Marta Gancarczyk - Böcker

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.

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.

Clusters are considered crucial nodes in the ongoing transformation of international value chains (IVCs). Due to technological advancements and external shocks, such as pandemic and political conflicts, value chains (VCs) have been spatially and functionally shortening, and clusters are well suited to address the resulting demand for more diversified and higher value-adding activities in geographical proximity, such as European economic area. However, clusters differ in their positions and capability to advance in IVCs, which induces the research problem of the conditions for cluster upgrading (CU). This monograph aims to develop a theoretical framework for regional CU and empirically verify this framework based on ICT clusters in Europe. It advances the theory of upgrading by linking the VC governance and capability approaches, broadening the empirical evidence on the conditions of CU, and providing policy recommendations. The unique value of the findings from research and practice results in the identification of the determinants for CU and conceptualizes them into new theoretical constructs of the sufficient Framework Conditions and the necessary and sufficient Public-Private Knowledge Governance. Our empirical basis is European clusters in ICT, an industry being one of the Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) for innovation and VC transformation.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Clusters are considered crucial nodes in the ongoing transformation of international value chains (IVCs). Due to technological advancements and external shocks, such as pandemic and political conflicts, value chains (VCs) have been spatially and functionally shortening, and clusters are well suited to address the resulting demand for more diversified and higher value-adding activities in geographical proximity, such as European economic area. However, clusters differ in their positions and capability to advance in IVCs, which induces the research problem of the conditions for cluster upgrading (CU). This monograph aims to develop a theoretical framework for regional CU and empirically verify this framework based on ICT clusters in Europe. It advances the theory of upgrading by linking the VC governance and capability approaches, broadening the empirical evidence on the conditions of CU, and providing policy recommendations. The unique value of the findings from research and practice results in the identification of the determinants for CU and conceptualizes them into new theoretical constructs of the sufficient Framework Conditions and the necessary and sufficient Public-Private Knowledge Governance. Our empirical basis is European clusters in ICT, an industry being one of the Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) for innovation and VC transformation.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Environmental changes and related public policies require an energy-focused sustainable industrial transformation (SIT) that reconciles economic, environmental, and social objectives. Local energy clusters are conducive to these transformative processes since they represent institutional structures that link key actors and factors in territorial communities to form niches for the green transition. However, SIT policies at the local level are in a nascent stage, and empirical evidence on these processes remains scarce. Furthermore, it is necessary to advance a conceptual background for SIT and identify the development conditions for territorial energy communities. In response to these theory- and policy-related challenges, this monograph aims to conceptualize the role of energy cluster policies in SIT using an institutional approach, as well as to identify the progress of the energy cluster policies and the development stages, drivers, and obstacles of local energy clusters. The author’s empirical basis will be Polish energy clusters analyzed against international policies and experience in territorial energy communities.This book provides unique value by developing an institutional analytical framework for energy cluster policies, identifying the conditions for the development of energy clusters, and proposing actionable policy recommendations in this area.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.