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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2010.04.002 Byline: Uwe Cantner (a), Andreas Meder (a), Anne L.J. ter Wal (b) Keywords: Cooperation; Innovator networks; Complementarity of knowledge; Interaction structure; Social network analysis Abstract: Although network analysis has gained increasing attention over the last years, the literature on Regional Innovation Systems thus far has not embraced network methods. This study is an attempt to enrich the Regional Innovation System concept by applying social network methods to quantitatively assess the extent to which innovating actors in a region engage in systemic forms of knowledge exchange and collaboration. On the basis of a comparison of three rather different regional innovator networks, the paper suggests that regions with a strong knowledge base that are specialized in broad technology fields tend to have relatively fragmented network structures. Author Affiliation: (a) Friedrich-Schiller University, Department of Economics Jena Carl-Zeiss-Strasse 3, 07743 Jena, Germany (b) Imperial College Business School, Innovation Studies Centre, Tanaka Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK

In this paper, we investigate the impact of regional and technological innovation systems on innovation cooperation. We develop an indicator applicable to regions, which demonstrates the relative regional impact on innovation cooperation. Applying this method to German patent data, we find that regional differences in the degree of innovation cooperation do not only depend on the technology structure of a region but also on specific regional effects. High-tech oriented regions, whether east or west, are not automatically highly cooperative regions. East German regions have experienced a dynamic development of innovation cooperation since re-unification in 1990. Their cooperation intensity remains higher than in West German regions.