DeustoTeka Examinando por Autor "Wilson, James Ralph"

Examinando por Autor "Wilson, James Ralph"

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Barriers to the digital transformation of cultural and creative industry MSMEs: the case of the Basque country
(Emerald Publishing, 2025-11-24) Eguia Aguirre, Ibone; Wilson, James Ralph; Cuenca Cabeza, Manuel; Mosquera López, Stephanía; Bohórquez Correa, Santiago
Purpose – This research aims to study the barriers to digital transformation (DT) faced by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) within the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) in the Basque Country. It identifies key obstacles and explores how public policy can support overcoming these barriers to enhance organizations’ competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach – This research uses a quantitative approach, surveying 268 CCI MSMEs in the Basque Country using a standardized online questionnaire. The authors analyzed the response through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple regression to assess the impact of various barriers and organizational characteristics on organizational DT level. Findings – The findings highlight that organizations with lower DT levels perceive barriers more acutely, specifically knowledge-related barriers, such as the lack of information about appropriate technologies and qualified staff, and organizational culture barriers, including the low prioritization of DT within organizations. Moreover, certain organizational characteristics and collaboration with other organizations and public administration assistance enhance the perceived level of DT and reduce the perception of the barriers. Originality/value – This research fills a gap in the literature by focusing on DT in CCI MSMEs, a sector with unique structural characteristics and significant economic importance. It provides policymakers with actionable insights to design targeted interventions that address specific barriers, thereby fostering competitiveness in CCIs.
Building policy capacities for tackling grand social challenges exploring the boundary-spanning potential of university research in the social sciences
(Gobierno Vasco = Eusko Jaurlaritza, Departamento de Economía, Trabajo y Empleo = Ekonomia, Lan eta Enplegu Saila, 2023-02) Arrona Etxaniz, Ainhoa; Magro Montero, Edurne; Wilson, James Ralph
The emergence of new approaches to regional policy, including the well-known concept of smart specialisation strategies and the need to face grand societal challenges have highlighted the importance of policy capacities among public and private stakeholders. These challenges have increased the pressure on universities and their academic staff to assume more engaged roles within their respective territories. This article explores how social sciences research can contribute to regional policy capacities for tackling social challenges. Specifically, it focuses on the institutional arrangements that universities develop to facilitate engaged research in regions, or what have been labelled «university-based boundary organisations». We suggest that they are a relevant regional instrument due to their integration of knowledge bridging and knowledge coproduction functions. The paper explores how these roles contribute to regional policy capacities through analysis of the case of Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness, a university-based boundary organisation in the Basque Country.
Construir futuros competitivos sostenibles a través de una investigación transformadora
(Universidad de Deusto = Deustuko Unibertsitatea, Asociación de Licenciados en Ciencias Económicas, 2024-12) Aranguren, Mari Jose; Canto Farachala, Martha Patricia; Wilson, James Ralph
The contribution of higher education institutions to innovation ecosystems: Innovative practices from Higher Education for Smart Specialisation
(Publications Office of the European Union, 2022) Canto Farachala, Martha Patricia; Wilson, James Ralph; Arregui Pabollet, Eskarne
This technical report presents the results of a cross-case analysis of the eleven case studies conducted under the Higher Education for Smart Specialisation project during the period 2016-2020. The analysis identifies key themes and innovative practice examples from across case studies, developing a structured typology of innovative practices for higher education engagement in innovation ecosystems in the context of the design and implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3). More concretely, it contributes to identify: (i) The contribution of innovative practices to their regional innovation ecosystems and the design and implementation of S3. (ii) The key features of these practices that have made possible the transformative role of higher education in their regional innovation system, with particular attention to how they integrate education, research and innovation.
Culture and organisational change in academic organisations: a reflective case
(Gobierno Vasco = Eusko Jaurlaritza, Departamento de Economía, Trabajo y Empleo = Ekonomia, Lan eta Enplegu Saila, 2017) Alcalde Heras, Henar ; Aranguren, Mari Jose ; Wilson, James Ralph
There is strong interest around the role that academic organizations can play as catalysts of change within the territories where they are located, proactively shaping socioeconomic development. However, academic organizations need to innovate themselves to play this role effectively. This paper builds on arguments in the management literature that suggest organizational culture as a factor facilitating the open innovation capacity of business organizations. It explores a parallel argument with respect to academic organizations through an auto-reflective case study of the Basque Institute of Competitiveness (Orkestra). Orkestra was established in 2006 with a mission to develop a proactive role in the Basque Country’s socio-economic development. However fulfilling this has required organizational learning and cultural change, which may provide lessons for other institutions seeking to fulfil similar missions.
