The conference focused on the main topic “Unlocking the Potential of Regions Through Entrepreneurship and Innovation” and attracted an international and interdisciplinary audience. It was organized by the School of Business, Economics and IT of the University West and the Gran Sasso Science Institute.

Jessica Birkholz presented her results entitled „The Role of Entrepreneurial Exploration and Exploitation for Unlocking the Potential of Regions. Geographical Determinants, Regional Absorptive Capacity, and Use of Entrepreneurial Knowledge”. In this paper, Jessica Birkholz investigates under which regional circumstances new knowledge from entrepreneurs enhance the regional economic development.

Another presentation was held by Mariia Shkolnykova, who presented her empirical results entitled „Local Knowledge Spillovers of Radical Innovation: the Case of German Biotechnology SMEs“. In her paper, Mariia Shkolnykova investigates the impact of radical innovations of German biotechnology SMEs on the innovation performance of technologically related regions.

The working group “Innovation and Structural Change” (Prof. Dr. Jutta Günther) where the three scholars belong to is part of the ierp – Institute for Economic and Policy Research at the Faculty of Business Studies and Economics.