Interaction and Innovation across Different Sectors: Findings from Norwegian City-Regions

Abstract

Interaction and innovation across different sectors: findings from Norwegian city-regions, Regional Studies. This article examines how different types of interaction are related to the capacity of firms to innovate in different sectors. Using a sample of 1604 Norwegian firms with more than ten employees, it analyses how interactions within the business group, with industry partners, and with research institutions and consultancies impinge on the probability of innovation for firms in six different economic sectors – manufacturing; construction; retail; accommodation and food; transport; and professional and business services – and six sector-by-skill categories – high- and low-skilled manufacturing, construction, and services. The results of ordinal regression analyses for product and process innovation show that the drivers of innovation differ widely across sectors. While exchanges internal to the firm tend to be disconnected from innovation across the board, those with scientific and industrial partners prove to be important drivers of innovation not only for firms in sectors, such as manufacturing, traditionally deemed to benefit from these partnerships, but also for sectors regarded as less innovative, such as construction. This pattern even holds for low-skilled firms in the manufacturing and construction sectors.