Accelerating Technology-Based Growth in Developed, Developing, and Emerging Regions Worldwide - Technopolis: Best Practices for Science and Technology Cities - page 222

success of emerging, developing, and developed regions worldwide. This is a topic
of central importance to the UNESCO Workshop and will be discussed in the final
section of this chapter.
4 The Firm at the Regional Level
While we agree that substantial gains in wealth are to be found in the creation,
diffusion of knowledge, we also argue for the key importance of know-how, and
needed innovation infrastructure at the regional level. In short, it is important to
stress that the accumulation of knowledge leads to the creation of wealth only if
the knowledge is effectively used or applied. This UNESCO Workshop is focused
on linking creativity (ideas) and innovation (doing) and indeed this is a critical
topic for discussion in terms of job and wealth of knowledge leads to the creation
of wealth only if the knowledge is effectively used or applied.
In short, the linking of creativity (ideas) and innovation (doing) is a critical
topic for discussion in terms of job and wealth creation and competitiveness of
Science Parks and Innovative Clusters. As noted by Dr. Charles W. Wessner
(2006), Director, Program on Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, U.S.
National Academies made the following observations on why innovation is so
crucial in today's ''Flat World:''
• The U.S. Standard of Living has been built on innovation and competition
• In the current and future global economy, many new talented players are coming
on the scene, introducing
- New competition via low wages and high technical skills
- Government programs to direct capital to strategic sectors and develop high
skill human capital
• Convergence:
- Competition is getting closer in Skills, Technology, and Capacity.
In The Innovators Solution (Harvard Business School Press, 2003 ) Clayton
Christensen and Michael Raynor write of the important differences between sus-
taining and disruptive innovations as noted in the following quote:
Although sustaining innovations are critical to the growth of existing businesses, some
disruptive technologies offer a higher probability of success in building new-growth
businesses. Successful new-growth builders know that disruptive strategies greatly
increase the odds of competitive success—disruptive technologies are more likely to beat
incumbents—where incumbents are likely to win in the case of sustaining technology
improvements.
Figure 5 depicts Type 1 Knowledge/Technology Transfer (KTT) to established
firms which is more common with sustaining innovations while disruptive inno-
vations are more often linked to Type 2 KTT leading to spin-outs or start-ups.