Digital Innovation Hubs: Two-mode and Network-Based View on Technology and Services Provided

Abstract

The Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) is a relatively young research area emerging on the basis of well-known ideas of technology parks or clusters. DIH is mainly focused on the digital transformation of enterprises and the development of a given region in the context of Industry 4.0 based on digital technology. The European Union is the initiator of the "Digital Europe" program for 2021-2027, aiming to promote the transfer of digital specialist knowledge to economic entities. The authors chose the DIHs operating in Poland as a starting point for network analysis in the context of the technology and services provided by Polish DIHs. This research aims to measure network cohesion, the centrality of individual DIH, and its specialty (exclusivity). It is based on secondary data collected using the Smart Specialization Platform based on which the two two-mode networks have been developed: actor x technology (ATij) and actor x services provided (ASPij). Measurements and visualization were made using two network programs (UCINET and ORA PRO). The following social network analysis techniques were used: 1) Two-mode cohesion: density, diameter, and fragmentation; 2) Two-mode centrality: degree and betweenness, and 3) Two-mode specialty (exclusivity). The results show two-mode networks consisting of the following nodes: 15 actors (A) or DIHs; 29 technologies (T), and 16 services provided (SP) forming a meta-network. They provide an insight into the network structure, most influential actors (DIHs), technologies, and services, as well as the specialty of each DIH in the European country, thus giving rise to further comparative research, using secondary data for the other 26 countries of the European Union.