; the presence of long-term public funding that enables interme-diaries to be perceived as neutral agents, to gain reputation and trust over time; the networks of trusted experts on whom they can rely to successfully complete their mission; a well functioning evaluation process that spurs intermediaries to act effectively and efficiently and to be respon-sive to demands from their stakeholders.

2020 - Satellite university campuses and economic development in peripheral regions [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.; Goglio, V.
abstract

Satellite university campuses–whereby established universities decentralise part of their activities, often to areas previously lacking a university–contribute to the diversification of university systems. While satellite campuses, due to their small scale and limited resources, might perform some activities less efficiently than their larger parent universities, we argue that they are uniquely placed to serve the needs of their localities. Based on the case of a satellite campus in North-West Italy, we show that: (i) the campus’ main contribution lies in widening access to higher education to residents who would not attend university in the absence of local provision; (ii) the campus contributes to local development also through research and business and community engagement, and by stimulating local demand for knowledge-intensive services; (iii) research and engagement are more effective for local development where local firms possess relevant absorptive capacity and where there is a favourable institutional framework.

2019 - Innovation intermediaries and performance-based incentives: a case study of regional innovation poles [Articolo su rivista]
Russo, Margherita; Annalisa, Caloffi; Rossi, Federica; Righi, Riccardo
abstract

A growing number of innovation policies rely on publicly-funded innovation intermediaries to provide knowledge-intensive services to firms, particularly small- and medium-sized ones. The performance of innovation intermediaries is often assessed using indicators that need to be closely aligned with policy objectives to be effective. However, this alignment is difficult to achieve and is often overlooked in practice. We analyse the relationship between performance indicators and the behaviour of intermediaries by examining a case study of innovation intermediaries funded with public resources in Tuscany, Italy. The intermediaries implemented actions that allowed them to achieve their performance targets rapidly. However, due to a misalignment between indicators and policy objectives, these actions were not entirely consistent with the latter. After reviewing the literature on this key issue, we build on our findings to suggest how to design performance indicators that can induce intermediaries to more effectively support the achievement of policy objectives.

2019 - Innovation Poles in Tuscany 2011-2014 [Banca dati]
Righi, Riccardo; Russo, Margherita; Caloffi, Annalisa; Righi, Simone; Rossi, Federica
abstract

The database "Innovation Poles in Tuscany 2011-2014" collects data on innovation intermediaries, funded through a regional policy intervention, in the Italian region of Tuscany. It has been developed in the research project "Poli.in Analysis and modelling of innovation poles in Tuscany" (www.poliinovazione.unimore.it), co-funded by Tuscany's Regional Administration and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. Publications using the present data set are available at www.poliinovazione.unimore.it. The dataset has been already elaborated in - Russo, Margherita, Annalisa Caloffi, Riccardo Righi, Simone Righi, Federica Rossi «Multilayer Network analysis of innovation intermediaries’ activities». In G. Ragozini, M. P. Vitale (eds.), Challenges in Social Network Research, Lecture Notes in Social Networks, © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31463-7_12 - Russo, Margherita, Annalisa Caloffi, Riccardo Righi, Simone Righi, Federica Rossi. 2016. «Multilayer Network analysis of innovation intermediaries’ activities: methodological issues and an application to a regional policy programme», In Blue Sky Forum: Posters Gallery-Innovation Metrics. Ghent, Belgium. http://www.oecd.org/sti/blue-sky-posters.htm. - Russo, Margherita, Annalisa Caloffi, Federica Rossi, Riccardo Righi. 2018. «Innovation intermediaries and performance-based incentives: a case study of regional innovation poles». Science and Public Policy, 46(1), 2019, 1–12 https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scy028. FOLDERS: - folder edges: data on the edgelist in .csv, .dta, .xlsx - folder nodes: data agents in .csv, .dta, .xlsx - folder “graph” : RDS file network in igraph

2019 - Is a Policy Mix More Effective Than Individual Policies for SME Innovation? An Exploratory Analysis [Articolo su rivista]
Annalisa, Caloffi; Freo, Marzia; Ghinoi, Stefano; Rossi, Federica; Russo, Margherita
abstract

The provision of public funds to private firms for the purchase of services, particularly knowledge-intensive ones, has received so far little attention from the evaluation literature (Bakhshi et al., 2015; Bruhn et al., 2018 are notable exceptions). These interventions aim to help SMEs to access a variety of knowledge and competencies required for innovation, which are not available within the firm (Vossen, 1998; Storey, 2003). The implicit assumption is that SMEs primarily suffer from constraints on their financial resources, rather than on their capabilities. After receiving the subsidy, SMEs should be able to identify the services they need, as well as the suppliers that can best provide them. However, it is well known that SMEs, may not only lack the financial resources to invest in innovation, but also the capabilities to identify the competences and services they need, or the right suppliers that can provide them (Fontana et al., 2006; Ortega Argilés et al., 2009). Subsidies for the purchase of knowledge-intensive services address the former problem, but not the latter. As discussed by Shapira and Youtie (2016), to help SMEs increase their awareness of their needs and how to address them, they could be provided with complementary services, such as technology and innovation advisory services. This study presents an exploratory empirical analysis focused on two interconnected regional innovation policy interventions implemented in Tuscany (Italy). We adopt a propensity score matching approach applied to the case of multiple treatments, as proposed by Lechner (2002a, 2002b). In particular, we compare three different treatments: (i) the use of innovation vouchers for the purchase of knowledge-intensive services; (ii) the reliance on an intermediary’s technology and innovation advisory service; (iii) the combination of the two treatments, i.e. the use of innovation vouchers for the purchase of knowledge-intensive services with guidance from the intermediary. While policy mixes have been advocated as a response to complex problems (Flanagan et al., 2011; Cunningham et al., 2016), very little empirical evidence is available about the comparative effectiveness of policy mixes with respect to that of the single policies in the mix (Martin, 2016), and no other studies consider the particular combination of innovation vouchers and advisory services. This exploratory study captures an aspect that lies at the core of the policy mix literature, namely that the mix cannot be considered as the simple sum of the single instruments that are included in it (Magro and Wilson, 2013), but it can facilitate the emergence of synergies and complementarities among them.

2019 - Multilayer Network Analysis of Innovation Intermediaries’ Activities [Capitolo/Saggio]
Russo, Margherita; Annalisa, Caloffi; Righi, Riccardo; Righi, Simone; Rossi, Federica
abstract

Policymakers wishing to enhance innovation processes in small and medium-sized enterprises increasingly channel their interventions through innovation intermediaries. However, limited empirical research exists regarding the activities and performance of intermediaries, with most contributions taking a qualitative approach and focusing on the role of intermediaries as brokers. In this paper, we analyse the extent to which innovation intermediaries, through their engagement in different activities, support the creation of communities of other agents. We use multilayer network analysis techniques to simultaneously represent the many types of interactions promoted by intermediaries. Furthermore, by originally applying the Infomap algorithm to our multilayer network, we assess the contribution of the agents involved in different activities promoted by intermediaries, and we identify the emerging multilayer communities and the intercohesive agents that span across several communities. Our analysis highlights the potential and the critical features of multilayer analysis for policy design and evaluation.

