The organisational decomposition of innovation and territorial knowledge dynamics – insights from the German software industry

In recent years, innovation processes involve more heterogenous actors inside and outside the firm. Little is known however about the spatial impact of this organisational decomposition of innovation processes (ODIP): Does it lead to a geographical dispersion of innovation activities as well? Furthermore, which parts of the innovation process are carried out spatially or organisationally separated? To what extent are knowledge-creating activities subject to organisational decomposition? We propose the analytical ODIP framework which integrates research on innovation systems, global value chains and knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). Thereby we provide a conceptual contribution to the debate on the globalisation of innovation in the identification of different modes of decomposed innovation processes by capturing the participating actors and their contribution in specific innovation events. The exploration of the spatial dimension of innovation processes in the software industry shows that the global-local dichotomy in the innovation debate does not suffice to describe their complex, multi-scalar nature. In analysing ODIP in a knowledge-intensive industry, we contribute to the debate about the ‘new geography of innovation’ by providing insights into the upgrading of subsidiary capabilities.