Marek Tomaszewski

Due to the unique characteristics of the innovation process, the government plays an important role in its stimulation. However, the adaptation of national innovative policies to regional and local conditions is the responsibility of regional and local authorities. Sustainable development of the region will be achieved only if its stakeholders such as business, R & D units and the relevant authorities are involved. The primary task of the public authority is to coordinate activities and to create a favorable climate for economic development in the region. Both primary and secondary regional development theories define multiple sources of economic growth. The main objective of this article is to show the role of local government in the development of regional innovation policy in accordance with the secondary theories of regional development. Secondary theories are based on the following primary theories: the economic base theory of W. Sombart, the growth poles theory of F. Perroux, the A. Marshall’s industrial districts theory, the theory of industrial clusters of M.E. Porter and the J.Coleman’s theory of social capital. Due to the limitations of this article, the text describes only some secondary theories of regional development. These theories come from the economic base theory of W. Sombart and the industrial districts theory of A. Marshall.

The purpose of this article is to show the potential behaviors of local governments, which stimulate the development of innovative business activities based on a specific set of institutional theories of regional development. The basic hypothesis of the research assumes that the regional authorities should actively formulate regional innovation policy, and then implement it.

The cooperation of industrial enterprises influences the improvement of competitive position of enterprises. The main objective of the study is to attempt to determine the impact of distance and the relationship between the participants in the supply chain on innovative cooperation between industrial companies from the Polish east in 2010–2012. The second objective of this article is to compare conditions influencing on the innovation cooperation between industrial enterprises from Poland eastern and western. The empirical data, based on which the computations were performed and then interpreted the results obtained from industrial enterprises using a survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire was sent to industrial companies from the four province: Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Podlaskie, Lubelskie and Podkarpackie. The analysis is static and covers the years 2010–2012.