Knowledge intensive entrepreneurship in different sectoral systems. A taxonomy

Starting from the framework of sectoral system, several dimensions of a sectoral system have been isolated: knowledge and its sources, the benefits coming from relationships and networks, the type of participation in formal agreements and the instruments of IP protection. The Chapter shows that one can identify more than one profile of sectoral system in which knowledge intensive entrepreneurs operate, meaning that the environment in which entrepreneurs are active can be very diverse. In particular, five profiles of sectoral systems have been identified: ‘diffused’, ‘vertical with production assets’, ‘vertical with complementary assets’, ‘distributed information’, and ‘distributed science and technology knowledge’ sectoral systems. This result strongly points to the fact that the strategies of knowledge access, networking and IPR that knowledge intensive entrepreneurs have to use in their activities have to take into account also of the specific dimensions of the sectoral system they operate in.