Knowledge, Innovation and Technology Across Borders: Developing the Research Agenda

The conference takes place on 27.-28. June 2016 in Tallinn, Estonia and aims to explore how the processes and challenges of knowledge and technology transfer across national boundaries, affect innovation performance.

During the past twenty years or so innovation emerged as the engine of economic growth in advanced market economies and beyond: seeking advantage in ‘putting productive resources to uses hitherto untried in practice, and withdrawing them from the uses they have served so far’ (Schumpeter, 1928). The positive contribution of innovation in economic advancement is supported by a growing body of empirical evidence. Knowledge and technology are key enabling factors in the innovation process. At its most elementary the processes of innovation involve using existing knowledge, but often also require generating and acquiring new knowledge and this centrally involves learning. It is also widely recognised that technology is a key determinant of innovation and economic performance.

This is combined with the emergence of views regarding the growing globalisation of economic activity. The contribution of knowledge and technology and a raft of new innovation in facilitating globalisation have been researched extensively. However, this is not the case regarding the internationalisation of knowledge and technology transfer and innovation. Rather surprisingly there remains little research in this area.

Within this context, this Conference sets out to explore how the processes and challenges of knowledge and technology transfer across national boundaries, affect innovation performance.

The conference will explore the following issues (though the list is not exhaustive):

1. Open National Innovation Systems
2. Internationalisation and Regional Innovation Systems
3. The Globalisation of Innovation in different sectoral, geographical and territorial settings
4. The Institutional dimension in the internationalisation of knowledge, technology and innovation including actors and networks
5. MNCs and the internationalisation of R & D and innovation
6. SMEs in the internationalisation of innovation
7. Policy issues (regionally, nationally, and transnationally) regarding the internationalisation of knowledge, technology and innovation
8. University-Industry Knowledge Transfer
9. The internationalisation of research, particularly in universities, and knowledge and innovation flows
10. Researcher mobility
11. Gender
12. Varieties of Capitalism

Both conceptual and empirical papers are welcome in the Conference. The Conference organisers do not take a specific theoretical or methodological stance and would like to encourage contributions using a broad range of perspectives, and methods. Selected papers will be considerated to the “European Journal of Innovation Management” (Emerald) or “Research in Economics and Business: Central and Eastern Europe" (Tallinn University of Technology).

Contributors should send a 700 word structured abstract focusing on i) the framework of the research (both empirically and/or in the literature), ii) research aim/question, iii) methods, iv) key contributions.

Important dates:

• Abstracts should be submitted by e-mail to kitab@ttu.ee by the February 15, 2016
• Notification of acceptance, including reviewer comments, will be forwarded to authors by the March 15, 2016
• Full papers are expected to submit by May 30, 2016
• Registration deadline: May 1, 2016

The conference fee is 150 EUR  (85 EUR for students). This fee covers lunches, coffee breaks and conference materials.

Accompanying person fee is 85 EUR (covers lunches and coffee breaks).

The conference venue is Tallinn School of Economics and Business Administration of Tallinn University of Technology. The address is Akadeemia tee 3, Tallinn.

Looking forward to meet you in Tallinn in June 2016!

www.ttu.ee/kitab

kitab@ttu.ee

Organising Committee

• Christos Kalantaridis, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation & Director of the Bradford, Research in Innovation Technology and Entrepreneurship Lab, Editor of the European Journal of Innovation Management, University of Bradford, UK;
• Maria de Fátima Ferreiro, Professor of Economics and Researcher at DINAMIA’CET-IUL, ISCTE-IUL, Portugal;
• Venni Venkata Krishna, Professor of Science Policy, Founder-Editor of the Journal Science, Technology and Society, consultant to UNESCO and the ILO, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India;
• Cristina Sousa, Research Fellow at DINAMIA’CET-IUL and Visiting Professor of Economics of Knowledge and Innovation, ISCTE-IUL, Portugal;
• Thomas W. Thurner, Research Professor, Research Laboratory for Economics of Innovation, Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, Higher School of Economics Moscow, Russian Federation;
• Urve Venesaar, Professor of Entrepreneurship & Vice-Dean for Research at the Tallinn School of Economics and Business Administration, Editor of the Journal ‘Research in Economics and Business: Central and Eastern Europe’, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia.