IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i7p3685-d524467.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Smart Specialisation Strategies for Elevating Integration of Cultural Heritage into Circular Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Jermina Stanojev

    (Department of Art History, Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Christer Gustafsson

    (Department of Art History, Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden)

Abstract

The smart specialisation approach is becoming a strategic instrument for identifying regions’ opportunities for growth and sustainable development. It is a place-based approach and plays an important role in benchmarking regional competitiveness. To have a smart specialisation strategy has been thought of as a key factor in making a choice for investment. Smart specialisation strategies represent a policy measure to overcome disorganised and weak parallel activities in developed EU countries and offer support to those areas that have research, technological and production capacity to carry out particular activities. Smart specialisation strategies, therefore, follow the socio-economic situation in countries and their integrated technological, institutional and business processes. The EU Member States and regions recognised that supporting a limited number of well-identified priorities for knowledge-based investments and/or clusters could advance, focusing on competitive assets and realistic growth capabilities reinforced by a critical mass of action and entrepreneurial resources. However, the role of culture and cultural heritage has not been significant in these processes. As the policy review revealed that circular economy should be considered as a broader sustainable development strategy, which should also “support Member States and regions to strengthen innovation for the circular economy through smart specialisations”, the purpose of this paper is to lay a basis for a new, stronger complementarity between culture, cultural heritage and adaptive reuse practices, and circular economy concepts through smart specialisation strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Jermina Stanojev & Christer Gustafsson, 2021. "Smart Specialisation Strategies for Elevating Integration of Cultural Heritage into Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-22, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:3685-:d:524467
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/3685/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/3685/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dominique Foray, 2016. "On the policy space of smart specialization strategies," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(8), pages 1428-1437, August.
    2. de Vries, Bert J.M. & Petersen, Arthur C., 2009. "Conceptualizing sustainable development: An assessment methodology connecting values, knowledge, worldviews and scenarios," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 1006-1019, February.
    3. Ron Boschma, 2014. "Constructing Regional Advantage and Smart Specialisation: Comparison of Two European Policy Concepts," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(1), pages 51-68.
    4. Joks Janssen & Eric Luiten & Hans Renes & Eva Stegmeijer, 2017. "Heritage as sector, factor and vector: conceptualizing the shifting relationship between heritage management and spatial planning," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(9), pages 1654-1672, September.
    5. Luigi Fusco Girard & Francesca Nocca, 2019. "Moving Towards the Circular Economy/City Model: Which Tools for Operationalizing This Model?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-48, November.
    6. Sandra Fatorić & Robbert Biesbroek, 2020. "Adapting cultural heritage to climate change impacts in the Netherlands: barriers, interdependencies, and strategies for overcoming them," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 301-320, September.
    7. Henning Kroll, 2015. "Efforts to Implement Smart Specialization in Practice--Leading Unlike Horses to the Water," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(10), pages 2079-2098, October.
    8. Roberta Capello & Henning Kroll, 2016. "From theory to practice in smart specialization strategy: emerging limits and possible future trajectories," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(8), pages 1393-1406, August.
    9. Philip McCann & Raquel Ortega-Argil�s, 2015. "Smart Specialization, Regional Growth and Applications to European Union Cohesion Policy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(8), pages 1291-1302, August.
    10. Monica Coffano & Dominique Foray, 2014. "The Centrality of Entrepreneurial Discovery in Building and Implementing a Smart Specialisation Strategy," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(1), pages 33-50.
    11. Zengwei Yuan & Jun Bi & Yuichi Moriguichi, 2006. "The Circular Economy: A New Development Strategy in China," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 10(1‐2), pages 4-8, January.
    12. Roberto Capello, 2014. "Smart Specialisation Strategy and the New EU Cohesion Policy Reform: Introductory Remarks," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(1), pages 5-13.
    13. Alan Murray & Keith Skene & Kathryn Haynes, 2017. "The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Concept and Application in a Global Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 369-380, February.
    14. Will McDowall & Yong Geng & Beijia Huang & Eva Barteková & Raimund Bleischwitz & Serdar Türkeli & René Kemp & Teresa Doménech, 2017. "Circular Economy Policies in China and Europe," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 651-661, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Viola Fabi & Maria Pilar Vettori & Emilio Faroldi, 2021. "Adaptive Reuse Practices and Sustainable Urban Development: Perspectives of Innovation for European Historic Spa Towns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-24, May.
    2. Christer Gustafsson & Elisabetta Lazzaro, 2021. "The Innovative Response of Cultural and Creative Industries to Major European Societal Challenges: Toward a Knowledge and Competence Base," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-20, November.
