Cities are acknowledged to have always been powerful engines of historical changes and the protagonists of the most relevant economic and technological transformations. The thesis aims to analyse the challenges and the opportunities for European built environments set by one of the most influent mega-trends of our times: the unfolding of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. More in detail, the study addresses from a theoretical and empirical perspective two important aspects that surround the creation of new 4.0 knowledge in differentiated built environments, thus filling relevant gaps still present in the literature. On the one hand, the thesis aims at identifying the local conditions that enable the creation of new 4.0 technologies; on the other hand, the work inspects the impact that the creation of such extremely advanced technologies has on the growth of local productivity. From a methodological perspective, the thesis provides an important contribution to the study of the creation of new 4.0 knowledge: the construction of an original and innovative database of 4.0 technologies, indeed, allowed to overcome the shortcomings of the existing methodologies and to adopt a sounder and more comprehensive approach. By exploiting the potentialities of this new data source, in turn, the empirical analysis tested the presence of statistically significant relationships between the variables of interest through the estimation of some econometric models. As far as the local conditions of new 4.0 knowledge creation are concerned, some important results emerged from the analysis. First, specific functional (R&D expenditures), relational (internal and external cooperation among inventors) and cognitive elements (a local knowledge base related to 4.0 technologies) play a role in enhancing 4.0 knowledge creation in European regions and cities. Moreover, functional, relational and cognitive elements display relevant complementarities among them. Second, 4.0 knowledge creation appears to be more intense in European built environments than in less urbanized areas: cities prove to be the key players in the epochal technological transformation empowered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Moreover, when cities’ heterogeneity is taken into account, scientific cities (i.e. with intense R&D activities) and cities endowed with cognitive proximity (i.e. specialized in 3.0 technologies) show to be the most favourable locations for 4.0 knowledge creation. Third, and much importantly, the analysis shows how the creation of different types of 4.0 technologies is enhanced by different territorial features. On the one hand, the development of core 4.0 technologies, that re-lies on cumulative processes, is underpinned by a 3.0 knowledge base. On the other hand, the creation of recombinant 4.0 applications is more intense in lower-rank cities, thanks to recombinant and creative knowledge creation processes. Concerning the impact of 4.0 knowledge creation on the growth of local productivity, the study highlights some important findings. First, a positive effect of local 4.0 knowledge creation on productivity growth rate in European cities is detected. Second, the benefits accruing from the creation of 4.0 technologies in terms of enhanced productivity growth are not limited to capital cities but they also involve lower-rank cities, although with a smaller magnitude. Finally, there are no thresholds effects in the positive impact of 4.0 knowledge creation on productivity: on the contrary, decreasing returns are at play. In conclusion, the thesis demonstrates how, by exploiting specific local resources, cities can play a fundamental role in the creation of new 4.0 knowledge. Moreover, the development of 4.0 technologies appears to be an effective strategy to improve the overall local economic performance and, consequently, guarantee the long term development of European cities.
La tesi analizza le sfide e le opportunità che la Quarta Rivoluzione Industriale presenta alle città europee. In particolare, il lavoro affronta da un punto di vista sia teorico che empirico due aspetti importanti che riguardano la creazione di tecnologia 4.0 in diversi tipi di città, andando così a colmare alcune lacune della letteratura. Da un lato, la tesi analizza le condizioni locali che favoriscono la creazione di nuove tecnologie 4.0; dall’altro, lo studio indaga l’impatto che la creazione di tali tecnologie ha sulla crescita della produttività locale. Da un punto di vista metodologico, la tesi apporta un contributo di novità nello studio della creazione di nuova conoscenza 4.0: la costruzione di un database originale ed innovativo basato su dati di brevetti, infatti, permette di superare alcuni dei limiti metodologici che caratterizzano molti lavoro in questo campo. Per quanto riguarda le condizioni locali per la creazione di conoscenza 4.0, alcuni importanti risultati emergono dall’analisi. Innanzitutto, si nota che specifici elementi funzionali, relazionali e cognitivi giocano un ruolo determinante nel favorire lo sviluppo di conoscenza 4.0 nelle città e nelle regioni europee. Inoltre, questi elementi sono caratterizzati da rapporti sinergici. In secondo luogo, la creazione di nuova conoscenza 4.0 è più intensa nelle città che nelle regioni meno urbanizzate. Inoltre, le città caratterizzate da alti livelli di ricerca e sviluppo e quelle dotate di una maggiore prossimità cognitiva risultano essere le più avvantaggiate in termini di creazione di nuova conoscenza 4.0. L’analisi evidenzia anche che lo sviluppo di diverse tipologie di tecnologie 4.0 è favorito da diversi elementi territoriali. Per quanto riguarda gli impatti della creazione di nuova conoscenza 4.0 sulla crescita della produttività locale, la tesi evidenzia la presenza di una correlazione positiva e significativa tra queste due variabili. Inoltre, questo effetto positivo sulla crescita della produttività appare significativo non soltanto nei maggiori contesti urbani ma anche nelle città di rango inferiore. Infine, non si rilevano effetti di soglia ma, al contrario, si registrano effetti marginali decrescenti. In conclusione, la tesi dimostra che, facendo leva sulle proprie specificità territoriali, le città possono giocare un ruolo fondamentale nella creazione di nuova conoscenza 4.0 e, anche in questo modo, aumentare la propria produttività a vantaggio dello sviluppo economico locale.
