High-tech activities, System innovativeness and Geographic concentration: insights into technological districts in Italy

Within the field of the geography of knowledge and technological innovation, specific attention has been paid to the phenomena of the spatial concentration of high-tech activities and to the factors that influence the growth of new industrial areas. Within this research stream, the present work is focused on areas characterized by high levels of specialization in high-tech, and more specifically on the concept of technological district. Technological districts (TDs) are considered to be territorial systems specialised in high-tech activities, characterized by the presence of innovative resources, such as qualified human capital, advanced research activities, capacity to generate innovation and new technologies, entrepreneurial culture. Beyond discussing theoretical concepts, a methodology is here proposed for the analysis and identification of TDs through the definition of a taxonomy of local systems with different levels of concentration of high-tech activities and innovative resources. The methodology has been applied to Italy and allows the identification of the most advanced technological areas, which present the basic characteristics of TDs. This methodology is also important because it can be used to compare different geographical contexts and to discuss and evaluate different possibilities in the field of innovation development policies.