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Relatedness in the implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategy: a first empirical assessment

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  • Diego D'Adda
  • Donato Iacobucci
  • Roberto Palloni

Abstract

Smart Specialisation Strategy required regional authorities to identify technological domains where to concentrate investment in R&D and innovation. Their choices should originate from an analysis of regional strengths, aiming to identify those domains with the greatest potential for innovation and diversification. This paper aim to assess the degree of relatedness between chosen technological domains. We use patent data to categorize technological domains and the revealed associations methodology to measure their degree of relatedness. We find that the choices made by Italian regions show a significant higher relatedness as compared to a random choice, though with notable exceptions. La Estrategia de Especialización Inteligente exigía a las autoridades regionales que identificaran los ámbitos tecnológicos en los que concentrar la inversión en I+D y la innovación. Sus elecciones deberían haber provenido de un análisis de las fortalezas regionales, con el fin de identificar los ámbitos con mayor potencial de innovación y diversificación. El objetivo de este artículo es evaluar el grado de relación entre los dominios tecnológicos elegidos. Se usan datos de patentes para categorizar los dominios tecnológicos y la metodología de asociaciones reveladas para medir su grado de relación. Se encontró que las elecciones realizadas por las regiones italianas muestran una relación significativamente más alta en comparación con una elección aleatoria, aunque con notables excepciones. スマートスペシャリゼーション戦略 (Smart Specialisation Strategy)では地方当局が研究開発とイノベーションに資金を集中させるべき技術領域を特定することを要件としている。イノベーションとダイバーシフィケーションの可能性が最も高い領域を特定するためには、当局の選択は地域の強度の分析を根拠としなければならない。本稿では、選択された技術領域間の関連度を評価する。特許に関するデータにより技術領域を分類し、明らかにされた関連性の方法によりその領域の関連度を測定する。イタリアの地域が選択した技術領域には、明らかな例外があるものの、ランダムな選択よりも有意に高い関連性が認められた。

Suggested Citation

  • Diego D'Adda & Donato Iacobucci & Roberto Palloni, 2020. "Relatedness in the implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategy: a first empirical assessment," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(3), pages 405-425, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:presci:v:99:y:2020:i:3:p:405-425
    DOI: 10.1111/pirs.12492
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    2. Rita Lankauskienė & Vitalija Simonaitytė & Živilė Gedminaitė-Raudonė & Jerker Johnson, 2022. "Addressing the European Green Deal with Smart Specialization Strategies in the Baltic Sea Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, September.
    3. L. Serafini & E. Marrocu & R. Paci, 2024. "Smart Strategies, Smarter Performance: the Impact of S3 and Industry 4.0 on Firms' Outcomes," Working Paper CRENoS 202403, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    4. Agnieszka Janik & Adam Ryszko & Marek Szafraniec, 2020. "Mapping the Field of Smart Specialisation and Regional Innovation Strategy Literature – A Bibliometric Analysis," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 655-673.
    5. Bangjuan Wang & Weisheng Mao & Junxian Piao & Chengliang Liu, 2023. "Does external linkage stimulate innovation capacity? The analysis based on “dual‐pipelines” framework," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(3), pages 613-633, June.
    6. Ron Boschma, 2021. "Global Value Chains from an Evolutionary Economic Geography perspective: a research agenda," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2134, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Nov 2021.
    7. Hafele, Jakob & Le Lannou, Laure-Alizée & Rochowicz, Nils & Kuhls, Sonia & Gräbner-Radkowitsch, Claudius, 2023. "Securing future-fit jobs in the green transformation: A policy framework for industrial policy," ZOE Discussion Papers 10, ZOE. institute for future-fit economies, Bonn.
    8. Ron Boschma, 2024. "An Evolutionary Approach to Regional Studies on Global Value Chains," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2402, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jan 2024.
    9. Francesco Foglia, 2023. "Is smart specialisation monopolising the research on the EU cohesion policy? Evidence from a bibliometric analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(2), pages 1001-1021, February.
    10. Roberta Capello & Andrea Caragliu, 2021. "Merging macroeconomic and territorial determinants of regional growth: the MASST4 model," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 66(1), pages 19-56, February.
    11. Aleksandra Kuzior & Iryna Pidorycheva & Viacheslav Liashenko & Hanna Shevtsova & Nataliia Shvets, 2022. "Assessment of National Innovation Ecosystems of the EU Countries and Ukraine in the Interests of Their Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-22, July.

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