Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Innovation and ICT use in the EU: an analysis of regional drivers

  • Published:
Empirical Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Innovation and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) are key areas for the European Cohesion Policy. Studies available at the regional level explore innovation and ICT use incorporating different variables, while those investigating ICT use mainly focus on that of households. This paper investigates the existence of common factors for innovation and ICT at the regional level, considering not only ICT use by households but also that of firms. Using factorial and spatial regression analysis, we find that although ICT use and innovation are mainly explained by different variables, knowledge-intensive services and the percentage of population aged 15–64 are common to all of them. In addition, ICT use by households and ICT use by firms are basically driven by different factors. Government quality is the main factor explaining ICT use at home, while ICT use by firms is mostly driven by employment in knowledge-intensive services. R&D is the main variable explaining innovation. We also find positive spatial effects, which are particularly notable in ICT use by households. The results stress the importance of promoting specialization strategies based on the knowledge economy that may contribute to creating synergies between innovation and ICT use in different environments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aguado R, Gibaja JJ, Navarro M, Bilbao-Osorio B (2008) Regional innovation systems in EU-10: a typology and recommendations. Paper presented in the IV globelics conference at Mexico City, September 22–24

  • Anselin L (1988) Spatial econometrics: methods and models. Kluber Academic Publishers, Dordrecht

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Anselin L, Bera AK (1998) Spatial dependence in linear regression models with an introduction to spatial econometric. In: Ullah A, Giles D (eds) Handbook of applied economic statistics. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 237–289

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayo-Moriones A, Billon M, Lera-López F (2015) Are new work practices applied together with ICT and AMT? Int J Hum Resour Manag. doi:10.180/09585192.2015.1116453

  • Billon M, Ezcurra R, Lera-Lopez F (2008) The spatial distribution of the internet in the European Union: does geographical proximity matter? Eur Plan Stud 16:119–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Billon M, Ezcurra R, Lera-Lopez F (2009) Spatial effects in website adoption by firms in European regions. Growth Change 40:54–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom N, Schankerman M, Van Reenen J (2013) Identifying technology spillovers and product market rivalry. Econometrica 81:1347–1393

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borghi E, Del Bo C, Florio M (2010) Clusters industriales e innovación regional: Una evaluación e implicaciones para la cohesión económica. Rev Galega Econ 19:1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Boschma R (2005) Proximity and innovation: a critical assessment. Reg Stud 39:61–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buesa M, Heijs J, Baumert T (2010) The determinants of regional innovation in Europe: a combined factorial and regression knowledge production function approach. Res Policy 39:722–735

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capello R, Spairani A (2004) The role of collective learning in ICT adoption and use. In: De Groot HL, Nijkamp P, Strough RR (eds) Entrepreneurship and regional economic development, a spatial perspective. Edward Elgar Publishing, Northampton, pp 198–224

    Google Scholar 

  • Charron N, Dijkstra L, Lapuente V (2014) Regional governance matters: quality of government within European Union member states. Reg Stud 48:68–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comin D, Dmitriev M, Rossi-Hansberg E (2012) The spatial diffussion of technology. NBER working paper no. 18534. The National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge

  • Constantinos CM, Anderson J (2006) Creativity is not enough: ICT-enabled strategic innovation. Eur J Innov Manag 9:129–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooke P, Heidenreich M, Braczyk H (2004) Regional innovation systems, 2nd edn. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke P, Morgan K (1994) The creative milieu: a regional perspective on innovation. In: Dodgson R (ed) The handbook of industrial innovation. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp 25–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Crescenzi R, Rodríguez-Pose A, Storper M (2007) The territorial dynamics of innovation: a Europe–United States comparative analysis. J Econ Geogr 7:673–709

