Innovation networks have been analysed at several spatial levels, from the local to the global, with increasing interest in innovation systems below the national level.A wide range of regions has been studied including cities as major centres of innovation. But there is often a difference between the importance of a city as a location of innovation activities and to what extent they can be influenced by politics and public institutions at the city level.This commentary focuses on Vienna, the capital of Austria. Analysing the innovation networks of firms located in Vienna shows the potential scope and limits of the city’s influence on innovation relations. Data from an innovation survey of the Viennese economy lead to the conclusion that only a minor share of the innovation relations of local firms can be influenced directly by the city’s institutions. The results give some indication of where and how the city could be able to increase its influence on the innovation activities of the local economy, reducing Vienna’s dependence on Austria’s federal research, technology and innovation policy.
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