Evidencing the benefits of cluster policies: towards a generalised framework of effects
(Springer, 2022-05-21) Wilson, James Ralph; Wise, Emily; Smith, Madeline
Regions around the world employ cluster-based policies as part of their industrial, innovation and development policy mixes. They have become a key tool in smart specialisation strategies and are increasingly used to address societal challenges. Given their popularity and longevity, there is significant demand to better measure and understand the impacts of cluster policies. Yet the diversity of cluster policies employed in different regional competitiveness policy mixes, a complex effect logic and a variety of (mostly intangible) outcomes, and few recognised norms for guiding cluster policy evaluation all hamper a more holistic understanding of their patterns of effects and broader impacts. There lacks a common frame to guide cluster policy evaluation. This paper reviews international evidence on the effects of cluster policy programmes from academic and policy literature, which is then used as an input into a co-creation process with groups of cluster policymakers, practitioners and researchers. The result is a proposal for a generalised framework of effects for cluster policies to support the structuring of cluster policy evaluations and strengthen international policy learning possibilities.
Public innovation through governance in place-based competitiveness policymaking: the case of Bizkaia Orekan
(Emerald Group Holdings Ltd., 2020-04-22) Arrona Etxaniz, Ainhoa; Franco Rodríguez, Susana; Wilson, James Ralph
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between collaborative governance arrangements for place-based competitiveness and public innovation. Design/methodology/approach: The paper combines a conceptual discussion of the links between collaborative governance, competitiveness policy and public innovation with a case study analysis of a specific governance process that aims at adapting policy to respond to local competitiveness challenges in the Basque province of Biscay. Findings: The conceptual discussion leads to the hypothesis of a new distinction with respect to how governance relates to public innovation. Innovation can occur in governance, through governance or with governance. The analysis of the case supports this distinction. Multi-actor collaboration for competitiveness policymaking (innovation in governance) has led to policy innovation (innovation through governance). This has also promoted emerging administrative changes that could be conducive to a more innovative public sector in general (innovation with governance). These findings validate arguments posed by proponents of collaborative innovation that suggest that multi-actor collaboration is a driver for public sector innovation. Originality/value: The value of the paper rests on linking theoretically and empirically two relevant and currently popular phenomena: networked governance for place-based competitiveness policymaking and public sector innovation. The paper provides original insights from the practice of building a process for context-sensitive policymaking that can inspire practitioners with similar problems.
¿Qué entendemos por competitividad?
(Orkestra-Instituto Vasco de Competitividad, 2021) Wilson, James Ralph
Smart specialisation strategies and energy transition an exploratory: analysis of the case of the Basque Country
(Gobierno Vasco = Eusko Jaurlaritza, Departamento de Economía, Trabajo y Empleo = Ekonomia, Lan eta Enplegu Saila, 2021) Magro Montero, Edurne; Wilson, James Ralph; Aranguren, Mari Jose
Energy transition is a core element of the sustainability transition around which the European Union’s post-COVID recovery strategies are built. While these strategies are being designed primarily by EU Member States, the regional level will be critical for their success. Firstly, because regions are key ‘implementers on-the ground’ of European and national policies. Secondly, because the placespecificities of regions make them ideal ‘laboratories’ for experimenting with the innovations needed for sustainability transitions. This opens an important research question around how regional innovation policy, and more precisely how the regional smart specialisation strategies (S3) that have been developed over recent years, could provide a ‘ready-made’ framework for discovery and experimentation oriented explicitly to energy transitions. This paper explores this question by combining discussion of the concepts of S3 and energy transitions with an exploratory analysis of the S3 experience in the specific case of the Basque region. The paper highlights that moving from a S3 to a Sustainable S3 (or S4) will require enhancing the connectedness of different parts of existing strategies so that energy transition goals are approached in a holistic manner.
Transformative academic institutions: an experimental framework for understanding regional impacts of research
(Oxford University Press, 2021-01-09) Aranguren, Mari Jose; Canto Farachala, Martha Patricia; Wilson, James Ralph
Public and private research funding to academic institutions is increasingly conditional on demonstrating societal impact. Research is expected to produce new knowledge that is both relevant in academia and of direct practical use in society. Universities are well placed to serve as links between global academic communities and local problem owners. However, playing this pivotal role is problematic because in practice there is a tendency to frame the dual role of producing socially relevant and academic knowledge in terms of an artificial distinction between applied consultancy and basic research. Considering the challenges faced by universities in playing a more proactive role in addressing the practical challenges faced by their home regions, we propose the term transformative academic institutions to refer to research centres created within universities to proactively engage in the socioeconomic development of the regions in which they are rooted. We propose an experimental framework that can help map the relationship between their role in a global academic knowledge community and their role in the (local) practical knowledge community. The framework is developed from on our own experience working in an academic institution that conducts research to strengthen regional socioeconomic development processes. We experiment with the framework through an application to our own research context in the period 2016-19. Our findings show that this relationship can be mapped by assessing: (1) how well academic research questions are aligned to themes identified in regional policy discourse; and (2) whether academic knowledge has demonstrably led to changes actioned by regional stakeholders.
