Firm innovation in developing countries: Effects of urban agglomeration and global value chain integration

Prince C Oguguo, Ioanna Liouka and Ioanna Deligianni
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Prince C Oguguo: Analytics for Africa, Nigeria
Ioanna Liouka: EU Business School SA, Geneva, Switzerland
Ioanna Deligianni: Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece

Urban Studies, 2026, vol. 63, issue 4, 641-663

Abstract: In this article, we investigate the effect of urban agglomeration and global value chain (GVC) integration on firm innovation in developing countries, and distinguish the creation versus adoption of innovation. Our analysis draws on evidence from more than 10,000 locally owned manufacturing plants in Africa and Asia. The results provide two key insights. First, larger urban agglomerations may benefit from the adoption of innovation but not necessarily its creation. Second, greater backward integration into GVCs may substitute for the benefits of locating in larger urban agglomerations, particularly for adoptive innovation. We discuss implications for theory and practice.

Keywords: global value chains; innovation adoption; innovation creation; knowledge spillovers; urban agglomeration; å…¨ç ƒä»·å€¼é“¾; 创新的采用; 创新的创é€; 知识溢出; 城市群 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:63:y:2026:i:4:p:641-663

DOI: 10.1177/00420980251366064

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