Naslov
Education-research-innovation policy triangle and competitiveness of the Croatian SME sector

Autori
Čučković, Nevenka ; Vučković, Valentina

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u zbornicima skupova, cjeloviti rad (in extenso), znanstveni

Izvornik
Conference Proceedings / Mrnjavac, Željko ; Muštra, Vinko - Split : Ekonomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Splitu, 2013, 33-54

Skup
10th International Conference Challenges of Europe: The Quest for New Competitiveness

Mjesto i datum
Split, Hrvatska, 08.05.2013. - 10.05.2013

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Innovation ; Education ; Research ; Competitiveness ; SMEs

Sažetak
The EU 2020 strategy places the smart and innovative growth at the center of the future EU competitiveness. The paper examines the quality of education-research-innovation institutional and policy triangle for knowledge transfer in Croatia as a source of enterprise sector competitiveness, and draws on a variety of empirical evidence to identify the emerging pattern of innovation activities and knowledge transfer performance in the Croatian SME sector. Deterioration of international competitiveness has been a major policy concern in economies such as Croatia and this concern is getting stronger as the full accession to the EU approaches. The analysis is based on the premise that labour competences and skills could substantially trigger innovation and growth of the SME sector in Croatia. Therefore it is of utmost importance how SMEs use potentials offered by the education-research-innovation policy framework outside and inside the firms and how it is mirrored in increasing capacities for SME competitiveness. Mismatch between the demand and supply for the skilled labour in SME sector profoundly affects the potentials for future competitiveness of the Croatian SME sector. The authors start by examining the institutional framework for the innovation and knowledge transfer activities and measure the innovation performance of the Croatian SME sector by number of benchmark indicators to identify both the performance advantages and gaps as compared to the average EU. The special emphasis is put on labour skills demand and competence based education as a determining factor for future SMEs competitiveness. Level of R&D investments, strength of science and business linkages ; application of patents ; research performance and knowledge transfer mechanisms and innovation governance are among issues more closely examined when assessing the capacity for innovation of the SME sector. In conclusion, the paper identifies several policy implications and needed future initiatives toward supporting the stronger co-operation between innovative SMEs and academia.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Ekonomija

POVEZANOST RADA