2019 - The Network Effects of Regional R&D Collaboration Policy [Articolo su rivista]
Caloffi, Annalisa; Rossi, Federica; Russo, Margherita
abstract

Adopting a counterfactual approach to the evaluation of an R&D collaboration policy, carried out on a regional scale, we investigate different types of persistent network effects, namely persistence, breadth, composition, and intensification. Our findings reveal that the R&D collaboration policy was able to generate a persistent change in the networking behaviour of participating firms (persistence effect), stimulating in particular collaborations with universities. Network effects were greater for firms that, prior to the policy intervention, were already accustomed to collaborating, than for more stand-alone firms. With respect to the former firms, we also find a composition effect, which implies a change in the type of partners in innovation-related activities.

2019 - Which governance of university-industry interactions increases the value of industrial inventions? [Articolo su rivista]
Fassio, C.; Geuna, A.; Rossi, F.
abstract

While evidence suggests that industry inventors' interactions with universities enhance invention value, the role of interaction governance has so far been overlooked. Relying on an original survey of industry inventors of European patents based in Italy, we show that governance matters. Personal contractual collaborations between firms and individual academics lead to higher-value inventions than collaborations mediated by university institutions. The former enable more effective exploitation of academic knowledge, by facilitating its full transmission and integration into the firm's knowledge base.

2019 - Who benefits from HEIs engagement? An analysis of priority stakeholders and activity profiles of HEIs in the United Kingdom [Articolo su rivista]
de la Torre, E. M.; Rossi, F.; Sagarra, M.
abstract

It has been suggested that higher education institutions (HEIs) may develop different activity profiles (including research, teaching and socio-economic engagement) in their attempt to maximise the fit between institutional resources and strategic opportunities; the latter include strategies of engagement with different groups of external stakeholders. Understanding the extent to which HEIs’ resources and activity profiles are aligned with their strategic prioritisation of stakeholder groups allows us to better understand the different ways in which HEIs drive socio-economic development. Using non-parametric techniques–qualitative and quantitative ordinal multidimensional scaling–applied to data on the universe of HEIs in the United Kingdom, we show that HEIs with different institutional resources and undertaking different sets of activities prioritise their engagement with different stakeholder groups. We also confirm the complex associations between HEIs’ institutional resources, activity profiles and stakeholder prioritisation strategies, which lock HEIs into configurations that are difficult to change.

2018 - A comparative evaluation of regional subsidies for collaborative and individual R&D in small and medium-sized enterprises [Articolo su rivista]
Caloffi, Annalisa; Mariani, Marco; Rossi, Federica; Russo, Margherita
abstract

We analyse whether public subsidies supporting collaborative research and development (R&D) projects in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are able to encourage persistent R&D investment and interorganisational networking more than subsidies supporting individual R&D projects. Adopting a counterfactual approach to policy evaluation, we compare subsidies for collaborative R&D and for individual R&D implemented in the same Italian region in the same period. Our findings suggest that, once public support is no longer available, the two subsidies have different effects on different types of SMEs. If the policymakers’ objective is to increase the number of R&D-performing SMEs over time, they should provide subsidies for collaborative R&D to firms with modest R&D experience. If their objective is to increase the amount of spontaneous R&D investment over time, they should target SMEs with some prior R&D experience, using either subsidy. Finally, if their objective is to induce SMEs to network with external organisations, subsidies for collaborative R&D projects should be preferred to subsidies for individual R&D projects.

2018 - Innovation intermediaries as a response to system failures: Creating the right incentives [Capitolo/Saggio]
Russo, Margherita; Annalisa, Caloffi; Federica, Rossi; Righi, Riccardo
abstract

Innovation intermediaries, i.e. intermediary organisations that support firm-level and collaborative innovation are a varied set of organisations that provide either networking services (e.g. support to R&D partnership formation and to university-industry collaborations) or other knowledge-intensive services (e.g. knowledge and technology mapping, various types of consultancy) or both. Since intermediaries can facilitate knowledge exchange among organisations with different languages, cultures, decision-making horizons, systems of incentives and objectives, they can play an important role in policies aimed at promoting innovation and technology transfer within local, regional and national innovation systems. In particular, as we will argue in this Chapter, the range of activities that intermediaries engage in can potentially address numerous failures in their innovation systems. Our study provides a theoretical framework to address the mismatch between the policies’ objectives to address innovation system failures, on the one hand, and the indicators used to evaluate the intermediaries’ performance, on the other. By suggesting that the measurement of the intermediaries’ performance should be explicitly linked to their success in remedying such failures, this approach can then provide a guide to the design of appropriate indicators. These issues are illustrated through a case study of publicly-funded innovation intermediaries in the Italian region of Tuscany in 2011-2014.

2018 - The drivers of efficient knowledge transfer performance: Evidence from British universities [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.
abstract

Using data from the UK, this study explores the institutional and environmental factors that influence universities' efficiency in knowledge transfer. While studies of universities' knowledge transfer performance have so far focused on patent commercialisation and research contracting with industry, it is increasingly acknowledged that universities engage in a broader range of knowledge transfer activities, including consulting, public engagement and provision of knowledge-intensive services. When these are taken into account, less research-intensive universities, and those with a greater share of staff in the arts and humanities, improve their relative efficiency. More specialised, older and larger institutions are more efficient performers, while research intensity is no longer a strong predictor of efficiency.

2017 - A tale of persistent network additionality, with evidence from a regional policy [Working paper]
Caloffi, Annalisa; Rossi, Federica; Russo, Margherita
abstract

Adopting a counterfactual approach to the evaluation of a regional R&D; collaboration policy, carried out in Tuscany (Italy), we investigate different types of persistent network additionality, namely persistence effect, breadth effect, composition effect, and depth effect.

2017 - Academic engagement as knowledge co-production and implications for impact: Evidence from Knowledge Transfer Partnerships [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.; Rosli, A.; Yip, N.
abstract

Researchers have argued that management academics' engagement with non-academic stakeholders involves knowledge co-production rather than simple knowledge transfer from the former to the latter. This study suggests that the conceptual lens of knowledge co-production not only more fittingly describes academic engagement but also enables a clearer understanding of how academic engagement produces impact beyond academia. Building upon qualitative evidence on collaborations between management academics and businesses in the United Kingdom, the study supports the characterisation of academic engagement as knowledge co-production and argues that its impact (i) strongly depends on sustained knowledge co-producing interactions, (ii) ‘ripples out’ serendipitously, indirectly benefiting many stakeholders in ways that often cannot be anticipated, and (iii) unfolds and persists over a long period. These findings have implications for impact assessment and the development of the impact research agenda.

