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Local implementation projects for sector coupling play an important role in the transformation to a more sustainable energy system. Despite various technical possibilities, there are various barriers to the realisation of local projects. Against this backdrop, we introduce an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to identifying and evaluating different power-to-X paths as well as setting up robust local implementation projects, which account for existing drivers and potential hurdles early on. After developing the approach conceptually, we exemplify our elaborations by applying them to a use case in the German city of Wuppertal. It can be shown that a mix of several interlinked interdisciplinary methods as well as several participatory elements is suitable for triggering a collective, local innovation process. However, the timing and extent of end-user integration remain a balancing act. The paper does not focus on a detailed description of power-to-X (PtX) as a central pillar of the sustainable transformation of the energy system. Rather, it focuses on the innovative methodological approach used to select a suitable use path and design a corresponding business model. The research approach was successfully implemented in the specific case study. However, it also becomes clear that the local-specific consideration entails limitations with regard to the transferability of the research design to other spatial contexts.

Management innovations (MIs) are widely adopted, but their influences on organizational performance are little researched in public settings. Positing that the MI-performance relationship is complex and is conditional over other characteristics of the organization, we examine the influence of MI on organizational performance both directly and indirectly through performance management (PM). PM is an important organizational process characteristic arising from public management reform and in itself influences performance. We test our hypotheses using structural equation models with data from three sources in English local govemments. The findings indicate that the impact of MI on performance is not direct; it is mediated by PM. We also find that PM positively affects organizational performance. In conclusion, we discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice.

This article argues that innovation in and from emerging economies is largely shaped by the challenges of sustained catching-up with the advanced economies. Just as firms and industries are constantly seeking to upgrade their technological and organizational capabilities, so too are their societies reconfiguring their institutions and networks to improve their knowledge resources. Such a co-evolutionary process requires IB scholars to draw on interdisciplinary work from the innovation and development literature in order to reconsider the key drivers of innovation at multiple levels within these economies. Innovation is not just limited to technological activities but includes organizational and transactional improvements, and is largely a process of recombination of local and imported knowledge, shared through multiple forms of collaboration. This can redefine the FSAs of local and foreign firms, often shaped by the strategies of domestic public and private actors. Simultaneously, policymakers need to develop the appropriate institutions needed to underpin R&D, training, standards, and knowledge coordination. MNEs play unique roles as instigators of innovation, as conduits for new knowledge, and as beneficiaries themselves, via their own recombination capabilities.

After more than three decades of high growth based on its low-wage advantage and relatively favorable demographics—in combination with market-oriented reforms and openness to the world economy—China is at a crossroads with a much higher wage and a shrinking work force. Future growth will depend, by necessity, more on the generation of increased productivity, and domestic innovation will play an important part in this. In this paper, we assess the likelihood that China can make the necessary transition. Using data on expenditure on research and development, and patent applications, receipts, and citations, we show that the Chinese economy has become increasingly innovative. We will argue that rising wages and expanding markets are among the important drivers of China's growth in innovation. On the other hand, we find evidence of resource misallocation in the innovation area: while state-owned firms receive more subsidies, private firms exhibit more innovation results. Innovation can presumably progress even faster if resource misallocation can be tackled.

Open government is an important innovation to foster trustworthy and inclusive governments. The authors develop and test an integrative theoretical framework drawing from theories on policy diffusion and innovation adoption. Based on this, they investigate how structural, cultural, and environmental variables explain three dimensions of open government: accessibility, transparency, and participation. The framework is tested by combining 2014 survey data and observational data from 500 local U.S. government websites. Organizational structure, including technological and organizational capacity, is a determinant shared by all dimensions of open government. Furthermore, accessibility is affected by a mixture of an innovative and participative culture and external pressures. A flexible and innovative culture positively relates to higher levels of transparency, whereas capacity is a strong predictor of adopting participatory features. The main conclusion is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to fostering the three dimensions of open government, as each dimension is subject to a unique combination of determinants.

Why do investments in certain places yield jobs, growth, and prosperity while similar investments made in seemingly identical places fail to produce the desired results? Starting with the observation that innovation clusters spatially across a broad spectrum of industries, my work seeks to understand the mechanisms and institutions that promote the creation of useful knowledge. In my conceptualization, entrepreneurs, as the agents who recognize opportunity, mobilize resources, and create value, are key to the creation of institutions and the building of capacity that will sustain regional economic development. Entrepreneurs benefit from location. But entrepreneurs are also pivotal as agents of change that can transform local communities. The initial event or entrepreneurial spark that gives rise to prosperous regions is not deterministic nor do they automatically set in motion path dependencies that automatically yield successful places. What matters most is human agency—the building of institutions and the myriad public and private decisions that determine what I call the character of place—a spirit of authenticity, engagement, and common purpose.

This paper aimed at investigating the relationship between the features of local knowledge bases and the creation of innovative start-ups in Italy. The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship has here been combined with the recombinant knowledge hypothesis in order to derive a theoretical framework that could emphasize the heterogeneous nature of knowledge and identify some key dimensions. The empirical analysis has been focused on the patterns of new firm formation in Italian NUTS 3 regions using data on the creation of innovative startups that have followed the implementation of a new Italian regulation. The results of the analysis confirm that not only does the size of the knowledge stock play a key role in shaping the creation of innovative startups, but also the characteristics of such knowledge, in terms of variety and similarity.

More and more companies are turning to emerging markets as sources of global innovation to help transform business and society. However, building innovation capabilities in emerging markets is still elusive for most companies. To understand how some companies are successfully building these capabilities, we examined workers within R&D units in China across six foreign multinational corporations. In contrast with prior literature that emphasizes a structural view of who the workers interacted with to innovate, our inductive analysis highlights a behavioral view of how R&D unit personnel interact during the problem and solution search process. We identified two key behaviors associated with the problem and solution search: (1) observing customers in their everyday context, and (2) uncovering general knowledge principles from internal experts. Respectively, these behaviors helped R&D workers to question assumptions about existing products as they relate to customers and to apply useful principles from expert knowledge rather than copying solution templates. Our findings offer an alternative path to building global innovation capabilities in markets where structural constraints exist for the company.

Public procurement for innovation represents one of the least studied demand-side innovation policy tools that can be used to increase urban competitiveness. Evidence suggests that local and regional governments are becoming more involved in procuring innovative solutions, but overall knowledge remains limited regarding how they get involved and what effects this involvement has had. Based on a study of Nordic-Baltic Sea cities, the current study reveals that public procurement for innovative solutions has a positive impact on the providers and that urban authorities can act as market creators. The study also demonstrates that public procurement is not seen as an inherent part of innovation policy. A lack of awareness exists among city officials about the connection between procurement and innovation, and local authorities tend not to be willing to take risks when promoting innovation through public procurement. Due to the positive effects, however, further development of related policies is recommended.

In today’s knowledge economy, clusters are a key driver of a country’s competitiveness. Yet a cluster’s technological base is now more than ever influenced by constituent firms’ actions to tap into distant knowledge sources. Drawing on a social network perspective, and distinguishing between horizontal versus vertical organization-based linkages, we explore the effects of a cluster’s connectedness to foreign locations on its innovation performance. We show that improvements in horizontal and vertical connectedness both stimulate a cluster’s innovation performance, but that their relative effects vary across cluster types. Innovation in knowledge-intensive clusters disproportionately benefits from enhancements in their constituent firms’ horizontal connectedness to foreign knowledge hotspots. Innovation in labor-intensive clusters mostly gains from stronger vertical connections by their firms to central value chain players abroad. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on global knowledge sourcing and cluster upgrading.