John E. Chrisman’s doctoral research is based on the startup company Norse Biotech, a newly established firm navigating various development stages towards delivering a finished product to customers.
John examines what works well and what aspects need improvement in how this process is organised.
– The findings from this project can contribute to the Innlandet region’s transition to a circular bioeconomy through strategic cluster management and administration, Chrisman writes to inn.no.
His research provides broader knowledge about the dynamics of regional innovation systems and offers insight into the conditions under which collaboration between the private sector and academic institutions can thrive, ultimately enhancing regional competitiveness and innovation.
According to Chrisman, his project may have implications for policy-making, strategic planning, and research on the implementation of the bioeconomy.
The title of John's dissertation is 'How does an innovative cluster in a peripheral and marginally innovative region work? Knowledge exchange and policy evaluation in a Norwegian biotechnology cluster'.
Main findings of the doctoral work:
- This research project provides a better understanding of how clusters in a regional innovation system engage in knowledge exchange through their members, particularly with higher education institutions, and the effects that cluster administration practices have on this exchange.
- Through the company Norse Biotech AS, this research offers a perspective on the challenges faced by organisations in the biotechnology sector as they seek to participate in the transition to a circular bioeconomy.
- By examining the impact of indirect policy measures on collaborations between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and higher education institutions over two time periods, this research identifies which combinations of conditions may enable peripheral SMEs to benefit from these policy measures. It contributes several new findings, demonstrating how 'softer' structural elements such as age, size, and trust can compensate for the lack of human capital in these enterprises.
- The largest and oldest SMEs collaborate more frequently and with greater satisfaction with local higher education institutions than the smaller, newer SMEs.