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Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues Open access
Journal Impact FactorTM (2023) 1.2 Q4
Journal Citation IndicatorTM (2023) 0.33 Q3
Received: 2024-02-11  |  Accepted: 2024-05-27  |  Published: 2024-06-30

Title

An Actor-Network Theory conceptualization for smart specialization strategies (S3): creative brokerage towards sustainability transition


Abstract

Smart Specialisation Strategies, their planning and implementation are becoming more important in Europe's transition but also bring up several challenges, especially when it comes to complex innovation processes and requirements arising from the call for sustainable development on several levels. Even though the concept of Smart Specialisation has been elaborated on in a lot of research, the literature still lacks sufficient theoretical justification for the policy concept, resulting in a gap between theory and practice in terms of Smart Specialisation Strategy design and implementation. In this context, this paper provides cross-linkages to evidentially drivers of sustainability transition such as social innovation, cross-border cooperation, Entrepreneurial Discovery Processes and creative innovation. The exploration of synergies towards these concepts under S3 is still scant. The conducted research is based on an extensive literature review and uses a comparative analysis of Smart Specialisation and Actor-Network Theory. By applying Actor-Network Theory within Smart Specialisation Strategy research discourse, known problems of the concept might be overcome, Entrepreneurial Discovery Processes can be improved, and critical concepts for sustainability transition can be well incorporated into S3 understanding. In this, conducted research is also breaking new ground in theoretical conceptualization by providing the analysis and crosslinks of Actor-Network Theory with Smart Specialisation Strategies. Moreover, the integration of essential aspects towards sustainability transition under S3 can be enabled through the Actor-Network Theory application as it opens further research streams to be integrated into Smart Specialisation, such as social innovation and creative industries.


Keywords

economic theory, regional innovation, research and innovation strategies, entrepreneurial discovery process, creative brokerage, cultural and creative industries, cross-border cooperation, social innovation, quadruple-helix


JEL classifications

O30 , O43 , P25


URI

http://jssidoi.org/jesi/article/1209


DOI


Pages

368-386


Funding


This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Authors

Meyer, Christopher
Hochschule Wismar, University of Applied Sciences, Technology, Business and Design, Wismar, Germany https://www.hs-wismar.de
Articles by this author in: CrossRef |  Google Scholar

Journal title

Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues

Volume

11


Number

4


Issue date

June 2024


Issue DOI


ISSN

ISSN 2345-0282 (online)


Publisher

VšĮ Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, Vilnius, Lithuania

Cited

Google Scholar

Article views & downloads

HTML views: 598  |  PDF downloads: 306

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