Innovation systems and ‘inertia’ in R&D location: Norwegian firms and the role of systemic lock-in

This paper seeks to enquire why firms—ceteris paribus—tend to concentrate their R&D activities at home, using a systems of innovation (SI) approach. We argue that R&D inertia is associated with structural inertia and resultant systemic lock-in. Interaction within an SI is a self-reinforcing mechanism which may or may not lead to ex post efficiency. Lock-in can be efficient when technologies and institutions maintain the competitiveness of firms....