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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Innovation Dynamics of Global Competitive Regional Clusters: The Case of the Norwegian Centres of Expertise

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Isaksen A. Innovation dynamics of global competitive regional clusters: the case of the Norwegian Centres of Expertise, Regional Studies. This paper analyses the innovation dynamics in six regional clusters that have been appointed as Norwegian Centres of Expertise and have been assessed as some of the most internationally competitive regional clusters in Norway. The most consistent finding concerns the great importance of strong Norwegian innovation systems in the maritime and oil and gas industries in underpinning the innovation dynamism of these clusters. This finding has some theoretical implications because the national level is mainly absent in the discourse on local buzz (knowledge spillovers inside the cluster boundaries) and global pipelines (international relations and knowledge flows). What remains as an important local factor is the historically developed, unique competence of firms, which is strengthened by the fact that locally sited, state-owned higher education and research institutions ha...