Context (archaeology)

Absorptive capacity

Linguistics

Philosophy

Exploit

Computer security

Archaeology

Macedonian

Economics

Computer science

Empirical evidence

Capacity building

Business

Regional science

Process management

Geography

Epistemology

Environmental science

Industrial organization

Economic growth

Knowledge management

Innovation The European Journal of Social Science Research

In this paper, we investigate the implementation challenge of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) in catch-up regional environments, through the lens of capacity building. We analyse capacity building at two levels: micro-level (individual organisations) and meso-level (regional inter-organisational networks). We use empirical evidence from 50 interviews conducted in the period 2015–2017 from two Greek regions dramatically hit by the economic crisis (Crete and Central Macedonia). We argue that in the Cretan and Central Macedonian context, the difficulty of implementing S3 is directly linked with firms' lack of adsorptive capability to exploit university-generated knowledge, university knowledge that is too abstract for firm's to easily acquire, as well as to the capability of regional actors to build inter-organisational networking that fits their strategic needs.

Capacity-building barriers to S3 implementation: an empirical framework for catch-up regions