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demoussis M, Giannakopoulos N (2006) Facets of the digital divide in Europe: determination and extent of internet use. Econ Innov New Technol 15:235–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domenech J, Martinez-Gomez V, Mas-Verdú F (2014) Location and adoption of ICT innovations in the agrifood industry. Appl Econ Lett 21:421–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dominicis L, Florax R, de Groot H (2013) Regional clusters of innovative activity in Europe: are social capital and geographical proximity key determinants? Appl Econ 45:2325–2335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eurofound, (2012) Fifth European working conditions survey. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg

  • European Commission (2010a) Regional policy contributing to smart growth in Europe 2020. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. SEC 1183 Com 553 final, Brussels

  • European Commission (2010b) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A Digital Agenda for Europe. COM/2010/0245 final, Brussels

  • European Commission (2010c) Measuring quality of government and sub-national variation. Report for the EU Commission of Regional Development, Brussels

  • European Commission (2014) The European Union explained: digital agenda for Europe. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg

  • Eurostat (2014) General and regional statistics. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/search_database. Accessed 20 Apr 2014

  • Evangelista R, Guerrieri P, Meliciani V (2014) The economic impact of digital technologies in Europe. Econ Innov New Technol 23:802–824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forman C, Goldfarb A, Greensteins S (2005) Geographic location and the diffusion of internet technology. Electron Commer Res Appl 4:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujita M, Mori T (2005) Frontiers of the new economic geography. Pap Reg Sci 84:377–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galliano D, Roux P, Soulié N (2011) ICT intensity of use and the geography of firms. Environ Plan A 43:67–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaspar J, Glaeser EL (1998) Information technology and the future of cities. J Urban Econ 43:136–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geroski P (2000) Models of technology diffusion. Res Policy 29:603–625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gössling T, Rutten R (2007) Innovation in regions. Eur Plan Stud 15:253–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greunz L (2004) Industrial structure and innovation-evidence from European regions. J Evol Econ 14:563–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gurmu S, Pérez-Sebastián F (2008) Patents, R&D and lag effects: evidence from flexible methods for count panel data on manufacturing firms. Empir Econ 35:507–526

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helpman E, Trajtenberg M (1996) Diffusion of general purpose technologies. NBER working paper no. 5773

  • Hempell T (2005) Does experience matter? Innovations and the productivity of information and communication technologies. Econ Innov New Technol 14:277–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson C, Maier G, Trippl M, Siedschlag I, Owen R, Murphy G (2010) ICT and regional economic dynamics: a literature review. JRC scientific and technical reports, European Commission, Brussels

  • Karshenas M, Stoneman P (1995) Technological diffusion. In: Karshenas M, Stoneman P (eds) Handbook of the economics of innovation and technological change. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Lera-López F, Billon M, Gil M (2010) Determinants of internet use in Spain. Econ Innov New Technol 20:127–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundvall BA (1992) National systems of innovation. Towards a theory of innovation and interactive learning. Pinter Publishers, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Maggioni M, Nosvello M, Uberti TE (2007) Space versus networks in the geography of innovation: a European analysis. Pap Reg Sci 86:471–493

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield E (1968) Industrial research and technological innovation. Norton, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Milicevic I, Gareis K (2003) Disparities in ICT take-up and usage between EU Regions. Workshop on the regional effects of the New Information Society. Milan, 26–28 February

  • Moran P (1950) A test for serial independence of residuals. Biometrika 37:178–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno R, Paci R, Usai S (2005a) Geographical and sectoral clusters of innovation in Europe. Ann Reg Sci 39:715–739

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno R, Paci R, Usai S (2005b) Spatial spillovers and innovation activity in European regions. Environ Plan A 37:1793–1812

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno R, Paci R, Usai S (2006) Innovation clusters in the European regions. Eur Plan Stud 14:1235–1263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Müller U (2009) The power to shape a region: decentralisation of political decisions. International Benchmarking Forum, June 19, Basel

  • Navarro M, Gibaja JJ, Bilbao-Osorio B, Aguado R (2009) Patterns of innovation in Eu-25 regions: a typology and policy recommendations. Environ Plann 27:815–840

