Regional innovation system, absorptive capacity and innovation performance: An empirical study

Recent studies have separately investigated the importance of regional innovation systems (RISs) and absorptive capacity (AC) to innovation performance. This study explores their interdependency on the premise that better utilization of RIS enhances innovation performance because the RIS enhances the absorptive capacity of the firm. In this study, we cover three typical elements of RIS: regional innovation initiatives (RII), knowledge-intensive business services (KIBSs) and value chain information sources. This study explores the relationships of these elements on the acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation learning processes of absorptive capacity. Data were obtained through a mailed survey using a self-administered questionnaire. The results show that RII, KIBS and value chain information sources affect a firm's absorptive capacity, leading to better innovation performance. Specifically, KIBS improves the acquisition process, value chain information sources improve the acquisition and assimilation processes, and RII improve the transformation process. This study contributes to the literature by exploring how a firm interacts with RIS by utilizing various RIS initiatives to enhance the firm's absorptive capacity and innovation performance. It also increases our understanding of how AC learning processes relate to RIS and innovation performance. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.