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Purpose – This chapter aims at exploring the effects of globalization on technological change by focusing on the determinants of the direction of technological change at the firm level of analysis by following the induced technological change approach implemented by the localized technological change hypothesis.

Methodology/approach – In the empirical analysis, we proxy the direction of technological change by means of the changes in the output elasticity of capital and analyze how it is affected by the changes in factor market costs and firms' attributes for a panel of 1,113 companies listed on UK and the main continental Europe financial markets for the period 1995–2003.

Findings – We find that small firms are more likely to introduce capital-intensive technological changes while large firms will introduce skill-intensive technological changes.

Research limitations/implications – Our model provides a clear analytical framework that interprets the growing skill intensity of the advanced economies as the result of the introduction of new technologies induced by the growing globalization and biased by the characteristics and the types of innovation strategies of the firms.

Originality/value of paper – In so doing, the chapter adds to the existing literature in that it first explores the effects of globalization upon factor markets and, second, it investigates the effects of the direction of technological change within a microeconomic perspective.

Purpose – This chapter analyzes the effects that the international integration of product markets induced by globalization exerts on the direction of technological change at the industry level.

Methodology/approach – In order to do so it elaborates an interpretative framework that complements the classical inducement hypotheses with the Schumpeterian literature and the localized technological change approach, putting forward the hypothesis that technological change is biased by the dynamics of both factor and product markets. We argue and show that not only the changing levels of input costs but also the changing prevalence of product and process innovations affect the direction of technological change: specifically when product innovations prevail technological change is skill-biased, while when process innovations play a major role innovation is capital intensive.

Findings – Following this perspective we analyze the interindustrial variance of the output elasticities of labor of the main advanced economies in recent years and claim that such heterogeneity can be understood as the result of differentiated innovative reactions of firms to changes induced by the globalization of the markets: fast-growing sectors innovate mainly through (skilled) labor-augmenting technological change, while mature industries rely more on capital-enhancing innovations. The empirical evidence supports our hypotheses and shows that the variance of the output elasticity of labor in a panel data estimate across 17 manufacturing sectors in 16 OECD countries from 1995 to 2006, is significantly and positively associated with the rates of growth of employment, wage levels and their rates of increase, and R&D intensity.

Originality/value of paper – By investigating the variance of output elasticities at the industry level the chapter provides new insights within the literature focused on the bias of technological change.

Scholars have examined, in various ways, the complexity of knowledge in innovation. Recently, research has begun to focus on the role of a continuous process of knowledge recombination in our understanding of a changing structure of knowledge complexity and knowledge accumulation. Furthermore, we also claim that this process may reflect changes in the underlying innovation paradigm, or in other words the arrival of the information age. Yet, little is known about how knowledge complexity is increasing in the broader context of globalization, in which the influence of a rising diversity of locational sources may feature more prominently. We consider how knowledge recombination that relies upon the global spread of innovation activities will affect our theory of the relationship through which earlier contributions to knowledge become inputs to subsequent knowledge building that generates more (or less) complex knowledge artifacts. We propose that knowledge complexity rises when recombined elements are sourced across two dimensions of distance simultaneously, namely when sources which are derived from (i) disparate knowledge fields and (ii) distinct geographic locations are combined. We thereby develop an international business perspective on knowledge complexity through recombination by better appreciating the processes that may be necessary when knowledge is combined along global value chains. We also suggest some implications for changing organizational forms by highlighting the value of connecting previously unconnected geographically distant elements, which suggests a greater potential for more informal and indirectly diffused knowledge-based connections.

This study deals with the processes of innovation in the medium technology industrial sectors. First, it illustrates the differences between the linear model of innovation and the systemic and cognitive model of knowledge creation. Then, it focuses on the concepts of connectivity, creativity, and speed of change, which characterize the processes of interactive learning in the industrial clusters. Finally, it illustrates a typology of regions, where problems and policy fields are different, and it indicates the guidelines of a governance of interregional knowledge and innovation networks.

Purpose – The chapter investigates the effects of knowledge on economic growth at the regional level.

Methodology/approach – We elaborate a view on knowledge as the result of a combinatorial search activity and implement indicators synthesizing the network architecture of knowledge structure.

