The entrepreneur in the regional innovation system. Acomparative study for high- and low-income regions

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of entrepreneurs’characteristics oninnovation in regions with different levels of development. By doing so,this work seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the role ofentrepreneurs in the functioning and performance of regional innovationsystems. The influence of entrepreneurs’personal characteristics andtheir perceptions of the business environment onfirm innovation areinvestigated via a survey of companies carried out in six Spanish regions.The results allow the identifying of significant differences in the maindeterminants of innovation in the high-income regions and low-incomeregions studied. Entrepreneurs’generalized trust stimulates innovationonly in high-income regions, where necessity motivation has also anegative effect on innovation. Growth ambition seems to play a highlypositive role only in the case of low-income regions. Human capital andinfrastructure are perceived by the entrepreneurs as the main bottle-necks for innovation in low-income regions, whereas in the case of high-income regions the legal,fiscal andfinancial systems are considered thekey institutional barriers. These differences in the entrepreneurial factorshould be taken into account in order to design and implement policiesto stimulate and foster innovation in different regional contexts.