The innovation networks of city-regions in Europe: exclusive clubs or inclusive hubs?

Which role do city-regions play in European innovation network formation? We study the evolution of innovation collaborative networks in European city-regions outlining two opposite models: in the exclusive network model city-regions establish a closed network of innovators among themselves; in the inclusive network models city-regions build a network of innovators which includes the peripheral regions. Employing a temporal exponential random graph model on 248 regions for the period 2000-2016, we find that the two models coexist. We conclude that in the EU the city-regions act as both engines of generation of innovation and integrators of innovation actors.