The discussion on regional innovation systems emphasizes the duality of local and global links. Our empirical analysis of 18 German regional innovation networks shows that public research organizations, especially universities, are profoundly involved in knowledge exchange processes and possess more central (broker) positions within their regional innovation networks than private firms. This results, in part, from public research's gatekeeper function which can be particularly important in lagging regions that typically suffer from a lack of large firms which often fill this role in advanced regions. The transferred knowledge is absorbed, especially, by private firms without interregional R&D cooperation activity.
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