Measuring the expected synergy in Spanish regional and national systems of innovation

This paper examines the effect of synergy at the geographical, technological, and organizational levels on the structure of the innovative system in Spain. Using a unique dataset of more than one million firms in 2010 across geographic regions in Spain, it empirically estimates the synergy within and across regions and sectors. The key findings indicate that Spain’s innovation system is largely decentralized into more regionalized systems with the strongest role played by the metropolitan areas. The results have policy implications for Spain as well as other nations and intra-country regions. The paper contributes to the extant literature related to innovation systems in three ways: first, by using a more novel approach adapting the triple helix context; second, by providing empirical evidence on the importance of synergy in influencing the structure of a national innovation system; and third, by providing a case study of Spain.