Nordic SMEs and Regional Innovation Systems Final Report Edited by Bjørn T. Asheim Lars Coenen Martin Svensson‐Henning Department of Social and Economic Geography Lund University Sweden Preface This document constitutes the final report of the research project ‘Nordic SMEs and Regional Innovation Systems’. During 2002‐2003 the project has been funded by the Nordic Industrial Fund, Center for Innovation and Commercial Development, an institution under the Nordic Council of Ministers. Its main aim is to strengthen the Nordic business sector through the creation of a Nordic knowledge market. It does this by initiating and financing projects and activities that create synergy between the actors in the Nordic innovation system. This report provides a Nordic comparative case analysis on SMEs, regional innovation systems, clusters and innovation policy based on joint research between various universities and research institutes in the Nordic countries. Bjørn Terje Asheim has been the project leader coordinating the various partners. This report has been written and compiled by Bjørn Terje Asheim, Lars Coenen and Martin Svensson‐Henning from the materials and inputs provided by the researchers in the project. We gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the Nordic Industrial Fund. Bjørn Terje Asheim, Lars Coenen and Martin Svensson‐Henning November 2003 Correspondence (e‐mail):
[email protected] [email protected] martin.svensson‐
[email protected] 2 Project participants Authors of the case studies • Furniture in Salling, Denmark: Mark Lorenzen, DRUID/DYNAMO, IVS/Copenhagen Business School. • Mechanical engineering in Jaeren, Norway: Sverre J. Herstad, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.