Openness values and regional innovation: a set-analysis

Abstract

Abstract Statistical studies evidence that openness values matter for regional innovation but not how they matter. A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) study of 108 North–West European regions identifies four cross-case mechanisms that explain regional innovation: the diversity, cosmopolitan environment, technology transfer and creativity mechanisms. Only in technology transfer do openness values not play a role. This evidences that openness values connect diverse local and non-local social spaces to local and non-local physical places to unlock a larger potential for more dynamic innovation. QCA understands causality as configurational and identifies mechanisms rather than net effects, which answers how-questions better than statistical methods do. The focus on mechanisms highlights how innovation connects interactions between agents in social space to physical place, which makes an empirical contribution to the relational economic geography literature.

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