Transformation of regional innovation systems: from old legacies to new development paths

Abstract

Introduction Over the past 20 years, the innovation system approach has signifi cantly enhanced our understanding of the innovation process, stressing its non-linear, systemic, interactive and evolutionary character. The notion of regional innovation systems (RISs) highlights the regional dimension of new knowledge generation and exploitation and constitutes a powerful concept for explaining regional differences in innovation capacity. RISs can be conceptualised as the set of fi rms, organisations and institutions which infl uence the innovative behaviour and economic performance at the regional level (Cooke et al. 2000, 2004; Asheim and Gertler 2005). They are shaped by existing industry structures and technology paths, the set of knowledge organisations, and the prevailing institutions and networks. As a consequence, they exhibit a high degree of inertia. This may lead to phenomena of path dependency and ‘lock-in’ in particular regions and to a certain degree of stability in terms of regional disparities in innovation and economic development.

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