Geografía de la innovación en Ecuador. Caso de estudio: sector TIC Quito.

Abstract

The geography of innovation emphasizes the significance of location in creating competitive advantages. Understanding whether geographical proximity facilitates innovation requires a proper conceptualization and a multidisciplinary approach to analyze the context in which innovation processes are to be measured. To achieve this, a model for measuring innovation potential through the cri questionnaire (capabilities, results, and impacts) was employed, tailored to the local context. This model has been mathematically validated using item response theory (irt) models. The spatial autocorrelation of these factors was analyzed using the moran's index. The results of this analysis considered various neighborhoods and indicate that the studied companies exhibit random values in each factor. In other words, for the case study, the null hypotheses were not rejected, and thus, no evidence supporting the existence of a space where innovative activity is concentrated has been found. This has been confirmed through the analysis of local spatial association indicators (lisa), which revealed that high-concentration clusters are not located in proximity to public and academic institutions but rather outside the economic hub of innovation system actors in quito. This finding suggests that there is no significant spatial interaction between the ict sector and key actors in the public and academic domains in terms of innovation generation. Consequently, the capabilities, outcomes, and impacts of innovation in the quito ict sector occur in dimensions of non-spatial proximity.quito 11-02-2022.