Not too close, not too far: testing the Goldilocks principle of ‘optimal’ distance in innovation networks

Fitjar, Rune Dahl, Huber, Franz and Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés ORCID: 0000-0002-8041-0856 (2016) Not too close, not too far: testing the Goldilocks principle of ‘optimal’ distance in innovation networks. Industry and Innovation, 23 (6). pp. 465-487. ISSN 1366-2716

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Abstract

This paper analyses how the formation of collaboration networks affects firm-level innovation by applying the ‘Goldilocks principle’. The ‘Goldilocks principle’ of optimal distance in innovation networks postulates that the best firm-level innovation results are achieved when the partners involved in the network are located at the ‘right’ distance, i.e. ‘not too close and not too far’ from one another, across non-geographical proximity dimensions. This principle is tested on a survey of 542 Norwegian firms conducted in 2013, containing information about firm-level innovation activities and key innovation partners. The results of the ordinal logit regression analysis substantiate the Goldilocks principle, as the most innovative firms are found among those that collaborate with partners at medium levels of proximity for all non-geographical dimensions. The analysis also underscores the importance of the presence of a substitution–innovation mechanism, with geographical distance problems being compensated by proximity in other dimensions as a driver of innovation, while there is no support for a potential overlap–innovation mechanism.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ciai20/current
Additional Information:	© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Divisions:	Geography & Environment
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Date Deposited:	26 Sep 2017 13:44
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 01:19
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/84304

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