Co-operation and Ability for Innovation: Relationship Network Foundations of the Regional Innovation System

In Hungary, the study of the regional innovation systems as networks with the principles and methods of social network analysis (SNA) is a new and central objective. Here we have tested empirically the two most important components of this research phenomenon. On the one hand, we analyzed the direction, composition, pattern and spatial properties of the interorganizational relationships of the enterprises in and beyond the economic field. It is the investigation of the social - particularly - institutional embeddedness of the economic actors. On the other hand, the whole network structure could be interesting; the overall pattern, the central players and inter-sector relationships between R&D institutions, universities, agencies, chambers, development organizations and clusters. The results are troublesome; the ratio of interorganizational cooperation is low and one-sided-basically with economic orientation - in the region. The composition of the ego-networks of the companies is small and simple with low density. The network of innovation institutions in the region is centralized and breaks up easily without one or two core players.