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12 WMU J. Maritime Aff. 1 (2013)

handle is hein.journals/wnujlmti12 and id is 1 raw text is: WMU J Marit Affairs (2013) 12:1-15 DOI 10.1007/s13437-013-0039-4 Innovation types in the Finnish maritime cluster Teemu Makkonen • Tommi Inkinen • Jouni Saarni Received: 15 October 2012 /Accepted: 19 February 2013 /Published online: 6 March 2013 © World Maritime University 2013 Abstract The Finnish maritime cluster is an important sector of Finland's economy. However, literature on innovative activities within the cluster is limited. This article focuses on Finnish shipbuilding and marine industry firms. Several innovation types are identified. These are analyzed according to general characteristics of firms. The data is from a survey of 148 shipbuilding and marine industry companies; most of the variables are ordinal scale and are analyzed with standard statistical survey methods. Considering the significance and past technological achievements of the sector the results indicate surprisingly low radical innovation related-activity and attitudes towards it. As well, the results provide no evidence to support previous research, suggesting that the shipbuilding and marine industry produces more organizational than technological innovations. The innovativeness of the firms varies according to distinct characteristics such as size, intensity of in-house and collaborative R&D activities, and level of internationalization. The empirical results provide a platform for policy implications and directions for future research; innovations concerning environmental efficiency are raised as an important future area of development. Keywords Cluster . Finland - Innovation - Marine industry - Shipbuilding industry 1 Introduction This paper addresses the innovation activity of shipbuilding and marine industry firms in Finland. The maritime cluster is one of the most significant industrial sectors in Finland's T. Makkonen (E) Pan-European Institute, Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku, Rehtorinpellonkatu 3, 20500 Turku, Finland e-mail: teemu.makkonen@utu.fi T. Makkonen - T. Inkinen Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, 00014 Helsinki, Finland J. Saarni Centre for Collaborative Research, Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku, Rehtorinpellonkatu 3, 20500 Turku, Finland 4L Springer