Title: Anchor tenants and regional innovation systems: the aircraft industry

Authors: Jorge Niosi, Majlinda Zhegu

Addresses: Department of Management and Technology, UQAM, Montreal, P.O. Box 8888 Station Centre-Ville Montreal, QC, H3P 3P8, Canada. ' Department of Management and Technology, UQAM, Montreal, P.O. Box 8888 Station Centre-Ville Montreal, QC, H3P 3P8, Canada

Abstract: The concept of anchor tenant was advanced to explain the emergence of regional systems of innovation. The anchor tenant is an organisation, often a large innovative firm or a research university or public laboratory that produces knowledge externalities in the region where it is located. The anchor produces such effects by spinning off new companies and attracting other ones. This paper argues that the dynamics of the anchor may help to explain the subsequent evolution of the region. It also maintains that anchor tenants are attracted to or created in regions that possess some favourable conditions and that such conditions are industry specific.

Keywords: anchor tenants; regional innovation systems; aircraft industry; cluster dynamics; regional systems of innovation; spin-offs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2010.032676

International Journal of Technology Management, 2010 Vol.50 No.3/4, pp.263 - 284

Published online: 06 Apr 2013 *

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