2017 - Designing performance-based incentives for innovation intermediaries: evidence from regional innovation poles [Capitolo/Saggio]
Annalisa, Caloffi; Righi, Riccardo; Rossi, Federica; Russo, Margherita
abstract

Intermediary organisations that support firm-level and collaborative innovation, often called ‘innovation intermediaries’, have gained increasing prominence in knowledge-intensive economies. They provide a range of knowledge-intensive services that include, among others, technology foresight and technology scouting, R&D partnership formation, technical assistance in R&D projects, dissemination and commercialisation of results, and technology transfer. In recent years numerous policy interventions have funded organisations performing at least some innovation intermediary functions, particularly at regional level. Examples are the Regional Competitiveness Poles in France, the Innovation Networks in Denmark, the Strategic Centres for Science, Technology and Innovation in Finland, and the Innovation Poles in Italy. With the growing importance of publicly-funded regional innovation intermediaries, a need has emerged for appropriate instruments to evaluate their performance. Nonetheless, few studies have explored theoretically the key performance dimensions of the activities of innovation intermediaries, with a view to support evaluation processes. This paper analyses what are the main dimensions that should be considered when evaluating the performance of publicly-funded regional innovation intermediaries. Building on a review of the literature on innovation intermediaries and their functions within regional innovation systems, we develop a conceptual framework capturing the key performance dimensions in the activity of publicly-funded regional innovation intermediaries, which could be used as a guide to develop indicators and other metrics for the evaluation of their performance. In particular, we tie these performance dimensions to the set of systems failures that innovation intermediaries are expected to address. These system failures include: information failures, whereby regional organisations are imperfectly informed about the sources of knowledge they can tap into; managerial failures, whereby organisations do not possess the capabilities needed to acquire useful knowledge or technologies, or to usefully implement them into products and services; awareness failures, whereby organisations may be unaware of the knowledge or competences they are lacking; networking failures, whereby organisations lack potentially useful connections; and cognitive failures, which occur when individuals from different institutional backgrounds have too much cognitive distance to adequately learn together. For each of the activities that intermediaries implement in order to address one or more of these system failures, we argue that several performance dimensions should be considered. Besides the direct outputs resulting from the intermediaries’ activities, and the indirect outputs resulting from follow-up activities in which the intermediaries had some involvement, the evaluation should particularly focus on the outcomes achieved. Outcomes can be in the form of improvements in measurable performance in the activities of the intermediaries’ client organisations, or of the intermediaries themselves: for example, how they increased their profitability or turnover or their success in acquiring funds. But outcomes can also take the form of behavioural changes: for example, how these organisations changed their way of innovating, and how the intermediaries improved their own systems and practices to achieve qualitatively better outcomes. We present an implementation of our conceptual framework, with a case study focused on an innovation policy intervention aimed at funding innovation poles (a particular type of innovation intermediary), implemented by the Italian region of Tuscany in 2011-2014.

2017 - Innovation Intermediaries from the Third to the Fourth Industrial Revolution [Articolo su rivista]
Caloffi, Annalisa; Rossi, Federica; Russo, Margherita
abstract

Intermediary organisations that support firm-level and collaborative innovation, often called knowledge or innovation intermediaries, have gained increasing prominence in knowledge-intensive economies. The label “intermediaries” is not meant to be reductive. Intermediaries do not merely offer matchmaking services, but provide a wide range of knowledge-intensive services including, among others, knowledge and technology mapping, technical assistance in R&D projects, dissemination and commercialisation of research results, support for universityindustry collaborations (Bessant and Rush, 1995; Lynn et al, 1996; Hargadon and Sutton, 1997; Den Hertog, 2000; Howells, 2006; Doganova, 2013). Most importantly, they are innovation catalysers, as they “mobilise, reframe and structure expertise and policy imperatives” (Meyer and Kearnes, 2013, p423). Intermediaries are not third parties, but they are often an integral part of innovation processes. While typical intermediaries include knowledgeintensive business services providers, technopoles, technology transfer agencies, science parks and incubators, a wide range of organisations can provide at least some intermediary functions (Howells, 2006; Caloffi et al, 2015a). We review the features and role of innovation intermediaries, and focus on the challenges involved in the design of innovation intermediaries that can appropriately support the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution.

2016 - Designing performance-based incentives for innovation intermediaries: Evidence from regional innovation poles [Working paper]
Russo, Margherita; Annalisa, Caloffi; Righi, Riccardo; Rossi, Federica
abstract

A growing number of innovation policies provide funding for innovation intermediaries, with the aim to remedy some of the system failures that occur within local, regional and national innovation systems. In order to induce innovation intermediaries to behave in accordance with the policies’ objectives, public funding is often conditioned on their attainment of minimum performance targets measured through indicators, whose design is therefore crucial for the policies’ success. Focusing on the case of a regional policy programme in Italy, the paper shows that policymakers’ choice of performance indicators that were only loosely tied to the policy’s objectives, prompted intermediaries to adopt behaviours that were misaligned with those objectives. The paper then presents a reflection on how to design performance indicators that encourage intermediaries to most appropriately address relevant failures in their innovation systems.

2016 - Evaluating the performance of innovation intermediaries: insights from the experience of Tuscany’s innovation poles [Articolo su rivista]
Russo, Margherita; Caloffi, Annalisa; Rossi, Federica; Fiordelmondo, Valentina; Ghinoi, Stefano
abstract

With the growing importance of innovation intermediaries, particularly in the policy context, a need has emerged for appropriate instruments to evaluate their performance. The identification of appropriate performance indicators, however, has proved to be problematic. First, indicators are likely to influence the behavior of innovation intermediaries, not always in a desirable manner. Second, commonly used indicators focus on the immediate results achieved by the intermediaries, often disregarding the permanent behavioral changes that they can stimulate in their innovation system. Instead, we argue that the latter are particularly important for the evaluation of innovation intermediaries, whose success should be measured in terms of their ability to help organizations to change their innovative behavior. By focusing on an innovation policy intervention implemented by the Italian region of Tuscany in the period 2007-2013, we discuss the advantages and limitations of the indicators that have been set up by the regional government in order to evaluate the performance of innovation poles, a particular type of innovation intermediary, and discuss some feasible avenues for their improvement.

2016 - Multilayer network analysis of innovation intermediaries’ activities: methodological issues and an application to a regional policy programme [Poster]
Russo, Margherita; Annalisa, Caloffi; Righi, Riccardo; Righi, Simone; Rossi, Federica
abstract

To enhance innovation processes in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the last decade innovation policies have increasingly supported the creation and strengthening of intermediaries (Howells, 2006; Lazaric et al, 2008; Kauffeld-Monz and Fritsch, 2013; Russo and Rossi, 2009; Caloffi et al, 2015). So far, however no adequate analytical framework to assess the activity and performance of these intermediaries has been developed. In this paper we address this issue by suggesting a network perspective (a) to analyse the multidimensional activities undertaken by innovation intermediaries and (b) to assess the contribution of the agents involved in different activities promoted by intermediaries. Methodological issues are discussed both in theory and with regard to an empirical application to analyse a regional policy supporting the creation of specialized intermediaries, named “innovation poles”, in the Italian region of Tuscany. The creation of innovation poles has mobilized a large number of agents that were directly involved with different roles in the creation of the regional system of technology transfer. Through the different activities they perform, the various agents create connections between the poles; the poles, in turn, create links between agents, facilitating the exchange of information and creating opportunities for joint actions to boost innovation. This network of networks perspective of analysis asks for the identification of pivotal agents embedded in multidimensional interactions and helps in detecting emerging communities of innovators in the regional innovation system. By adopting the analysis of multilayer networks approach (recently developed by Rosvall & Bergstrom, 2007 and 2008, and De Domenico et al., 2015), we identify the emerging multilayer communities and the intercohesive agents, framing the intermediaries’ impact. The paper concludes discussing the implications of this methodology on policy assessment.

