This monograph presents the experience in the implementation of smart specialization strategies (S3) from multilevel policy governance, as well as from the bottom-up perspectives of firms, clusters, and networks in selected European countries. The presented research focuses on relevance and feasibility of the S3 adoption, emphasizing the importance of linking policy considerations with partnerships at lower governance levels.
The major contribution of the presented research rests in theoretical implications and practical recommendations relevant for the implementation of regional S3 in the European context, with the possibility of place-based adoption in other environments. The book is also valuable for synthesizing the most recent advancements in smart specialization as a policy concept and the concept of transformation and growth for territorial units and economic entities. This book aims to further diffuse and expand the academic community’s learning of the new S3 approach in Europe and beyond.
The book will be of interest and useful to the academic community of researchers and doctoral students focused on regional innovation development and related policy, as well as on entrepreneurship, networks, and clusters. Public sector professionals dealing with regional development, regional innovation policies, and industrial transformation will also benefit from its content.
Forward Professor Dominique Foray Introduction: The Expansion of the Smart Specialization Concept and Practice Marta Gancarczyk, Anna Ujwary-Gil, and Manuel González-López Part 1. Regional Smart Specialization Policies: An Experience in Planning, Implementation, and Monitoring 1. Regional Smart Specializations in Central and Eastern Europe: Between Political Decisions and Revealed Technological Potential Krzysztof Klincewicz, Magdalena Marczewska, and Christopher L. Tucci 2. The Implementation of the Smart Specialization Approach in the Peripheral Region of Galicia María del Carmen Sánchez-Carreira, Manuel González-López, and Pedro Varela-Vázquez 3. Challenges for Monitoring Smart Specialisation in the European Union Elżbieta Wojnicka-Sycz, Korneliusz Pylak, Piotr Sliż, and Piotr Sycz Part 2. Smart Specialization in the Sub-Regional and Local Government Context 4. The Impacts of Policy Instruments to Stimulate Bottom-Up Approaches for Smart Specialization: The Case of Baden-Wuerttemberg Elisabeth Baier 5. Exploring the Relationship between Smart Specialization Strategy (S3) and Smart City (SC) Initiatives in the Context of Inland Norway Xiang Ying Mei and Victoria Konovalenko Slettli 6. City Smart Specializations in Tourism: The Cases of Kraków, Poland, and Košice, Slovakia Jacek Gancarczyk, Vanda Marakova, and Ewa Wszendybył-Skulska Part 3. Smart Growth of Enterprises, Clusters, and Networks 7. The Quadruple Helix Partnerships for Enterprise Eco-Innovation in Italian Macro-Regions under the Lens of Smart Specialization strategy Ivano Dileo and Marco Pini 8. Smart Specialization through Cluster Policy: Evidence from Poland and Germany Anna Lis, Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski, and Marta Mackiewicz 9. Municipality Digital Platforms and Local Development in the Warmia and Mazury Region: Implications for Smart Specialization Aleksander Jakimowicz and Daniel Rzeczkowski
Marta Gancarczyk is Associate Professor at the Institute of Economics, Finance, and Management, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Anna Ujwary-Gil is Associate Professor at Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland. Manuel González-López is a researcher and Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Economics of the University of Santiago de Compostela and member of ICEDE Research Group.
