regional integration

innovation networks

regional

technological change

small medium-sized

regional growth

regional innovation

local economic

creative industries

Regional Studies

This paper examines the ways by which organizational and institutional features of regional innovation systems shape smart specialization practices in less-developed, intermediate and advanced regions. Drawing on research from 15 European regions, it shows that the implantation of smart specialization creates challenges in all three types of regions. At the same time, there is evidence that smart specialization supports policy-learning and system-building efforts in less-developed regions and facilitates policy reorientation and system transformation in more advanced regions.

Shaping smart specialization: the role of place-specific factors in advanced, intermediate and less-developed European regions