Patterns of Combined ICT Use and Innovation in the European Regions

This article investigates the existence of combined patterns of regional innovation and the information and communication technologies (ICT) use, and the factors explaining them at a regional level in the European Union (EU). The use of canonical correlation analysis (CCA) allows us to identify two differentiated patterns of regional innovation and ICT use. The main pattern is defined by those regions combining high levels of ICT use and innovation. This pattern is mostly explained by institutional factors, such as the quality of government, and by region-specific characteristics, such as total employment in knowledge- intensive services, total research and development (R&D), lifelong learning (LifeLong), and gross domestic product (GDP). We also identified a second pattern that corresponds with regions showing strong disparities between innovation and ICT use levels. This pattern is mainly determined by R&D and by institutional variables such as government quality and fiscal decentralization. Our findings shed light on the factors that jointly explain innovation and ICT diffusion, and could be useful in the design of innovation and ICT diffusion policies at both regional and national levels.