Schimke, A., Teichert, N., Ott, I.

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2013, Vol. 22 (6), 1525–1555

Abstract

This article investigates the contribution of local knowledge endowment to employment growth in nanotechnology firms. We exploit a unique data set focusing on firms operating in fields that apply nanotechnology. Our findings suggest that regions that offer knowledge can stimulate employment growth in smaller and younger firms. By contrast, being embedded into specialized regions might be counterproductive, especially for firms belonging to a particularly knowledge intensive sector and older firms.