Proximity and localisation of corporate R&D activities

The present article is an attempt to analyse the geographical agglomeration of corporate research and development activities through the use of a desegregated sectorial approach. By focusing on those interfaces that are critical for the organisation of innovation-related activities, as well as on the degree of complexity of the knowledge base which is being mobilised, this study will seek to determine the exact nature, and the intensity, of the need for geographic proximity. The explanatory model will then be tested by an econometric analysis of the localisation and clustering of corporate R&D activities in France (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.