ABSTRACT
The starting point of this chapter is the recent discussion in innovation research on knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE). This discussion highlights the following dimensions of KIE (Malerba, 2010; Malerba and McKelvey, 2010): First, KIE is related to new ventures that introduce innovation in the economic system based on an intensive use of knowledge. Second, the term knowledge-intensity points to the fact that entrepreneurial activity is to a significant extent based not only on the use of existing knowledge like existing experiences and skills but also on the integration and coordination of different knowledge assets and the creation of new knowledge. Thus, it is a constitutive feature of knowledge-intensive processes that they call for more than the already existing and established procedural and scientific knowledge of the firm. Third, the dimension of knowledge is primarily related to scientific, engineering and design knowledge, especially to systematic, problem solving knowledge. In this sense knowledge-intensive entrepreneurs are considered as ‘knowledge operators’ (Malerba, 2010) aiming at the development of new products and technologies. Fourth, KIE is mostly characterized by the foundations of new companies, i.e. start-ups or spin-offs. Fifth, this concept refers to innovation system approaches. Their embeddedness in the institutionalized conditions of a system of innovation is regarded as crucial prerequisites for economic success. In general, the term KIE is narrowly linked to the discourse on the growing significance of knowledge for societal development and on the emerging ‘knowledge economy’ (Foray, 2002). Consistently, the debate on KIE has mainly focused on firms or start-ups in new technology-based high-tech industries (Cohendet and Llerna, 2010; Malerba, 2010; Audretsch et al., 2011).