2016 - Networked by design: Can policy requirements influence organisations' networking behaviour? [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, Federica; Caloffi, Annalisa; Russo, Margherita
abstract

An important, but under-researched, question in relation to policies funding networks of innovators is: what kind of innovation networks should be supported, if the policy objective is not just to sponsor successful innovation projects, but also to encourage the participants to form networks with desirable characteristics? Focusing on a set of policy programmes implemented by the regional government of Tuscany, in Italy, between 2002 and 2008, aimed at funding networks of collaborating organisations, we investigate whether the imposition of requirements on the composition of the networks that would be eligible for funding – in particular, the demand that networks should comply with minimum size and heterogeneity thresholds – influenced the participants' networking behaviour in the context of successive policy interventions. Our results show that these requirements immediately affected the size and composition of the project networks that applied for funding, although not always in the intended direction. However, these effects did not extend to the successive periods, when those requirements were no longer in force. This suggests that the imposition of policy requirements, per se, is unlikely to induce persistent changes in organizations' networking behaviour. Other approaches such as implementing outreach actions in order to encourage new organisations to participate in existing innovation networks and to form new ones, and additional measures designed to foster learning opportunities for the participants, might be more effective tools to influence the networking behaviour of participating organisations.

2015 - Emerging communities in multilayers networks: analysis of a regional policy programme [Poster]
Russo, Margherita; Annalisa, Caloffi; Righi, Riccardo; Righi, Simone; Rossi, Federica
abstract

With the growing importance of policies sponsoring innovation intermediaries (Howells, 2006; Lazaric et al, 2008; Kauffeld-Monz and Fritsch, 2013; Russo and Rossi, 2009; Caloffi et al, 2015), a need has emerged for appropriate instruments to analyze their activity. In general, current approaches do not adopt a network perspective to highlight the multidimensional system created through the activities undertaken by the intermediaries. In this paper we present an empirical analysis of a regional policy supporting the creation of specialized intermediaries in the Italian region of Tuscany. In the programming period 2007-2013 (effectively starting from 2010), the regional government of Tuscany funded twelve ‘innovation poles’. They are regional innovation intermediaries (organized to provide a range of services, including brokering and matchmaking) that bring together a number of universities and innovative service providers with potential end-users of these services. Their main goal is to promote linkages between regional actors: universities, public research organizations, KIBS, large businesses and SMEs. We highlight two main domains of interactions that support the entire system of the poles. The first domain is that in which we find the agents promoting the system of poles: this network involves both the organizations directly managing the poles, through the creation of temporary associations, and the organizations who have shareholdings in those managing organizations. The second domain relates to competence networks initiated by the system of the poles not only through the provision of services by the various operators, but also through the skills of employees and consultants, the collaboration agreements with parties outside the poles, and through the facilities of laboratories and incubators. By creating such multilayer networks we focus on interrelations between the poles based on the activities, undertaken jointly, in supporting the member companies. For each of these domains we examine the characteristics of the networks and the centrality index of the agents involved. Moreover, by adopting the analysis of multilayer networks (recently developed by De Domenico et al., 2015), we identify and compare the emerging communities in aggregate networks and in the multilayer networks with regard to the networks promoting the poles and in the competence networks.

2015 - Evaluating the performance of innovation intermediaries: insights from the experience of Tuscany’s innovation poles [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Caloffi, A.; Rossi, F.; Fiordelmondo, V.; Ghinoi, S.
abstract

With the growing importance of innovation intermediaries, particularly in the policy context, a need has emerged for appropriate instruments to evaluate their performance. The identification of appropriate performance indicators, however, has proved to be problematic. First, indicators are likely to influence the behavior of innovation intermediaries, not always in a desirable manner. Second, commonly used indicators focus on the immediate results achieved by the intermediaries, often disregarding the permanent behavioral changes that they can stimulate in their innovation system. Instead, we argue that the latter are particularly important for the evaluation of innovation intermediaries, whose success should be measured in terms of their ability to enable other organizations to improve their innovation capabilities. By focusing on an innovation policy intervention implemented by the Italian region of Tuscany in the period 2007-2013, we discuss the advantages and limitations of the indicators that have been set up by the regional government in order to evaluate the performance of innovation poles, a particular type of innovation intermediary, and discuss some feasible avenues for their improvement.

2015 - Evaluating the performance of innovation intermediaries: insights from the experience of Tuscany’s innovation poles [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Caloffi, A.; Rossi, F.; Fiordelmondo, V.; Ghinoi, S.
abstract

With the growing importance of innovation in-termediaries, particularly in the policy context, a need has emerged for appropriate instruments to evaluate their performance. The identifica-tion of appropriate performance indicators, however, has proved to be problematic. First, indicators are likely to influence the behavior of innovation intermediaries, not always in a desirable manner. Second, commonly used in-dicators focus on the immediate results achieved by the intermediaries, often disregard-ing the permanent behavioral changes that they can stimulate in their innovation system. In-stead, we argue that the latter are particularly important for the evaluation of innovation in-termediaries, whose success should be meas-ured in terms of their ability to enable other or-ganizations to improve their innovation capa-bilities. By focusing on an innovation policy intervention implemented by the Italian region of Tuscany in the period 2007-2013, we dis-cuss the advantages and limitations of the indi-cators that have been set up by the regional government in order to evaluate the perfor-mance of innovation poles, a particular type of innovation intermediary, and discuss some fea-sible avenues for their improvement.

2015 - The Emergence of Intermediary Organizations: A Network-based Approach to the Design of Innovation Policies [Capitolo/Saggio]
Caloffi, Annalisa; Rossi, Federica; Russo, Margherita
abstract

Greater understanding of what factors promote the formation of innovation networks and their successful performance would help policymakers improve the design of policy interventions aimed at funding R&D projects to be carried out by networks of innovators. In this paper, we focus on the organizations that can play the role of network intermediaries, facilitating the involvement of other participants and promoting communication and knowledge flows. Based on an original empirical dataset of organizations involved in five publicly-funded policy programmes in support of innovation networks, we identify different types of intermediaries based on an analysis of their positions within networks of relationships. We observe that agents that occupy broker positions – linking agents that are not connected to each other – are more likely to be found in technologically turbulent environments, while the agents that occupy intercohesive positions – bridging cohesive communities of network agents – operate in more stable contexts. Intermediaries in general are more likely to be local associations and governments. However, besides this, it is not possible to clearly identify types of organizations that are more likely to be either brokers or intercohesive agents: different innovation networks may require different organizations to mediate relationships between the other participants.

2015 - The university and the economy: Pathways to growth and economic development [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Geuna, A.; Rossi, F.
abstract

This book provides readers with an in-depth understanding of the many ways in which universities contribute to economic development and growth. It demonstrates the causal interactions between universities’ activities and economic outcomes, and presents up-to-date quantitative and qualitative data in support. The authors present the theoretical tools and evidence to explain the manner and degree to which universities’ activities impact the economy, as well as analysing the comparative strengths and weaknesses of specific university systems.

2015 - What Makes SMEs more Likely to Collaborate? Analysing the Role of Regional Innovation Policy [Articolo su rivista]
Caloffi, Annalisa; Rossi, Federica; Russo, Margherita
abstract

The last twenty years have witnessed the diffusion of regional innovation policies supporting networks of innovators. The underlying aim of these policies is to encourage firms, particularly SMEs, to undertake collaborations with organisations possessing complementary knowledge. Focusing on a set of SMEs that have participated, over time, in several innovation networks funded by the same regional government, the paper investigates how their relationships have evolved with respect to the following aspects: (i) reiteration of pre-existing relationships as opposed to experimentation of new relationships; (ii) collaboration with organisations possessing complementary rather than similar knowledge and competencies; (iii) creation of local relationships rather than experimentation of extra-local collaborations; (iv) reliance upon intermediaries to connect with other organisations. Our findings reveal that the involvement in these policy-supported networks changed the firms’ relational patterns, leading them to collaborate with a wider variety of agents than those with whom they were linked before the policies. Sectoral heterogeneity had a negative effect on the probability to collaborate, while, not surprisingly, co-localisation increased the likelihood to collaborate. Mutual involvement with intermediaries also had a positive effect. However, in the case of firm-to-university relationships only specialized intermediaries such as innovation centres were likely to perform a positive role and, therefore, encourage networking.

