The Role of Leading Firms and Business Clusters in Regional Innovation

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of leading companies and business clusters in regional innovation in East Azarbaijan province. The research method is descriptive and correlational. The statistical population of the study consisted of managers and staff of R&D departments, design engineers and development of business clusters in East Azarbaijan province. The data collection tool was a standard and researcher-made questionnaire that was validated by the statistical community after assessing its validity and reliability. Structural equation test was used to test the research hypotheses using lisrel 8.5 software. The findings of the present study showed that the presence of leading companies and business clusters has an impact on regional innovation; also, staff education plays a mediating role. The results of the present study indicate that the presence of leading companies and business clusters plays an important role in improving regional innovation. Also, the education level of the staff improves the innovation in the region. Keywords: Leading company, Business clusters, Regional innovation