It has long been accepted that innovative capacity plays a key role in long-term economic
prosperity (Krugman 1997; Moretti, 2012); it is also widely acknowledged that the outcomes
of knowledge-based activity are becoming spatially more polarised (Florida, 2005; McCann,
2008; Glaeser, 2011). This study investigates how an innovation intermediary - an
organisation whose remit is to broker relationships between “seekers” (of challenges or
problems, typically larger firms) and the “providers” (of ideas and potential solutions, SMEs,
freelancers, universities) in a “matchmaking” process. Moreover, the influence of these
innovation intermediaries is less understood in peripheral economies like Wales (the context
for this study) where the focus is typically on the direct technological outputs of SMEs, rather
than their potential contribution as facilitators of the innovation journey of their clients
(Morgan et al, 2020; Clifton et al, 2020)
Funding
European Social Fund KESS II Scholarships, project CMK210
History
Presented at
ISBE 2021 conference, October 27-29, Cardiff UK
Version
AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Citation
Clifton, N., Barker, J. & Loudon, G. (2021) 'The Occupational Mandate of an Innovation Intermediary: Influencing Innovation in the Digital Space', ISBE 2021 Conference, October 27-29, Cardiff UK