Revitalizing Regional Industries Through Public Innovation Intermediaries: A Multi-Stage Evaluation of the Maritime Open Lab Model

As regional industrial hubs face structural decline, the “Regional industrial resurrection (RIR)” model emerges as a critical solution to bridge systemic deficits in capital, talent, and infrastructure via public Open Labs. This study evaluates the Busan maritime Open Lab’s performance (2021–2022), focusing on representative SMEs strategically selected for their active infrastructure utilization and their capacity to provide verifiable quantitative, qualitative, and economic evidence. Technologically, the intervention facilitated significant advancements, including drastic improvements in operational efficiency for ship reverse engineering, the acquisition of the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries award, enhanced capabilities in maritime structure and water engineering, and the successful commercialization of immersive AR, VR, and DT contents. Economically, these firms realized over 3.3 million USD in consolidated revenue, achieving a robust +66.4% growth rate based on a constant exchange rate to isolate macroeconomic volatility. Socially, the model generated 11.5 verified new jobs, while qualitative surveys confirmed a 100% satisfaction rate for expert-led technical advisory, validating the Lab’s role as an essential innovation intermediary. Finally, by comparing this framework with global intermediary models, the study proposes tailored regional expansion strategies and highlights the necessity of future quasi-experimental research to objectively isolate long-term causal impacts.