Creativity in 4.0 technologies : challenges and opportunities for differentiated built environments
LAFFI, MATTEO
2021/2022
Abstract
Cities are acknowledged to have always been powerful engines of historical changes and the protagonists of the most relevant economic and technological transformations. The thesis aims to analyse the challenges and the opportunities for European built environments set by one of the most influent mega-trends of our times: the unfolding of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. More in detail, the study addresses from a theoretical and empirical perspective two important aspects that surround the creation of new 4.0 knowledge in differentiated built environments, thus filling relevant gaps still present in the literature. On the one hand, the thesis aims at identifying the local conditions that enable the creation of new 4.0 technologies; on the other hand, the work inspects the impact that the creation of such extremely advanced technologies has on the growth of local productivity. From a methodological perspective, the thesis provides an important contribution to the study of the creation of new 4.0 knowledge: the construction of an original and innovative database of 4.0 technologies, indeed, allowed to overcome the shortcomings of the existing methodologies and to adopt a sounder and more comprehensive approach. By exploiting the potentialities of this new data source, in turn, the empirical analysis tested the presence of statistically significant relationships between the variables of interest through the estimation of some econometric models. As far as the local conditions of new 4.0 knowledge creation are concerned, some important results emerged from the analysis. First, specific functional (R&D expenditures), relational (internal and external cooperation among inventors) and cognitive elements (a local knowledge base related to 4.0 technologies) play a role in enhancing 4.0 knowledge creation in European regions and cities. Moreover, functional, relational and cognitive elements display relevant complementarities among them. Second, 4.0 knowledge creation appears to be more intense in European built environments than in less urbanized areas: cities prove to be the key players in the epochal technological transformation empowered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Moreover, when cities’ heterogeneity is taken into account, scientific cities (i.e. with intense R&D activities) and cities endowed with cognitive proximity (i.e. specialized in 3.0 technologies) show to be the most favourable locations for 4.0 knowledge creation. Third, and much importantly, the analysis shows how the creation of different types of 4.0 technologies is enhanced by different territorial features. On the one hand, the development of core 4.0 technologies, that re-lies on cumulative processes, is underpinned by a 3.0 knowledge base. On the other hand, the creation of recombinant 4.0 applications is more intense in lower-rank cities, thanks to recombinant and creative knowledge creation processes. Concerning the impact of 4.0 knowledge creation on the growth of local productivity, the study highlights some important findings. First, a positive effect of local 4.0 knowledge creation on productivity growth rate in European cities is detected. Second, the benefits accruing from the creation of 4.0 technologies in terms of enhanced productivity growth are not limited to capital cities but they also involve lower-rank cities, although with a smaller magnitude. Finally, there are no thresholds effects in the positive impact of 4.0 knowledge creation on productivity: on the contrary, decreasing returns are at play. In conclusion, the thesis demonstrates how, by exploiting specific local resources, cities can play a fundamental role in the creation of new 4.0 knowledge. Moreover, the development of 4.0 technologies appears to be an effective strategy to improve the overall local economic performance and, consequently, guarantee the long term development of European cities.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/183700