2014 - Can policy design help organizations improve their networking capabilities? An empirical analysis on a regional policy [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, Federica; Caloffi, Annalisa; Russo, Margherita
abstract

In parallel with the interest in networks of innovation on the part of the academic literature, policymakers are increasingly recognizing the important systemic nature of innovation processes, involving many agents often engaged in networks of relationships (OECD, 1997; Mytelka and Smith, 2002; European Commission, 2003; Nauwelaers and Wintjes, 2008), and they are increasingly supporting the creation of networks among firms and other types of organizations. Examples are the EU Framework Programmes (Breschi and Malerba, 2009; Tindemans, 2009) as well as the many national and regional policies launched in the past decade or so (Branstetter and Sakakibara, 2002; Caloghirou et al, 2004; Russo and Rossi, 2009; Bellandi and Caloffi, 2010; Cunningham and Ramlogan, 2012). Policies for innovation networks usually aim to support joint R&D, technological development or technology transfer projects or even, sometimes, networking per se (with a view to create a “critical mass” of experts or users in a certain technology). At the same time, these policy interventions may also help the participants improve their ability to perform collaborative innovation, by allowing them to gain experience in working with external partners on a specific activity. Such behavioural outcomes, while not generally considered the main objective of these policies, have the potential to generate long-lasting beneficial changes in the participants’ competences and abilities (Gök and Edler, 2012). An important question for policy design is what kind of networks should be supported, if the objective of the policy is not just to fund “successful” innovation projects, but also to increase the participants’ ability to engage in collaborative innovation. Should policies simply provide funding to innovation networks on the basis of an assessment of the project they intend to realize, or should they promote the setup of networks with specific features, in order to increase the agents’ innovative potential through networking?

2014 - Collaboration objectives and the location of the university partner: Evidence from the Piedmont region in Italy [Articolo su rivista]
Maria, B. F. I.; Rossi, F.; Geuna, A.
abstract

This study examines firms' decisions to collaborate with universities in their region as opposed to non-regional universities, focusing on the role of collaboration objectives. Through a survey of a representative sample of manufacturing firms in the Piedmont region (Italy), we find that firms seeking business advice are more likely to collaborate with regional universities while firms seeking R&D support and testing and analysis services are more likely to collaborate with both regional and non-regional universities. The partner university's location is endogenous to the level of investment in the collaboration; and the collaboration objectives provide good instruments. Some implications for regional policy are discussed.

2014 - How Industry Inventors Collaborate with Academic Researchers: The Choice between Shared and Unilateral Governance [Capitolo/Saggio]
Maria Bodas Freitas, Isabel; Geuna, Aldo; Lawson, Cornelia; Rossi, Federica
abstract

2014 - Indicators of university-industry knowledge transfer performance and their implications for universities: evidence from the United Kingdom [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.; Rosli, A.
abstract

2014 - Politiche a sostegno del sistema di ricerca e sviluppo in Danimarca, Finlandia, Francia, Germania, Italia, Spagna e Svezia [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Silvestri, F.; Fiordelmondo, V.; Caloffi, A.; Rossi, F.; Ghinoi, S.; Kaulard, A.
abstract

As a complementary research in the project "Poli.in_Analysis and modeling of Innovation Poles in Tuscany", this paper addresses the issue of how are structured policies for innovation in other EU countries and Italian regions that have adopted policies of innovation through the creation of innovation poles. Integrating a research produced by Caloffi, Mariani and Rulli (2014) on innovation policies in the Italian regions, the paper analyses the policies of innovation and technology transfer of some of the major European countries: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, and six Italian regions having innovation poles policies. For each country, the survey highlights the following issues. 1. Background: there is a national policy supporting the regional policies? At what level decisions are made concerning technology transfer? What are the infrastructure created at both national and regional levels? 2. Regions: which will be considered and why? 3. Time horizon: in which periods of time are individual policies for innovation active? 4. Financial dimension: what is the budget invested in those policies? 5. Beneficiaries: the aim is mainly to large companies or SMEs? Who are the stakeholders? What are the institutions involved? 6. Hints for the comparison with the policies of the Tuscany Region: what are the issues confrinted in other countries to identify the key players of innovation policy? What degree of similarity have the concepts used in the country compared to those we ientify in Tuscany (technology clusters, innovation poles, competence centers, network of incubators, ...)? For each country sources of information are listed. The paper presents also a review on six Italian regions that implemented policies for in-novation poles.

2014 - Politiche di innovazione e trasferimento tecnologico in Toscana. Ricognizione degli strumenti attivati nel periodo 2000-2013 [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Silvestri, F.; Fiordelmondo, V.; Caloffi, A.; Rossi, F.; Ghinoi, S.; Kaulard, A.
abstract

The survey of innovation policies and technology transfer activated by the Tuscany Region (Italy) in the periods 2000-2006 and 2007-2013 is one of the tools to support the research project "Poli.in_Analysis and modeling of Innovation Poles in Tuscany". In the first part of this paper we present a detailed review of innovation policies in Tuscany, by listing the calls, decrees and infrastructure created by the various policies, from the RIS and RIS +, implemented at the end of the 90s and early 2000s, to the last decrees issued in July 2014 on the basis of policies ERDF 2014-2020. On the basis of the legislation analyzed, we propose a timeline with a graphical representation where we highlight the relationship between the decrees, calls for funding and infrastructure created in the period 2000-2014. Where possible, the financial resources available to the region are reported. To define the purpose, the time evolution and the mutual relations between the entities and the infrastructure is the Glossary containing: the description of the infrastructure that facilitate or promote innovation; some definitions of the key technology transfer system in Tuscany; definitions of the services included in the catalog of advanced and qualified services. The Glossary is divided into three sections: Infrastructure or entities that facilitate or promote innovation; Definition; Qualified services. The sources used to prepare the report and the time line were those provided by the Region and, as a supplement, other documents and decrees that have been sourced from the official site of the Tuscany Region. As for the preparation of the glossary, in addition to the official documents of the Region of Tuscany we used also the corporate websites of the various entities described.

2014 - The roles of different intermediaries in innovation networks: A network-based approach to the design of innovation policies [Working paper]
Caloffi, A.; Rossi, F.; Russo, M.
abstract

Greater understanding of what factors promote the formation of innovation networks and their successful performance would help policymakers improve the design of policy interventions aimed at funding R&D projects to be carried out by networks of innovators. In this paper, we focus on the organizations that can play the role of network intermediaries, facilitating the involvement of other participants and promoting communication and knowledge flows. Based on an original empirical dataset of organizations involved in five publicly-funded policy programmes in support of innovation networks, we identify different types of intermediaries based on an analysis of their positions within networks of relationships. We observe that agents that occupy broker positions – linking agents that are not connected to each other – are more likely to be found in technologically turbulent environments, while the agents that occupy intercohesive positions – bridging cohesive communities of network agents – operate in more stable contexts. Intermediaries in general are more likely to be local associations and governments. However, besides this, it is not possible to clearly identify types of organizations that are more likely to be either brokers or intercohesive agents: different innovation networks may require different organizations to mediate relationships between the other participants.

