Firm capabilities and cooperation for innovation: Evidence from the UK regions

This chapter focuses on the relationship between firms’ technological competences and capabilities and different forms of cooperation for innovation by combining the analysis of both micro and meso levels, i.e. the level of the firm and of the geographical region. Our findings, based on the Fourth UK Community Innovation Survey (CIS), provide new insights regarding the relationship between cooperative linkages for innovation and firms’ technological status. Firstly, the distinction between competences and capabilities adopted in this chapter seems appropriate for going beyond the rather simplistic dichotomy of ‘innovative’ versus ‘non-innovative’ firms commonly used in interpreting CIS data. Secondly, we find that the analysis for the UK as a whole masks stark regional differences in terms of intra- and extra-region collaborative linkages and firms’ technological status. These findings may be useful to assist policy making in meeting the priorities highlighted within the UK Government’s framework for Science & Technology.