The Multidimensional Approach to Innovation in the United States and Turkey

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study is to identify the dimensions of innovation in the U.S. and Turkey. Although there is an extensive literature on traditional determinants of innovation, they only explain a limited part of the innovation process and are insufficient to describe the complex nature of the innovation ecosystem. Moreover, in this ecosystem, seeing innovation as a part of creativity and learning processes requires a broader framework for understanding it. This study argues that a multidimensional approach, including the dimensions of creativity, is needed to understand innovation across regions. Thus, factor analysis is used to explore innovation dimensions. Seventeen variables including industrial specialization, population, human capital, entrepreneurship, income, social and cultural activities, enplanement, international migration, and crime rates are reduced to five factors in the cases of the U.S. and Turkey. As a result, the five factors reflecting the similarities between the U.S. and Turkey offer a new perspective, providing a multidimensional approach to regional innovation. In addition, the results of the study reveal that regions in each country innovate in different ways and each region requires a different mix of innovation dimensions and also policy measures.