ABSTRACT
Innovation is commonly acknowledged to be a principal means by which regions foster economic growth and competitiveness (Capello and Nijkamp 2009; Harris 2011). At the same time, it is increasingly suggested that entrepreneurship is also a key source of such growth (Audretsch et al. 2006). Alongside these perspectives there is a growing school of thought which suggests that the networks facilitating flows of knowledge within and across regions are a key source of innovation and growth (Huggins and Izushi 2007). Furthermore, regions are increasingly considered to be important sources of economic development and organisation in a globalised economy (Malecki 2007), the innovation that entrepreneurship has the capacity to spawn, is increasingly considered to be a key factor underpinning the future growth trajectories of regions (Fritsch and Mueller 2004). The ability of regions to gain from the positive effects of entrepreneurship is likely to more than partly depend on their capability to turn knowledge into regional innovation and growth through the creation and dissemination of this knowledge (Audretsch and Keilbach 2008). The innovation systems literature, especially the regional variety literature, highlights the flow of knowledge across organisations as a crucial factor for effective innovation (Cooke et al. 2011).