Trayectorias de cambio en la gobernanza: experiencias en asociaciones "cluster" y redes comarcales en el País Vasco
(Gobierno Vasco = Eusko Jaurlaritza: Departamento de Economía, Trabajo y Empleo = Ekonomia, Lan eta Enplegu Saila, 2010-05) Aranguren, Mari Jose; Larrea Aranguren, Miren ; Wilson, James Ralph
En este trabajo se describe la necesidad de desarrollar la capacidad innovadora y competitiva de la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco (CAPV) mediante el aumento de la eficiencia de las interacciones entre los distintos agentes económicos. En este caso se detallan las interacciones concretadas en las distintas formas de gobernanza que se construyen basadas en redes de cooperación y confianza. Se plantean dos experiencias de gobernanza llevadas a cabo en dos casos concretos como son, por un lado, las redes comarcales apoyadas por agencias de desarrollo, y por otro las asociaciones cluster. Los autores describen cómo los nuevos modos de gobernanza desarrollados en estas organizaciones están contribuyendo a la mejora innovadora y competitiva a nivel regional. La existencia de dos realidades con retos comunes, el tener líderes relacionales y entender el nuevo modelo de competitividad son elementos que ayudan a tener una visión sistémica orientada a la acción colectiva, visión totalmente necesaria en la sociedad actual.
What can experience with clusters teach us about fostering regional smart specialisation?
(Gobierno Vasco = Eusko Jaurlaritza, Departamento de Economía, Trabajo y Empleo = Ekonomia, Lan eta Enplegu Saila, 2013) Aranguren, Mari Jose; Wilson, James Ralph
La nueva orientación de la política regional de innovación en Europa requiere el desarrollo de estrategias de especialización inteligente (RIS3) para apoyar así las inversiones en Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación en las que existen unas claras sinergias con las habilidades y capacidades productivas existentes. Las RIS3· se legitiman en un contexto donde la mayoría de la regiones europeas han establecido políticas cluster que buscan facilitar la cooperación entre empresas y otras instituciones que trabajan en áreas relacionadas y que comparten los fundamentos asociados a los principios de RIS3. El desarrollo y perfeccionamiento de la teoría y práctica de la RIS3, por tanto, plantea importantes cuestiones que tienen que ver con su relación con los cluster e incluso con lo que se puede aprender de la experiencia más consolidada de esa política cluster para la definición e implementación de las políticas de RIS3. Por ello la finalidad del artículo es estudiar la relación entre estas dos políticas. Las sinergias principales se examinan según los pasos de la «Guía de la estrategia de innovación e investigación para la especialización inteligente» de Foray et al. (2012) y basándose en la experiencia de la política cluster llevada a cabo durante dos décadas en el País Vasco.
Where is the value of cluster associations for SMEs?
(Intangible Capital, 2012) Maza y Aramburu, Xabier de la; Vendrell Herrero, Ferrán; Wilson, James Ralph
Purpose: To explore the role played by policies for co-operation and networking, such as cluster initiatives. We empirically examine not only the direct effect of cluster initiatives on firms’ innovation performance, but also potential moderation and mediation effects with regards effort in other internal innovation activities. Design/methodology: We analyze the case of the long-running and stable Basque Cluster policy. We built using SABI an extensive sample of 1779 industrial SMEs, 132 of which are members of cluster associations. Findings: The results show that cluster associates do not have more innovation than non-cluster associates. It also rejects the moderation role of other innovation activities (such as technology management, environmental management or R&D activities). However, the results give support to the mediation role of cluster associations in enhancing the value of innovation activities. Research limitations: There are two main limitations to the empirical analysis. Firstly, the impossibility of identifying the year in which cluster associates formally register to the cluster association through secondary sources could entail a degree of endogeneity in the direct and moderation models. Secondly, we measure innovation as labour productivity growth, which is acknowledged as only a partial measure of innovation. More generally we acknowledge that evaluations of soft policies such as that reported in this paper should be combined with complementary qualitative analysis. Practical implications: The results presented are relevant both for policy-makers seeking to achieve an optimal mix of “general cooperation” and “activity-specific” policies, as well as for the managers of firms who may accelerate the impacts of their innovation efforts by being members of cooperation networks. Originality/value: Few empirical analyses have been conducted to empirically assess the efficiency of the Basque cluster policy. The research does not support the idea that cluster associates increase innovation per se. However, it reinforces the view that cluster associations can be conceived as a focal network or broker of knowledge. In particular, this could be interpreted in terms of the success of the cluster initiative as a mechanism for generating or demonstrating a certain degree of trust among firms that already engage in innovation activities, supporting in turn benefits from the exchange of their knowledge.

Examinando por Autor "Wilson, James Ralph"

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