2013 - Can policy design help organizations improve their networking capabilities? An empirical analysis on a regional policy [Working paper]
Rossi, F.; Caloffi, A.; Russo, M.
abstract

In parallel with the interest in networks of innovation on the part of the academic literature, policymakers are increasingly recognizing the important systemic nature of innovation processes, involving many agents often engaged in networks of relationships (OECD, 1997; Mytelka and Smith, 2002; European Commission, 2003; Nauwelaers and Wintjes, 2008), and they are increasingly supporting the creation of networks among firms and other types of organizations. Policies for innovation networks usually aim to support joint R&D, technological development or technology transfer projects or even, sometimes, networking per se (with a view to create a “critical mass” of experts or users in a certain technology). At the same time, these policy interventions may also help the participants improve their ability to perform collaborative innovation, by allowing them to gain experience in working with external partners on a specific activity. Such behavioural outcomes, while not generally considered the main objective of these policies, have the potential to generate long-lasting beneficial changes in the participants’ competences and abilities (Gök and Edler, 2012). An important question for policy design is what kind of networks should be supported, if the objective of the policy is not just to fund “successful” innovation projects, but also to increase the participants’ ability to engage in collaborative innovation. Should policies simply provide funding to innovation networks on the basis of an assessment of the project they intend to realize, or should they promote the setup of networks with specific features, in order to increase the agents’ innovative potential through networking?

2013 - Finding the right partners: Institutional and personal modes of governance of university-industry interactions [Articolo su rivista]
Bodas Freitas, I. M.; Geuna, A.; Rossi, F.
abstract

We study two different governance modes of university-industry interactions: in the institutional mode, interactions are mediated by the university through its administrative structures (such as departments or dedicated units such as technology transfer offices), while in the personal contractual mode interactions involve formal and binding contractual agreements between firms and individual academics, carried out without the direct involvement of the university. We argue that the choice of which form of governance to adopt involves different decision-making processes for firms and that both governance forms have important roles to play in the context of university-industry knowledge transfer. Relying on a representative sample of firms in the Italian region of Piedmont, we examine the characteristics and strategies of firms that interact with universities under different governance modes. Our results indicate that ignoring personal contractual arrangements with individual researchers, as the previous literature does, amounts to overlooking at least 50% of university-industry interactions. The econometric estimations suggest that personal contractual interactions are used relatively more by small firms involved in technology and open innovation strategies, while institutional interactions are mostly used by large firms that vertically integrate R&D activities. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

2013 - What Networks to Support Innovation? Evidence from a Regional Policy Framework [Capitolo/Saggio]
Caloffi, Annalisa; Rossi, Federica; Russo, Margherita
abstract

We explore how the implementation of a set of policy programmes over a period of six years induced some “emergent” learning effects which had not originally been envisaged by policymakers. This way, we show how policy evaluation can be used not only to assess the expected impact of policy interventions but also to discover their unexpected behavioural effects, and therefore provides an important instrument to guide the design of future interventions.

2012 - Inefficiencies in markets for intellectual property rights: Experiences of academic and public research institutions [Articolo su rivista]
Andersen, B.; Rossi, F.
abstract

The formal use of such intellectual property rights (IPR) as patents and registered copyright by universities has increased steadily in the last two decades. Mainstream arguments, embedded in economic theory and policy, advocating the use of IPR to protect academic research results are based on the view that IPR marketplaces work well and allow universities to reap significant benefits. However, there is a lack of evidence-based research to justify or critically evaluate these claims. Building upon an original survey of 46 universities and public research organizations in the United Kingdom, this study analyses the quality of the institutions underpinning the markets for patents and copyright, investigating potential inefficiencies that could lead to underperformance of the IPR system. These include 'IPR market failures' with respect to search processes and transparency; price negotiation processes; uncertainties in the perception of the economic value of IRP and the relationship with R&D cost. Further sources of underperformance may include 'institutional failures' with respect to enforcement and regulation. Particular attention is paid to the role of governance forms (e.g. alternative types of licensing agreements) through which IPR exchanges take place. We find that a high share of universities report market failures in IPR transactions and that the choice of IPR governance forms matter for the obstacles that are encountered. Given the importance of widely disseminating university research outcomes to foster innovation and economic development, the presence of inefficiencies in IPR markets suggests that such objectives could best be achieved by encouraging open distribution of knowledge, rather than privatization of academic knowledge. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

2012 - The governance of formal university-industry interactions: Understanding the rationales for alternative models [Articolo su rivista]
Bodas Freitas, I. M.; Geuna, A.; Rossi, F.
abstract

This article develops a conceptual framework to explain the economic rationale underpinning the choice of different modes of governance of formal university-industry interactions: personal contractual interactions, where the contract regulating the collaboration involves a firm and an individual academic researcher, and institutional interactions, where the relationship between the firm and the academic is mediated by the university. Although institutional interactions, for numerous reasons, have become more important, both governance modes are currently being implemented. We would argue that they have some important specificities that need to be understood if university-industry knowledge transfer is to be managed effectively and efficiently. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

2011 - Changes to university IPR regulations in Europe and the impact on academic patenting [Articolo su rivista]
Geuna, A.; Rossi, F.
abstract

This article develops a general framework to describe the changes in university IPR regulations in Europe and their effects on the patenting activities of universities and on knowledge transfer processes. Understanding the effects of changes in IPR regulations on academic patenting is a complex issue, and parallels with the US case can be misleading. First, despite the general trend towards institutional ownership, university IPR regulations in Europe remain extremely differentiated and there is no one-to-one mapping to the US system. Second, it is difficult to disentangle the quantitative and qualitative effects of changes in IPR ownership regulations on academic patenting activities from the effects of concurrent transformations in the institutional, cultural and organizational landscape surrounding academic knowledge transfer. The article proposes a review and typological classification of national university IPR ownership systems on the basis of their development since 2000, and uses it to analyze the aggregate dynamics of academic patent ownership in several European countries. The analysis of patterns of ownership of academic patents shows that there has been a general increase in university patenting since 1990, with a significant slowdown (and even reduction in some countries) after early 2000s accompanied by a switch in academic patents ownership in favor of university ownership though preserving the European specificity of high company ownership of academic invented patents. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

2011 - Promoting successful innovation networks: a methodological contribution to regional policy evaluation and design. The case of Tuscany's innovation policies 2000-2006 [Working paper]
Caloffi, A.; Rossi, F.; Russo, M.
abstract

2011 - University–industry interactions: the unresolved puzzle [Capitolo/Saggio]
Freitas, I. M. B.; Geuna, A.; Rossi, F.
abstract

11 University–industry interactions: the unresolved puzzle Isabel Maria Bodas Freitas, Aldo Geuna and Federica Rossi 1. INTRODUCTION Theoretical advances in the economics of knowledge and innovation since the 1980s conceptualize knowledge as partl...

