Place-based innovation policy for industrial diversification in regions

Abstract

New industrial innovation policies like smart specialization aim at boosting economic growth by diversification towards more complex and higher value economic activities. This paper proposes a conceptual and analytical framework to support the design and implementation of such policies considering place-specific preconditions, particularly the differentiation of the regional system of innovation and entrepreneurship and the degree of current industrial diversification. The paper expands on the links between these preconditions and the barriers and opportunities for industrial diversification. Consequently, it proposes an archetypical place-based policy framework covering overall policy objectives as well as measures at the level of actors, networks, and the institutional and organizational support structures.

Local entrepreneurship ecosystems and emerging industries: Case Study of Mazowieckie, Poland

“…Emergence and growth of entirely new industries based on radically new technologies and scientific discoveries or as an outcome of search processes for new business models, user-driven innovation and social innovation Source: Grillitsch, Asheim and Trippl, 2017;Grillitsch, 2018. Path upgrading points to major intra-path changes, that is, changes of an existing regional industrial path in a new direction. It is possible to distinguish between three sub-categories of upgrading.…”

“…Networks can be found within sectors, between sectors and constituting local-global relations. Institutions can be described by quality of governance, adequate policy repertories, governance processes and entrepreneurial culture (Grillitsch, 2018). The greater the level of system differentiation in a region, the greater its capacity for designing and implementing policy measures to promote industry transition through smart specialisation policies.…”

“…Governance process Involvement of actors on multiple scales (local, regional, national, international) and of different sectors, interplay between bottom-up and topdown policy making Regional culture Entrepreneurial culture (low risk aversion, high rate of new firm formation) and global mindedness Source: Grillitsch, 2018. It is possible to characterise the path development opportunities in a region on these two dimensions. Smart specialisation policy in regions with diversified industry, high innovation capacity, and high system diversification can be seen to have greater probabilities of favouring longer-term new path development, whereas those with specialised industry, low innovation capacity and low system diversification have greater probabilities of being able to achieve more modest path upgrading.…”

Smart specialisation development in Latvia

“…Smart specialisation strategy (RIS3) represents an explicit and place-based approach, while emphasizing prioritization and selectivity through non-neutral, vertical policies, and thereby acknowledging the large variations in regional policy challenges as regards promoting innovation, competitiveness and growth (Grillitsch & Asheim, 2018). Therefore, each region or country sets the fields and priorities for RIS3 that are most relevant to their development.…”

“…The Smart Specialisation Strategy of Latvia (RIS3) sets five RIS3 specialisation fields: (1) knowledgebased bio-economy, (2) biomedicine, medical technologies, biopharmacy and biotechnologies, (3) advanced materials, technologies and engineering systems, (4) smart energy and (5) information and communication technologies (ICT) (Gemma, Vītoliņa, 2017). The authors analysed changes in the number of enterprises operating in the industries of the national economy with high transfer potential, particularly for RIS3 specialisation fields, over a five-year period.…”