    3. Wei Cao & Yaqi Zhang & Jian Liu, 2025. "Circular Economy in Chinese Heritage Conservation: Upcycling Waste Materials for Sustainable Restoration and Cultural Narrative Revitalization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Monika Szopińska-Mularz & Anna Prokop & Milena Wikiera & Wiktoria Bukowy & Fredrik Forsman & Sol Vikström, 2025. "Adaptive Reuse of Urban Structures as a Driver of Sustainable Development Goals: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-28, May.
    5. Christopher Meyer & Laima Gerlitz & Monika Klein, 2022. "Creativity as a Key Constituent for Smart Specialization Strategies (S3), What Is in It for Peripheral Regions? Co-creating Sustainable and Resilient Tourism with Cultural and Creative Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-31, March.
    6. Chun Zhu & Kaixuan Liu & Xiaoning Li & Qingwei Zeng & Ruolin Wang & Bin Zhang & Zhao Lü & Chen Chen & Xiaoyu Xin & Yunlong Wu & Junjie Zhang & Xianyi Zeng, 2022. "Research on Archaeology and Digital Restoration of Costumes in DaoLian Painting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-11, October.
    7. Riccardo Armillei & Bruce Wilson & Jessica Reeves, 2025. "Embedding a Circular Economy through Local Government in Gippsland: A Case Study, Utilising Smart Specialisation Methodology," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 851-871, April.
    8. Martina Bosone & Pasquale De Toro & Luigi Fusco Girard & Antonia Gravagnuolo & Silvia Iodice, 2021. "Indicators for Ex-Post Evaluation of Cultural Heritage Adaptive Reuse Impacts in the Perspective of the Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-29, April.
    9. Matthias Ripp & Christer Gustafsson & Zachary Jones & Sushobhan Majumdar & Manal Ginzarly, 2025. "Historic Urban Landscapes and Heritage Systems as the Basis for Sustainable Urban Development," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Evgeniy Kutsenko & Ekaterina Islankina & Alexey Kindras, 2018. "Smart by Oneself? An Analysis of Russian Regional Innovation Strategies within the RIS3 Framework," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 12(1), pages 25-45.
    2. László Szerb & Raquel Ortega‐Argilés & Zoltan J. Acs & Éva Komlósi, 2020. "Optimizing entrepreneurial development processes for smart specialization in the European Union," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(5), pages 1413-1457, October.
    3. Pierre-Alexandre Balland & Ron Boschma & Joan Crespo & David L. Rigby, 2017. "Smart Specialization policy in the EU: Relatedness, Knowledge Complexity and Regional Diversification," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1717, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2017.
    4. David L. Rigby & Christoph Roesler & Dieter Kogler & Ron Boschma & Pierre-Alexandre Balland, 2019. "Do EU regions benefit from smart specialization?," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1931, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Nov 2019.
    5. Biagi, Bianca & Brandano, Maria Giovanna & Ortega-Argiles, Raquel, 2021. "Smart specialisation and tourism: Understanding the priority choices in EU regions," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    6. Ron Boschma, 2021. "Designing Smart Specialization Policy: relatedness, unrelatedness, or what?," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2128, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2021.
    7. E. Marrocu & R. Paci & D. Rigby & S. Usai, 2020. "Smart Specialization Strategy: any relatedness between theory and practice?," Working Paper CRENoS 202004, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    8. Laima Gerlitz & Christopher Meyer & Christopher Meyer & Gunnar Prause & Gunnar Prause, 2020. "Methodology approach on benchmarking Regional Innovation on Smart Specialisation (RIS3): a joint macro-regional tool to regional performance evaluation and monitoring in Central Europe," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 8(2), pages 1359-1385, December.
    9. Suarsana, Laura & Schneider, Tina & Warsewa, Günter, 2023. "Do regional innovation strategies meet societal challenges? A comparative analysis across regions in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and Finland," Schriftenreihe Institut Arbeit und Wirtschaft 40/2023, Institut Arbeit und Wirtschaft (IAW), Universität Bremen und Arbeitnehmerkammer Bremen.
    10. Andrea Cecchin & Roberta Salomone & Pauline Deutz & Andrea Raggi & Laura Cutaia, 2021. "What Is in a Name? The Rising Star of the Circular Economy as a Resource-Related Concept for Sustainable Development," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 83-97, June.
    11. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Callum Wilkie, 2015. "Institutions and the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process for Smart Specialization," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1523, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2015.
    12. Isabel Mendes, 2020. "The Circular Economy: an Ancient Term that Became Polysemic," Working Papers Department of Economics 2020/02, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Universidade de Lisboa.
    13. Kirchherr, Julian & Reike, Denise & Hekkert, Marko, 2017. "Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 221-232.
    14. Fiore, Annamaria, 2016. "A three dimensional approach to regional Smart Specialization Strategy; An application to Puglia Region," MPRA Paper 83905, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Chia‐Hao Ho & Steffen Böhm & David Monciardini, 2022. "The collaborative and contested interplay between business and civil society in circular economy transitions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(6), pages 2714-2727, September.
    16. Marco Di Cataldo & Vassilis Monastiriotis & Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose, 2022. "How ‘Smart’ Are Smart Specialization Strategies?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(5), pages 1272-1298, September.
    17. Susanna Vanhamäki & Satu Rinkinen & Kati Manskinen, 2021. "Adapting a Circular Economy in Regional Strategies of the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, February.
    18. Gnekpe, Christian & Plantec, Quentin, 2023. "Regulatory push-pull and technological knowledge dynamics of circular economy innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    19. 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.
    20. Jukka TERÄS & Alexandre DUBOIS & JENS SÖRVIK & MARTINA PERTOLDI, 2015. "Implementing Smart Specialisation in Sparsely Populated Areas," JRC Research Reports JRC98691, Joint Research Centre.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:3685-:d:524467. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.