Embedding the theoretical discussion on the framework of evolutionary regional innovation systems (RIS), this book reveals the informal nature of the emerging RIS in China, within which interactive learning is organized on the basis of social networks. Furthermore, in a comparative study in the Pearl River Delta, China demonstrates that dirigiste governance in the initial industrialization phase leads to a more mature and developed RIS than does grassroots governance. The theoretical developments and empirical investigation presented in this book will grant readers a deeper understanding of the specific features of RIS within the transitional context of emerging economies.

Resilience has emerged as a recurrent notion to explain how territorial socio-economic systems adapt successfully (or not) to negative events. In this book, the authors use resilience as a bridging notion to connect different types of theoretical and empirical approaches to help understand the impacts of economic turbulence at the system and actor levels. The book provides a unique overview of the financial crisis and the important dimension of innovation dynamics for regional resilience. It also offers an engaging debate as to how regional resilience can be improved and explores the social aspects of vulnerability, resilience and innovation.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the dynamics underpinning the successful performance of local innovation systems (LIS), that is, spatial concentration of innovation activities in specific geographical areas, characterized by the synergetic co-localization of research centers, innovation-driven enterprises, large corporations and capital providers. The reader will gain a deeper knowledge of LIS theory and learn about the theoretical and empirical challenges of studying the LIS from a relational perspective. The book also provides an analytical framework to explore the level of connectivity among LIS actors through the use of social network analysis (network architecture) and second, to assess the variety of different types of relationships that local actors put in place to produce innovation within the LIS (network portfolio). More specifically, this book explores which network configuration is associated with a successful LIS by deriving evidence from the empirical study of the biopharma LIS in the Greater Boston Area (GBA), which has been exemplified as a benchmark case in terms of successful LIS performance. This book also contributes to the theoretical debate about the optimal configuration of network structure (e.g. network closure vs. network openness). In capturing the heterogeneous nature of the LIS demography, it addresses the challenges brought about by the adoption of a holistic approach. Finally, the study provides insights into the network portfolio composition, which has been underexplored by extant literature. Besides addressing the scientific community in the field, this book will also be a valuable resource with practical implications for policymakers and those actors willing to undertake an active role in the development of an LIS in their own regions.

Building on the idea of inclusive learning, which entails a process of shared prosperity across the globe, this work looks at funamental changes at the start of the new milliennium, as innovation is gaining increasing importance for local economic prosperity and the emergence of learning societies.

New firm creation is one of the most important topics at economic, social and political level. The emergence of new ventures is central to economic adaptation and change and one of the major features associated with growth in employment and in sector productivity. Entrepreneurship is now at the centre of many policy questions related to science and technology, research and development, sustainability, poverty, human capital, employment, tangible and intangible resouces. This book provides a better understanding of the process for setting up new initiatives, analysing the several factors related to entrepreneurship dynamic. It specifically analyses the factors explaining the entrepreneurial rates in Italy and the differences in entrepreneurial dynamics in a sample of EU countries. This book shows that the entrepreneurial dynamics is very different across countries and to establish a policy to foster entrepreneurship, there is a need to investigate which factors drive the entrepreneurial process. This book will be of interest to academics and practitioners in Entrepreneurship, and it also offers interesting indications to policy makers. Stimulating innovative entrepreneurship is one of the highest priorities in the current economic debate, and is particularly important in countries like Italy, where economic growth is slow and youth unemployment rates are very high.

The social dynamics of innovation networks captures the important role of trust, social capital, institutions and norms and values in the creation of knowledge in innovation networks. In doing so, this book connects to a long-standing debate on the socio-spatial context of innovation in economic geography, which is usually referred to as the Territorial Models of Innovation (TIMs) literature. This present volume breaks with the TIM literature in several important ways. In the first place, this book emphasizes the role of individual agency because individuals and their networks are increasingly recognized as the principal agents of knowledge creation. Secondly, this volume looks at space as a continuous field of opportunity rather than as bounded territory with a set of endowments, such as knowledge base and social capital. Although individually these elements are not new to the TIM literature, it has thus far failed to grasp their critical implication for studying the social dynamics of innovation networks. The approach to the socio-spatial context of innovation in this volume is summarized as Knowledge Economy 2.0. It emphasizes that human creativity is now the main source of economic value and that human creativity and knowledge creation is not an organized process within organizations, but happens bottom up in formal and informal professional and social networks of individuals that cut across multiple organizations.

In present digital times the focus is on globalization and the dynamics and complexities that it creates. However, in spite of being dominated by technology the world remains populated by human beings practising a localized everyday life. This contrast should challenge every researcher who is concerned with business and societal development and how that is contingent upon the institutional and cultural (national) context. In this book, Swedish researchers reflect upon entrepreneurship as a possible mediator between local and global economic and social concerns. Using as a point of departure the tensions between a functional, footloose rationale and a territorial rationale tied to place, the authors provide different aspects on regional development in a globalised world. A shared concern is the importance of recognizing the many appearances of entrepreneurship that brings it beyond being an innovative force in the market. The book thus presents different strategies and tactics for pursuing localized economic development and it also critically reviews adopted public support programmes and measures of the (local) business climate. The conclusive message is that only by bridging the functional and territorial views will it be possible to sustain, and possibly enhance, economic and social life in local places as well as in our shared world. This book was originally published as a special issue of European Planning Studies.

Since the first edition of this book in 1995, there has been a worldwide innovation-led economic boom and a subsequent slump, meaning enormous change has also occurred at the level of regional economies. The new edition registers this change and provides an interesting test of the robustness of the original arguments in the book. Not least, more industrial policy making is influenced by the RIS analysis, and many national and regional governments have adopted RIS approaches, along with related instruments like promotion of industry clusters, academic entrepreneurship, regional venture capital and science-led development strategies.

This book examines the problem of the innovation divide in the world economy, and convergence in innovation performance between leaders and followers, analysed through the prism of Chinese experiences, and explored from an European Union (EU) perspective. The rationale for research conducted in this book is an observation of a significant change in the geography of world innovation, reflected in the emergence of innovation hubs in developing countries and in the shift of manufacturing activity, including high and medium-high technology industries, to emerging economies, mainly China. The book analyses the factors of Chinese innovation success in recent decades, such as: China’s science, technology and innovation policy, increased R&D expenditures, human capital development and the development of clusters and highly specialized industries. It also focuses on the challenges for developed European economies, which are being at risk of losing their knowledge-related sources of competitive advantage. It also offers recommendations for future policy actions. The book’s analysis goes beyond a cross-country comparison, taking into account a regional perspective. The reason for this regional dimension is the increasingly recognized importance of proximity in stimulating innovation processes, and an observed strong geographical polarization of innovation activity at specific regions seen in the emergence of clusters, particularly visible in China. The monograph will provide an up-to-date reference for academics and students across a variety of disciplines. It will be of particular interest to researchers in the area of innovation and practitioners doing business in China, as well as policymakers at international, national and regional levels involved in designing and implementing innovation policy.

Modern innovation processes are to large extent geographically distributed, where knowledge flows are more likely to be global, and activities such as Research and Development and production can take place at a variety of locations around the world. Hence, geographical distances will ' or have perhaps already - become less significant in today' s society where knowledge generated in various parts of the world may be readily accessed. Simultaneously, there are strong spatial dimensions to knowledge generation and diffusion, as well as ...