2010 - Innovation, generative relationships and scaffolding structures. Implications of a complexity perspective to innovation for public and private interventions [Capitolo/Saggio]
F., Rossi; Russo, Margherita; S., Sardo; J., Whitford
abstract

The linear model of innovation has been superseded by a variety of theoretical models that view the innovation process as systemic, complex, multi-level, multi-temporal, involving a plurality of heterogeneous economic agents. Accordingly, the emphasis of the policy discourse has changed over time. The focus has shifted from the direct public funding of basic research as an engine of innovation, to the creation of markets for knowledge goods, to, eventually, the acknowledgement that knowledge transfer very often requires direct interactions among innovating actors. In most cases, policy interventions attempt to facilitate the match between “demand” and “supply” of the knowledge needed to innovate. A complexity perspective calls for a different framing, one focused on the fostering of processes characterized by multiple agency levels, multiple temporal scales, ontological uncertainty and emergent outcomes. This contribution explores what it means to design interventions in support of innovation processes inspired by a complex systems perspective. It does so by analyzing two examples of coordinated interventions: a public policy funding innovating networks (with SMEs, research centers and university), and a private initiative, promoted by a network of medium-sized mechanical engineering firms, that supports innovation by means of technology brokerage. Relying on two unique datasets recording the interactions of the organizations involved in these interventions, social network analysis and qualitative research are combined in order to investigate network dynamics and the roles of specific actors in fostering innovation processes. Then, some general implications for the design of coordinated interventions supporting innovation in a complexity perspective are drawn.

2010 - Massification, competition and organizational diversity in higher education: Evidence from italy [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.
abstract

The article explores whether, and to what extent, several trends that have taken place in most higher education systems in the last few decades - such as massification, privatization, increased competition for students and for research funds - stimulate more diversity between institutions. This question is widely debated, both empirically and theoretically. Using Italian data, the dynamics of organizational diversity are analysed with respect to several features of higher education institutions, namely: (1) size, (2) specialization, and (3) mission orientation. This multidimensional approach offers some interesting results, both in their own right as well as in a comparative perspective with studies that have investigated similar issues in other countries. © 2010 Society for Research into Higher Education.

2010 - Reti di cooperazione e innovazione [Capitolo/Saggio]
Russo, Margherita; Rossi, Federica
abstract

il caso studiato è il Programma Regionale di Azioni Innovative «Innovazione Tecnologica in Toscana (PRAI-ITT)», attuato dalla Regione Toscana nel periodo gennaio 2002-dicembre 2004. Obiettivo del Programma era stimolare i processi di innovazione tecnologica nell’economia della regione mediante la creazione di reti di cooperazione tra agenti eterogenei (imprese, centri di ricerca, università, istituzioni pubbliche locali, centri per l’innovazione, centri di servizi alle imprese, agenzie formative e organismi finanziari). La novità di questo Programma, che rendeva necessario definire nuovi strumenti di analisi, risiedeva nell’aver individuato nella rete di cooperazione il soggetto destinatario degli incentivi pubblici. L’uso congiunto del metodo etnografico e dell’analisi delle reti di relazioni sociali (tramite gli strumenti della social network analysis) ha consentito una migliore comprensione delle caratteristiche strutturali del Programma e delle azioni da intraprendere in futuro per l’analisi, il monitoraggio e la valutazione degli effetti di programmi simili. Il profilo temporale dei processi di innovazione si è rivelato essere un aspetto cruciale del Programma: il piano di sfruttamento dei risultati è esso stesso un processo non sempre realizzabile (talvolta neanche chiaramente individuabile) nel limitato tempo a disposizione per l’utilizzo del finanziamento; l’orizzonte temporale a cui riferire la valutazione sulle relazioni generative prodotte dal programma di Azioni Innovative deve estendersi oltre la conclusione amministrativa del Programma. Dall’analisi della costruzione e sviluppo delle reti di partner è emerso che i proponenti avevano fatto ricorso a reti di relazioni già attive e a proposte in qualche misura già in parte delineate in precedenti attività di ricerca e sperimentazione. È stato anche possibile individuare il nucleo di attori più centrali per la loro capacità nel mobilitare – attraverso molteplici legami diretti e indiretti – la partecipazione ai progetti di innovazione di alcune centinaia di attori, molti dei quali non avevano precedenti esperienze di contatto con centri di ricerca e università. Ma le aspettative dei partecipanti erano che quelle reti non fossero necessariamente le stesse che avrebbero poi realizzato lo sviluppo del prototipo o lo sfruttamento dei risultati del progetto: la mobilitazione di relazioni generative si estende quindi oltre il nucleo di attori individuati dall’analisi dei partecipanti al Programma. Alcuni tra gli attori più centrali hanno avuto un ruolo particolare nel costruire un ponte tra esperienze, esigenze e capacità diverse. Si tratta di attori spesso attivi in una gamma di attività – dalla ricerca, alla formazione, alla consulenza su servizi di certificazione – che li ha avvicinati a ambiti molto diversi (dalla ricerca accademica alla particolare tecnologia di produzione) dei quali hanno appreso i molti linguaggi. La loro multivocalità li rende soggetti essenziali perché le reti si possano creare, modellare (allargandosi o restringendosi) e possano funzionare attorno a specifiche proposte progettuali. Le implicazioni dell’analisi del Programma di Azioni Innovative della Toscana ha evidenziato anche che le politiche per l’innovazione richiedano una forte dose di innovazione nelle politiche. Di questo c’è consapevolezza nello strumento individuato dalla Commissione Europea (le Azioni Innovative, appunto), ma occorrerebe costruire strumenti appropriati, e questo riguarda non solo nuovi specifici obiettivi delle politiche per l’innovazione (le reti di cooperazione tra attori con competenze eterogenee, ad esempio, invece che solo generici incentivi destinati magari a particolari aree tecnologiche, o a particolari ambiti territoriali di una regione). Occorre connettere quegli obiettivi specifici alle informazioni rilevanti da raccogliere nel bando pubblico per poter poi pro

2010 - The economics of knowledge interaction and the changing role of universities [Capitolo/Saggio]
Antonelli, C.; Patrucco, P. P.; Rossi, Federica
abstract

2010 - The governance of university-industry knowledge transfer [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.
abstract

Purpose: The aim of this article is to contribute to the debate on university-industry knowledge transfer and on the changing organization of knowledge creation activities. Design/methodology/approach: By integrating several strands of analysis, a conceptual framework is developed that associates several properties of knowledge and of the institutional context in which university-industry relationships take place, to the knowledge transfer governance forms that are most likely to be adopted. The framework is shown to be in accordance with results from the empirical literature, and is validated using an original dataset. Findings: The data analysis confirms that the choice of university-industry knowledge transfer governance forms on the part of organizations involved in knowledge production and dissemination projects is related to the key dimensions in the conceptual framework. Originality/value: The conceptual framework developed in this article allows the incentives that drive the choice of specific governance forms for university-industry interactions to be explained, as well as the processes and rationales that underpin the changing nature of university-industry relationships to be explained. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

2009 - Cooperation networks and innovation: A complex systems perspective to the analysis and evaluation of a regional innovation policy programme [Articolo su rivista]
Russo, M.; Rossi, F.
abstract

Recent developments in innovation theory and policy have led policy makers to assign particular importance to supporting networks of cooperation among heterogeneous economic actors, especially in production systems composed of small and medium enterprises. Such innovative policies call for parallel innovations in policy analysis, monitoring and assessment. Our analysis of a policy experiment aimed at supporting innovation networks in the Italian region of Tuscany intends to address some issues connected with the design, monitoring and evaluation of such interventions. Combining tools from ethnographic research and social networks analysis, the article explores the structural elements of the policy programme, its macroscopic impact on the regional innovation system and the success of individual networks in attaining their specific objectives.This innovative approach allows us to derive some general methodological suggestions for the design and evaluation of similar programmes. Copyright © 2009 SAGE Publications.

