No 2015/8 Imitate, or innovate and collaborate? On innovation strategy choices in the urban economy

Abstract

This paper explores how the innovation strategies of firms reflect the density, diversity and connectivity of their urban locations. Firms located outside the four large-city regions of Norway are generally more committed to development work than are their urban counterparts. Still, once engaged, firms in certain large-city locations exhibit unique preferences towards geographically dispersed collaboration that are most pronounced within the Western business district of the Capital. This shows that firm-level decisions along interconnected activity dimensions must be considered in order for different strategy choices, and the interdependencies between them that are an essential feature of urban economies, are to be revealed. The study provides new insights into the large-city region knowledge dynamics that are increasingly important to human capital formation, employment and growth.