Innovation ecosystems as a lever of competitiveness in the face of competitive dynamics: the case of Morocco

Résumé

Abstract:

This study examines the extent to which innovation ecosystems can serve as a lever of competitiveness in the face of competitive dynamics in the Moroccan context. The research is grounded in the assumption that competitiveness is no longer shaped solely by firm-level performance or conventional macroeconomic factors, but increasingly depends on the quality of interactions among firms, universities, research institutions, public authorities, entrepreneurial structures, and digital infrastructures. The main objective of the study is to analyze the relationship between innovation ecosystem components and competitiveness in Morocco over the period 2015–2023. To achieve this objective, the study adopts a quantitative and empirical approach based on the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, which makes it possible to estimate both short-run and long-run relationships among the variables. The empirical analysis includes descriptive statistics, unit root tests, bounds testing for cointegration, and ARDL estimations. The results reveal the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between competitiveness and the selected innovation ecosystem variables. They further show that research and development expenditure, patent activity, entrepreneurial dynamics, digital infrastructure, and institutional quality exert positive and statistically significant effects on competitiveness in both the short run and the long run. These findings suggest that innovation ecosystems constitute a strategic framework through which Morocco can strengthen its competitive performance. The study concludes that improving competitiveness requires not only greater investment in innovation-related factors, but also stronger coordination, better governance, and more effective knowledge circulation among the different actors of the innovation ecosystem.

Keywords: Innovation ecosystems; Competitiveness; Competitive dynamics; ARDL model; Morocco; Research and development; Digital infrastructure; Institutional quality.