The impact of innovation centres on small technology-based firms

The example of the federal republic of Germany

verfasst von

Rolf Sternberg

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises have not only in the Federal Republic of Germany been the source of several strategies of economic development and innovation policy for some time. The majority of these measures aims at revealing the potential strength of small and medium-sized enterprises in the innovation process by eliminating particular bottlenecks in the development and other problems of these enterprises which large enterprises do not have. Since 1983, the instrument of innovation centres for a specific promotion of a part of the small and medium-sized enterprises, namely, the new technology-based firms, has been applied also in the Federal Republic. This article investigates to what extent the meanwhile nearly 70 innovation centres could have a positive influence on the development of technology-based small firms. The empirical basis of the analysis consists of data collected in 31 innovation centres and 177 of the enterprises located there. The majority of the entrepreneurs indeed expect advantages over against alternative locations in the same region. The services offered by the centres meet with a lively demand from the tenants who, however, criticize the weaknesses, especially in the advisory services, generally attributable to the centres' managers. Concerning their infuence on the enterprises, the innovation centres do not at all represent a homogenous group, but differ considerably with regard to personnel and infrastructure. However, this assessment can only be tentative, a definite assessment regarding the effectiveness of this instrument is not possible after only six years of existence in the F.R.G.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Wirtschafts- und Kulturgeographie

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Small business economics

Band

2

Seiten

105-118

Anzahl der Seiten

14

ISSN

0921-898X

Publikationsdatum

06.1990

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Allgemeine Unternehmensführung und Buchhaltung, Volkswirtschaftslehre und Ökonometrie

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 8 – Anständige Arbeitsbedingungen und wirtschaftliches Wachstum

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389671 (Zugang: Geschlossen)