2009 - Incorporating a New Technology into Agent-Artifact Space: The Case of Control System Automation in Europe [Capitolo/Saggio]
Rossi, Federica; Bertossi, Paolo; Gurisatti, Paolo; Sovieni, Luisa
abstract

2009 - Increased competition and diversity in higher education: An empirical analysis of the Italian University system [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.
abstract

Increasing diversity is often advocated as an effective strategy through which higher education systems can cope with the new functions that they are required to perform, and respond to the varied demands that they face from an increasing and more diverse set of stakeholders. Such diversity is sometimes considered as the 'natural' outcome of intensified competition among institutions. Using Italian data relative to the period 1999/2000-2005/2006, and focusing on one specific dimension of diversity - the universities' horizontal differentiation in terms of disciplines taught - the paper shows empirically how the introduction of measures directed at strengthening competition in higher education can actually contribute to a reduction in the system's overall diversity, as universities attempt to boost enrolments by increasing their specialization in more popular disciplines. The diversity-enhancing property of increased competition should not therefore be taken for granted, even with respect to other features of higher education systems.

2009 - Innovation policy: levels and levers [Capitolo/Saggio]
Russo, Margherita; Rossi, Federica
abstract

We investigate to what extent and how the adoption of a complexity-based perspective to innovation (Lane and Maxfield, 1996, 1997, 2005; Lane et al., 2008; Read et al, 2008; Russo, 2000) can support policymakers in their quest to implement effective interventions, able to foster innovation processes and to create structures that sustain them over time. We argue that broad attempts at theorizing innovation processes do not lend themselves to a quick translation into simple ‘policy recipes’, because conceptualizing innovation as a complex multi-level process implies that it is not possible to devise context-independent ways to support it: improved theoretical understanding of innovation processes should not aim to provide policymakers with simple encompassing solutions, but it should help them formulate and address questions that are appropriate to the particular context within which they operate. In line with this approach, we present our analysis of a specific policy experiment, the ‘Technological Innovation in Tuscany’ programme (henceforth RPIA-ITT). In this context - drawing upon a dynamic interactionist theory of innovation whose main building blocks are the concepts of generative relationships, competence networks, scaffolding structures and the role of narrative in driving action in situations characterized by ontological uncertainty (Lane, Malerba, Maxfield and Orsenigo, 1996; Lane and Maxfield, 1997, 2005, 2008; Russo, 2000, 2005) – we have been able to identify methodological and analytical tools that can be applied to policy design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation activities. We conclude with some broader implications for innovation policy as well as an agenda for future research.

2009 - Innovative interventions in support of innovation networks. A complex system perspective to public innovation policy and private technology brokering [Working paper]
Rossi, F.; Russo, M.; Sardo, S.; Whitford, J.
abstract

2009 - Universities' access to research funds: Do institutional features and strategies matter? [Articolo su rivista]
Rossi, F.
abstract

Competitively allocated research funds, from both public and private sources, constitute an increasing share of university revenues. The article investigates empirically, using data on the Italian university system, whether structural and strategic features of universities-such as size, age and especially the importance that they assign to their teaching and research missions-affect their success in securing research funds. The analysis shows that universities that strategically prioritize their research mission also obtain higher funds per researcher, from different sources. These results are compared with those obtained by similar studies of other European higher education systems, and some general implications of the introduction of competitive funding mechanisms for university behaviour are derived. © 2009 European Higher Education Society.

2008 - Incorporating a New Technology Into Agent-Artifact Space. The case of Control Systems Automation [Working paper]
Rossi, F.; Pertossi, P.; Gurisatti, P.; Sovieni, L.
abstract

2008 - Innovation Policy in a Complexity Perspective: Levels and Levers for Policy Intervention [Working paper]
Rossi, F.; Russo, M.
abstract

2008 - Reti di cooperazione e innovazione Analisi e valutazione di una politica regionale europea a sostegno dell’innovazione [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Rossi, F.
abstract

2007 - Politiche per l’innovazione: dalla valutazione alla progettazione [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Rossi, F.
abstract

2005 - Ethnographic research and network analysis in monitoring regional programmes [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Rossi, F.
abstract

2005 - Stimolare l’innovazione con strumenti innovativi: reti di partenariato e sviluppo locale nel PRAI-ITT 2002-03 [Articolo su rivista]
Russo, Margherita; F., Rossi
abstract

Nella dotazione globale dei Fondi Strutturali, la Commissione Europea ha previsto che una pic-cola quota (fino allo 0,65% nell’attuale periodo di programmazione) sia destinata ad azioni innovative che consentano di sperimentare nuove modalità per l’intervento strutturale comunitario: è in questo contesto che vanno considerati i Programmi Regionali di Azioni Innovative. Il paper esamina il caso del PRAI realizzato dalla regione Toscana nel periodo 2001-2004: uno strumento innovativo che la regione Toscana ha deciso di adottare per stimolare i processi di innova-zione tecnologica nell’economia regionale mediante la creazione di reti di cooperazione, di una plura-lità di attori presenti nella regione, finalizzate all’integrazione di competenze e alla sperimentazione di metodologie di diffusione dell’innovazione.In questo paper proponiamo una duplice chiave di lettura: del carattere innovativo del particola-re strumento di policy e delle questioni metodologiche connesse con l’analisi di reti di attori che parte-cipano ai processi di innovazione.La prima chiave di lettura ci introdurrà all’esame delle principali azioni intraprese dalla regione nella definizione e nella gestione del programma; la seconda chiave di lettura consentirà di mettere a fuoco le reti di relazioni che hanno reso possibile la realizzazione dei progetti e le reti di relazioni che attraversano i progetti.L’analisi metterà in luce i principali aspetti metodologici che potrebbero migliorare la costru-zione e la gestione di un Programma Regionale di Azioni Innovative con riferimento (1) all’analisi del ruolo dei diversi attori nel processo di innovazione e nella creazione di reti di cooperazione; (2) alla struttura emergente del Programma (evidenziata dall’analisi delle reti di relazioni tra i partecipanti). La sezione 1 introduce i temi della ricerca, evidenziando quali erano dal punto di vista dei po-licy maker gli obiettivi del Programma, e presenta gli aspetti teorici (rilevanti nell’analisi delle rela-zioni generative che sostengono i processi di innovazione) e gli strumenti di analisi (ricerca etnografi-ca e analisi delle reti di relazioni sociali) adottati nella ricerca. Nella sezione 2 sarà presentato il qua-dro d’insieme del Programma e dei progetti, con particolare riferimento alle caratteristiche dei diversi tipi di attori che hanno partecipato al programma. Le sezioni 3 e 4 si focalizzano sulle reti di relazioni tra gli attori e sulla struttura emergente del Programma. La sezione 5 propone alcune riflessioni di sin-tesi su risultati e obiettivi dell’analisi con particolare riferimento alle potenzialità e limiti di questo nuovo strumento di politica regionale dell’innovazione.

2005 - Stimolare l'innovazione con strumenti innovativi: reti di partenariato e sviluppo locale nei programmi comunitari [Working paper]
Russo, M.; Rossi, F.
abstract