Anna Odrobina

Celem opracowania jest sprawdzenie, czy występuje przestrzenna autokorelacja między regionami NUTS2w UEw intensywności nakładów na B+R. Wykorzystano trzy metody badawcze: studia literaturowe, analizę danych dotyczących udziału nakładów na B+R w PKB regionów oraz statystykę Morana I, która jest podstawową miarą zależności między obserwacjami w przestrzeni geograficznej. Przeprowadzone badanie wykazało brak globalnej i lokalnej autokorelacji prze- strzennej opartej na odwrotności geograficznej odległości między NUTS 2. Stwierdzono natomiast istnienie słabej dodatniej autokorelacji przestrzennej opartej na posiadaniu wspólnej granicy, tak w ujęciu globalnym, jak i lokalnym. W przestrzeni europejskiej zidentyfikowane zostały dwa klastry (obejmujące trzy regiony w Belgii oraz pięć regionów w Niemczech). Wobec znaczących dysproporcji przestrzennych między regionami w UE występowanie klastrów stano- wi zjawisko rzadkie. Dla powstania klastra regionów o wysokiej intensywności B+R niezbędne jest sąsiedztwo regionów posiadających ośrodki metropolitalne, z rozbudowaną infrastrukturą akademicko-badawczą oraz rozwiniętą sferą biznesu, silnie zaangażowaną w B+R, a ponadto specjalizacja regionalna w podobnych branżach o wysokiej wiedzochłonności.

R&D intensity in the European Union’s regions – spatial approach

Abstract

The aim of the study is to verify the existence of spatial autocorrelation among the EU NUTS 2 regions in the case of R&D intensity. Three research methods were used, namely literature studies, analysis of data on the share of expenditure on R&D in regional GDP, and Moran I statistics which is the basic measure of spatial dependencies between observations in the geographical space. The study showed that there exists neither global nor local spatial autocorrelation based on the inverse geographical distance among NUTS 2. However, it was found that there is a weak positive spatial autocorrelation based on having a common border both globally and locally. Two clusters have been identified in the European space (covering three regions in Belgium and five regions in Germany). In view of the significant spatial disparities between EU regions, the occurrence of clusters is a rare phenomenon. For the establishment of a cluster of regions with high R&D intensity, it is necessary to have metropolitan centers with extensive academic and research infrastructure, developed business strongly involved in R&D, and regional specialization in similar highly knowledge-intensive industries.

The aim of the article is to determine the degree and the trends of the transnational corporations’ R&D concentration process on the geographic and industrial level. The analysis was conducted based on the concentration ratios and Herfindahl-Hirschman Index in the group of a thousand TNCs with the highestR&Dexpenditures in the years 2003–2014. It demonstrates a high degree of geographic and industrial concentration. In addition, the studies have shown that among TNCs, a stronger concentration is associated with the country of origin than with the industrial sector in which the company operates. Despite an overall slight decrease in the intensity of concentration in the analysed period, there was a reversal of this trend in recent years, namely the increase of the industrial concentration since 2010 and of the geographic concentration since 2013.

Research and development activity of the contemporary enterprises is characterized by two processes: dynamic development of the R&D internationalization process and open innovation model of performing innovations. In this article the Author takes on an attempt to identify the relations and interactions between these phenomena. The performed analyses shows that implementation of the open innovation by multinationals is the factor which stimulates the R&D internationalization process because of the possibility of obtaining external sources of innovations from global economy. Realizing the open innovation model, corporations internationalize the R&D by both locating their R&D units abroad and engaging in international research cooperation. In view of this, the internationalization of business R&D becomes the evident sequence of open innovation. On the other hand, the process of internationalization of the R&D may not stimulate open innovation. The asymmetry in knowledge and technology transfers caused by the orientation of the R&D units towards absorption of external sources creates a deficit in transfers from these subsidiaries to external parties in location country.