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson R (1993) National innovation systems: a comparative analysis. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Neokosmidis I, Avaritsiotis N, Ventoura Z, Varoutas D (2015) Assessment of the gap and (non-) internet users evolution based on population biology dynamics. Telecommun Policy 39:14–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2013) OECD (2013) Skills outlook 2013: first results from the survey of adult skills. OECD, Paris. doi:10.1787/9789264204256-en

  • Osorio-Urzúa CA, (2008) The missing link: why does ICT matter for innovation? Exploring the effect of information and communication technologies on innovation-based competitiveness. The global information technology report 2007–2008: fostering innovation through networked readiness, pp 39–56

  • Prieger J (2013) The broadband digital divide and the economic benefits of mobile broadband for rural areas. Telecommun Policy 37:483–502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Pose A, Crescenzi R (2008) Research and development, spillovers, innovation systems, and the genesis of regional growth in Europe. Reg Stud 42:51–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers EM (2003) Diffusion of innovations, 5th edn. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg N (1972) Factors affecting the diffusion of technology. Explor Econ Hist 10:3–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schleife K (2006) Regional versus individual aspects of the digital divide in Germany. Discussion paper 06-085 ZEW. Centre for European Economic Research, Mannheim, Germany

  • Schleife K (2010) What really matters: regional versus individual determinants of the digital divide in Germany. Res Policy 39:173–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scupola A (2014) The relation between innovation sources and ICT roles in facility management organizations. J Facil Manag 12:368–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storper M, Venables AJ (2004) Buzz: face-to-face contact and the urban economy. J Econ Geogr 4:351–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takhteyev Y, Gruzd A, Wellman B (2012) Geography of Twitter networks. Soc Netw 34:73–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tappeiner G, Hauser C, Walde J (2008) Regional knowledge spillovers: fact or artifact? Res Policy 37:861–874

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiy L, Berry O, Taylor D (2013) Business innovation and the use of information and communications technology—an update. Methodology research papers, cat no. 1351.0.55.042. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra

  • Tödtling F, Skokan K, Höglinger C, Rumpel P, Grillitsch M (2013) Innovation and knowledge sourcing of modern sectors in old industrial regions: comparing software firms in Moravia-Silesia and Upper Austria. Eur Urban Reg Stud 20:188–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tranos E, Gillespie A (2009) The spatial distribution of Internet backbone networks in Europe. Eur Urban Reg Stud 16:423–437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trippl M, Toedtling F (2008) Regional innovation cultures. In conference on: entrepreneurship and innovation-organizations, institutions, systems and regions. Copenhagen, Denmark, June 17–20

  • Vicente MA, López AJ (2006) A multivariate framework for the analysis of the digital divide: evidence for the European Union-15. Inform Manag 43:756–766

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vicente MA, López AJ (2011) Assessing the regional digital divide across the European Union-27. Telecommun Policy 35:220–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vinciguerra S, Frenken K, Hoekman J, van Oort F (2011) European infrastructure networks and regional innovation in science-based technologies. Econ Innov New Technol 20:517–537

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Margarita Billon and Fernando Lera-Lopez acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science (ECO2010-21393-C04-03 and ECO2013-48496-C4-2-R). The authors thank anonymous referees for valuable discussions and comments on earlier versions of the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Development Economics, Autonomous University of Madrid, Ciudad universitaria de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Margarita Billon

  2. Department of Applied Economics, Autonomous University of Madrid, Ciudad universitaria de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Rocio Marco

  3. Department of Economics, Public University of Navarra, Campus Arrosadía s/n, 31006, Pamplona, Spain

    Fernando Lera-Lopez

Authors
  1. Margarita Billon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rocio Marco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Fernando Lera-Lopez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rocio Marco.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Billon, M., Marco, R. & Lera-Lopez, F. Innovation and ICT use in the EU: an analysis of regional drivers. Empir Econ 53, 1083–1108 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-016-1153-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-016-1153-x

Keywords

JEL Classification

Search

Navigation