Findings – Empirical estimations corroborate the hypothesis that knowledge coherence and variety, besides the traditional measure of knowledge stock, matter in shaping regional economic performances.

Social implications – Important policy implications stem from the analysis, in that regional innovation strategies, to trigger economic performances, should be carefully coordinated so as to foster exploration strategies, but taking into full account the technological competences accumulated in the course of time.

Originality/value of the paper – The originality of the chapter lies mainly in the methodological approach, which provides operational translation to the view of knowledge as an outcome of a combinatorial search. In this perspective, the chapter also sheds light on previously unexplored aspects of the relationships between knowledge and growth.

In this chapter, we examine the development of a technology path in the nanotube (NT) field – one of the most well-developed areas of nanotechnology. Although early developments suggested that there were equally viable pathways related to the development of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and others made with organic molecules and polymers, carbon-based technologies became valorized. We show how the carbon science path developed and try to unpack how it happened. We argue that it was not due to the inherent efficiency or applications of CNTs, but to sociopolitical dynamics. Even though much intellectual property research focuses on patent-level analysis, we underscore the importance of patent categories as key cognitive elements that organize the different knowledge domains within the world of NT patenting. We show that interlinkages between patent categories are crucial to the formation and development of a particular technology path. In unpacking the selection of the carbon science path, we highlight the key role played by a cadre of star scientists and the political neglect of alternative pathways as the field herded toward the CNT path.

“It should also be noted that the objective of convergence and equal distribution, including across under-performing areas, can hinder efforts to generate growth. Contrariwise, the objective of competitiveness can exacerbate regional and social inequalities, by targeting efforts on zones of excellence where projects achieve greater returns (dynamic major cities, higher levels of general education, the most advanced projects, infrastructures with the heaviest traffic, and so on). If cohesion policy and the Lisbon Strategy come into conflict, it must be borne in mind that the former, for the moment, is founded on a rather more solid legal foundation than the latter” European Commission (2005, p. 9)Adaptation of Cohesion Policy to the Enlarged Europe and the Lisbon and Gothenburg Objectives.

Purpose – To provide a behavioural perspective on the relationship between transport and climate change.

Methodology/approach – The factors influencing travel behaviour and the elements critical to behaviour formation are reviewed. The importance of behaviour change measures to reduce the impact of transport on climate change, and the application of behaviour change measures to increase the sustainability of transport, are examined.

Findings – There have been a range of travel behaviour measures implemented, such as individualised marketing programmes and travel plans, which have demonstrated some behavioural change impacts, in turn affecting climate change emissions, although they tend to be localised and small-scale.

Social implications – There is a real challenge to encourage individuals within society to exhibit more sustainable travel behaviour.

Originality/value – A range of behavioural issues still need to be resolved in terms of the relationship between transport and climate change, including a need to influence attitudes, to bridge the gaps between attitudes and both behaviour and intention, to make an impact at points of transition for individuals, to use cognitive dissonance as a way of harnessing social norms, and to understand more fully social pressure and group influence.

International figures on university expenditure on the development of next generation learning spaces (NGLS) are not readily available but anecdote suggests that simply retrofitting an existing classroom as an NGLS conservatively costs $AUD200,000, while developing new buildings often cost in the region of 100 million dollars and over the last five years, many universities in Australia, Europe and North America have developed new buildings. Despite this considerable investment, it appears that the full potential of these spaces is not being realised.

While researchers argue that a more student centred learning approach to teaching has inspired the design of next generation learning spaces (Tom, Voss, & Scheetz, 2008) and that changed spaces change practice (Joint Information Systems Committee, 2009) when ‘confronted’ with a next generation learning spaces for the first time, anecdotes suggest that many academics resort to teaching as they have always taught and as they were taught. This chapter highlights factors that influence teaching practices, showing that they are to be found in the external, organisational and personal domains.

We argue that in order to fully realise significant improvements in student outcomes through the sector’s investment in next generation learning spaces, universities need to provide holistic and systematic support across three domains – the external, the organisational and the personal domains, by changing policies, systems, procedures and localised practices to better facilitate changes in teaching practices that maximise the potential of next generation learning spaces.