Nicos Komninos, Bernard Musyck and Alasdair Iain Reid
The purpose of this paper is to assess how national and regional authorities in south-east Europe in a period of crisis perceive and set in motion research and innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess how national and regional authorities in south-east Europe in a period of crisis perceive and set in motion research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3) and the options that these strategies offer to overcome the current fiscal and development crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper starts with a literature review on the guiding principles of smart specialisation strategies and the differences from previous rounds of regional innovation strategies. Evidence on smart specialisation efforts is provided by cases studies in Greece, Slovenia, and Cyprus, focusing on the elaboration of such strategies in three countries with precarious innovation systems under severe conditions of crisis. The case studies are organised around key aspects of the smart specialisation logic, such as the selection of specialisation priorities, bottom-up governance, private sector leadership, and engines of innovation and competitiveness.
Findings
The paper explores the obstacles encountered in running effective RIS strategies under crisis conditions. The paper highlights the main challenges to address, such as the readiness and credibility of public authorities to design and implement sound RIS3 strategies, the willingness of companies to be involved in strategic planning, the availability of private investment funds, innovation and diversification during a crisis, and the drivers of specialisation that could lead to competitiveness and growth. In the conclusions the paper identifies three routes towards smarter productive diversification and five critical stages in the entrepreneurial discovery process.
Originality/value
The paper has both practical and theoretical significance. It focuses on the main challenges of smart specialisation and offers guidance in the elaboration of RIS3 in peripheral EU economies. On the other hand, it proposes a model for the entrepreneurial discovery process, based on the assessment of areas and futures of productivity and added-value increase, as productive diversification and crisis exit route.
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Keywords
Reinaldo Belickas Manzini and Luiz Carlos Di Serio
This paper offers an approach for outlining the main dimensions surrounding clusters in three areas of knowledge: economic geography, strategic management and operations…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper offers an approach for outlining the main dimensions surrounding clusters in three areas of knowledge: economic geography, strategic management and operations management, the first being considered its natural field of knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
The work was developed using the citation analysis technique as applied to a database of 627 articles and 22,980 citations, taken from 15 important journals in the areas selected.
Findings
The results proved that the theoretical and conceptual bases are unique to each of the areas studied and that they have few topics in common between them. They are complementary, however, and this facilitates their reconciliation.
Research limitations/implications
The sample base, despite considering fairly influential periodicals in the areas of knowledge selected, can be considered to be a limitation.
Originality/value
Common themes and different areas of knowledge surrounding the cluster concept were identified; despite being considered “common”, a more detailed examination of their content reveals very different, but certainly complementary emphases, which makes it possible to reconcile the areas of knowledge.
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Lina Dagilienė, Jurgita Bruneckienė, Robertas Jucevičius and Mantas Lukauskas
This paper aims to investigate theoretically and empirically the interactions between smart economic development (SED) and competitiveness in Central and Eastern European (CEE…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate theoretically and empirically the interactions between smart economic development (SED) and competitiveness in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The main argument to uphold here is that smartness approach has been traditionally more focused on smart urban planning and smart specialization.
Design/methodology/approach
An evaluation by index, correlation and significance analysis is used to present original empirical evidence from six CEE countries.
Findings
Smartness approach integration into economic development justifies the identification of SED determinants: basics (welfare, digitality, environmental, social responsibility) and enhancers (learning, networking, agility, innovations and knowledge-driven). The interaction between SED and countries’ competitiveness in CEE countries might be described by two approaches, namely, focus-based (several most important basics and enhancers) and balance-based (equal importance of basics and enhancers).
Research limitations/implications
The limitations relate to the particular sample of CEE countries and gathering opportunities of statistical data.
Practical implications
The combination of SED-Index sub-indices and WEF GCI might aid a more accurate ex ante measurement. Despite common global challenges, each country should choose its own combinations for smartness determinants to achieve long-term competitiveness.
Social implications
The findings are important for fostering smartness approach in economic development for long-term competitiveness.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to economic development literature by discovering basics and enhancers for SED. By linking well-known term of competitiveness and economic development with a concept of smartness, the new approaches, namely, focus-based and balance-based, to policy making in CEE countries emerged.