Technological breakthroughs in European regions: the role of related and unrelated combinations

Ron Boschma (), Ernest Miguelez, Rosina Moreno and Diego Ocampo-Corrales

No 2118, Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) from Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography

Abstract: This paper analyzes if the emergence and occurrence of breakthrough technologies in 277 European regions in the period 1981 to 2010 is related to the existing technological portfolio of regions. The study shows that, by far, most combinations breakthrough inventions make are between related technologies: almost no breakthrough patent makes combinations between unrelated combinations only. We also find that breakthrough inventions primarily combine and cite technological classes that are present in the region. Regressions show that the occurrence of breakthrough patents in a technology in a region is positively affected by the local stock of technologies that is related to such technology, but we do not find such an effect for the local stock of unrelated technologies, in contrast to studies that suggest otherwise. However, the region’s ability to enter new breakthrough inventions in a technology relies on the combination of knowledge that is both related and unrelated to such technology.

Keywords: relatedness; unrelatedness; technological breakthroughs; regional diversification; European regions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O18 O31 O33 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-06, Revised 2021-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-geo, nep-ino, nep-tid and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Working Paper: Technological breakthroughs in European regions: the role of related and unrelated combinations (2021)
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