Related variety and state-sponsored R&D collaboration: a geographical and industrial analysis in Czechia

This paper aims to explore the influence of related variety on direct state-supported R&D cooperation across various geographical levels to understand regional performance differentiation and economic base restructuring in Czechia by employing Frenken et al.’s (2007) methodological approach to calculate a related and unrelated variety for all NACE and NACE C-Manufacturing. Findings indicate that the city of Prague has the highest unrelated and related variety, followed by the cities of Brno, Ostrava, and Pilsen. Calculation just for C-Manufacturing changes the ordering significantly. Furthermore, intra-regional and extra-regional pairwise R&D cooperation in joint projects is calculated. The cluster analysis of Czech microregional data (SO ORP) reveals patterns such as emerging collaborators and collaboration powerhouses. Linear regression analyses established a strong positive association between R&D collaboration intensity and related variety, while a negative link was observed with unrelated variety. Similar relationships were observed in the manufacturing sector (NACE-C).