A multilevel approach to geography of innovation

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how research on geography of innovation can benefit from multilevel modeling. Using micro data from the third Community Innovation Survey in the Czech Republic, we quantitatively assess the hypothesis that regional framework conditions determine innovative performance of firms and that this effect differs for different kinds of firms. The results indicate that quality of the regional innovation system directly influences the likelihood of firm’s to innovate and that this effect decreases with size of the firm. Also broader social characteristics of the region come out to be relevant explanatory factors of innovation.