The Successful Transition to a Knowledge‐Based Development Path of a Less‐Developed Region

This paper presents the case of a less‐developed EU region—the Pomeranian region of Poland—that is, an example of the successful transformation from a command to market economy and the creation of a new knowledge‐based development path thanks to the upgrading of its innovation model. This successful transformation was based, in part, on the region's specific innovation policy and the activities of pro‐innovative institutions; however, other factors were also important such as the diversified structure of the region's economy. New knowledge‐based industries have developed in the region, while the potential of traditional industries that have gone through a restructuring, has been maintained. The factors that existed prior to the innovation model's transformation included such aspects as the high quality of human and social capital, a strong academic center, a high quality of life, and an open economy and society. Supply factors in the form of qualified personnel were crucial for the growth of employment in new industries and R&D that determined the improvement of the regional GDP per capita. Moreover, the transition to a knowledge‐based economy stimulated an increase in the concentration of population in the metropolitan area of Tri‐City.