HOW TO BUILD LOCAL AND REGIONAL INNOVATION-ORIENTED ECOSYSTEMS

Marcin Baron

TAFTIE Expert session “Innovation-oriented ecosystems” September 10, 2014, Gdynia, Poland

Marcin Baron:

Partner at InnoCo

Fellow of the University of Economics in Katowice (Department of Strategic and Regional Studies)

Member of Regional Studies Association and International Society for Professional Innovation Management

Appointed to Polish Academy of Sciences Task Force on Regional & Spatial Policy in Poland and Europe

Co-author of Regional Innovation Strategy of Silesia (PL) and several innovation policy documents

baron@innoco-team.com +48506035345 www.innoco-team.com

So… we want ecosystems…

Don’t think it’s Nature.It’s HBR !The fairly old one…

Harvard Business Review, May-June 1993drawing by Traian Filip

If there are predatorswho’s gonna be a prey?

{Camera switch. Mufasa and Simba are out walking on the savannah.}

Mufasa: Everything you see exists together, in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures-- from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.

Simba: But, Dad, don't we eat the antelope?

Mufasa: Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass. And the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life.

{Camera switch. Mufasa and Simba are out walking on the savannah.}

Mufasa: Everything you see exists together, in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures-- from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.

Simba: But, Dad, don't we eat the antelope?

Mufasa: Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass. And the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great

Circle of Life.

The Walt Disney Co.1984, 1994

The principal learning:

The Birth of Business Ecosystems

Bet on a seed innovation that can lead to revolutionary products.

Discover the right customer value proposition.

Design a business that can serve the potential market.

J.F.Moore, Predators and Prey: A New Ecology of Competition, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1993

Remark no.1:Business ecosystemscome from business (not policy)and are for business.

As seen in 1993:For example, Apple Computer is the leader of an

ecosystem that crosses at least four major industries: personal computers, consumer electronics, information, and communications. The Apple ecosystem encompasses an extended web of suppliers that includes Motorola and Sony and a large number of customers in various market segments.

Apple, IBM, Ford, Wal-Mart, and Merck have all been or still are the leaders of business ecosystems. While the center may shift over time, the role of the leader is valued by the rest of the community. Such leadership enables all ecosystem members to invest toward a shared future in which they anticipate profiting together.

J.F.Moore, Predators and Prey: A New Ecology of Competition, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1993

Remark no.2:Every stick has two ends. But contemporary ecosystems have three perspectives.

The micro- perspective:

M.A.Carpenter, Wm.G.Sanders, Strategic Management - a Dynamic Perspective, Pearson 2007

The meso- perspective:

M.A.Carpenter, Wm.G.Sanders, Strategic Management - a Dynamic Perspective, Pearson 2007

• State policy / state regional policy:

• National (smart) specialisations

• Structural policy

• Sectoral policy

• (Intra-) regional policy:

• Regional (smart) specialisations; clusters etc.

• Attracting investors

• …

The macro- perspective:

What drives policy makers and policy recipients?

• State policy / state regional policy:

• National (smart) specialisations

• Structural policy

• Sectoral policy

• (Intra) regional policy:

• Regional (smart) specialisations; clusters etc.

• Attracting investors

• …

Typology of regional innovation systems:

• Grassroots RISs are characterised by local initiatives, diffuse

funding, applied, near-market research, low level of technological specialisation and local co-ordination.

• Network RISs can be initiated at several levels: local, regional,

federal or governmental. Consequently, funding is more likely to be agreed by banks, firms and government agencies. The research is mixed, aimed at both applied and ‘pure’ technology with flexible specialisation give the wide range of participants.

• Dirigiste RISs are more animated from outside and above the region

itself, initiated and funded typically by central governments. The research is rather basic or fundamental, to be used in large firms in or beyond the region in question. As it is state-run, the level of co-ordination is high and the level of specialisation is also likely to be high.

R.L.Martin, A Study on the Factors of Regional Competitiveness, A draft final report for The European Commission Directorate-General Regional Policy, 2003

Remark no.3:Mind the ‘Circle of Life’.

As seen in 1993:A business ecosystem, like its biological counterpart,

gradually moves from a random collection of elements to a more structured community. Think of a prairie grassland that is succeeded by stands of conifers, which in turn evolve into a more complex forest dominated by hardwoods. Business ecosystems condense out of the original swirl of capital, customer interest, and talent generated by a new innovation, just as successful species spring from the natural resources of sunlight, water, and soil nutrients.

J.F.Moore, Predators and Prey: A New Ecology of Competition, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1993

J.F.Moore, Predators and Prey: A New Ecology of Competition, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1993

Remark no.4:There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

Accept and allow different arrangements. Don’t believe in models too much!

M.A.Carpenter, Wm.G.Sanders, Strategic Management - a Dynamic Perspective, Pearson 2007

M.Baron, Analiza aktorów regionalnego ekosystemu innowacji, in press

M.Baron, Regional innovation ecosystem’s actors analysis, in press

Animator’s role

institution

Animator’s role

person

Remark no.5:Names will change. Change leaders do their job anyway.

Do you like it? W.Vanhaverbeke, From open innovation to innovation ecosystems, presentation of 6 May 2014, SlideShare

Chesbrough and

Vanhaverbeke already ‘killed’ the OI

we know.

W.Vanhaverbeke, From open innovation to innovation ecosystems, presentation of 6 May 2014, SlideShare

M.Curley, B.Salmelin, Open Innovation 2.0: A New Paradigm, EU Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group 2013

M.Curley, B.Salmelin, Open Innovation 2.0: A New Paradigm, EU Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group 2013

M.Curley, B.Salmelin, Open Innovation 2.0: A New Paradigm, EU Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group 2013

And what’s your label?How do you approach?

Business (R&D) modelperspective

Territorial perspective

ManagementEconomics,

Regional Science

Business model canvasValue chain

Open innovationNetworking

Industrial districtsInnovation milieux

Competitiveness (techno) polesRegional innovation systems

And what’s your label?How do you approach?

Does it really matter?

It really does matter!

Remark no.6:Prahalad and Krishnan might change your understanding.

R=G n=1

C.K.Prahalad, M.S.Krishnan, The New Age of Innovation: Driving Cocreated Value Through Global Networks, McGraw-Hill 2008

R=G n=1

Whether we like or dislike itregional dimension

is not fancy any longer…

But sound business will always be promising!

How about being local for global value chains?

Remark no.7:Big policy programmes change the rules of the game. Make them supportive!

In Poland:• National Science Centre• The National Centre for Research and

Development

Again,thinking that regional economy calls

for mainly regionally boundpolicy instruments is a common mistake.

What do we want ? Don’t know !

When do we want it ?

Now !

Exemplarypolicy approach

Regional Innovation Strategy of the Śląskie Voivodeship for the years 2013-2020, Katowice 2012

Regional Innovation Strategy of the Śląskie Voivodeship for the years 2013-2020, Katowice 2012

Regional Innovation Strategy of the Śląskie Voivodeship for the years 2013-2020, Katowice 2012

Regional Innovation Strategy of the Śląskie Voivodeship for the years 2013-2020, Katowice 2012

Thank you for your attention.

Feel free to ask & discuss !