When Local Interaction Does Not Suffice: Sources Of Firm Innovation In Urban Norway

The geographical sources of innovation of firms have been hotly debated. While the traditional view is that physical proximity within city-regions is key for the innovative capacity of firms, the literature on 'Global pipelines' has been stressing the importance of establishing communication channels to the outside world. This paper uses a specifically tailored survey of the level of innovation of 1604 firms of more than 10 employees located in the five largest Norwegian city-regions (Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, and Kristiansand) in order to determine the geographical dimension of the sources of innovation and the factors behind the propensity to innovate in Norwegian firms.