‘Islands of Innovation’ and diversities of innovation in the UK and France

Lawton Smith, Helen and Assimakopoulos, D. (2020) ‘Islands of Innovation’ and diversities of innovation in the UK and France. UCJC Business & Society Review 17 (2), pp. 18-35. ISSN 2659-3270.

Abstract

This paper explores diverging patterns of innovation and regional development in two ‘islands of innovation’. In the early 2000s the growth trajectories of Grenoble and Oxfordshire were compared (Lawton Smith 2003). The focus was on national laboratories as territorial actors in the clustering of high-tech firms. Building on longitudinal data collected since 2003 the theme shifts in this study to the forms that government intervention takes through investments in knowledge organisations in high tech economies and how that leads to particular specialisations of technological advance. While there are many similarities, there are differences in starting points and structures, leading to diversities in innovation. The analysis shows how both are embedded in their national situations and opportunities for development. We focus on two key elements in sustaining clusters of innovation, those of highly skilled labour and networks. We show that in Grenoble, the clusters are orchestrated information and project-based while in Oxfordshire they are labour market dominated and organic. We demonstrate complementary relationships between the national and regional level policy formation and implementation. In both cases importance of place is sustained over time but for different reasons.

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