Catalan Competitiveness: Science and Business

35 Pages Posted: 17 Nov 2009 Last revised: 25 Nov 2009

See all articles by Bruno Cassiman

Bruno Cassiman

Harvard University - Business School (HBS)

Jordi Mas

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: October 5, 2009

Abstract

Science has been shown to be an important driver of economic growth and performance. In this chapter we take a careful look at a key ingredient of this driver for Catalonia: the link between science and business. We argue that the Catalan innovation system faces three important challenges in order to better connect science to business: 1) the need for a sufficient supply of high quality science; 2) the need for a sufficient demand for science by companies, and 3) the ability to connect science and business, i.e., science needs different channels to connect with business and requires coordinated efforts between the different players in the innovation system. We find that the science landscape at Catalan (Spanish) scientific institutions has improved considerably in the last decade. Demand for science by Catalan firms, on the contrary, is still very weak. Nevertheless, we do find that industry and universities use a large variety of channels for knowledge interaction. In addition, we show that the three large Catalan universities have very different profiles in their interactions with industry. However, our analysis does indicate that there is currently a lack of basic information about the Catalan innovation system to help inform and direct such important policy measures. Some coordination on recording this information systematically would improve matters considerably.

Keywords: Competitiveness, Catalonia, Science, Business

Suggested Citation

Cassiman, Bruno and Mas, Jordi, Catalan Competitiveness: Science and Business (October 5, 2009). IESE Business School Working Paper No. 806, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1483024 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1483024

Bruno Cassiman (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Business School (HBS) ( email )

Soldiers Field Road
Morgan 270C
Boston, MA 02163
United States

Jordi Mas

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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