Implementation challenge of smart specialisation innovation strategies in catch-up regions: the role of institutions, governance and capacity building
View/ Open
Date
08/07/2019Author
Papamichail, George
Metadata
Abstract
This thesis examines public policy implementation in catch-up regions through
the analytical lens of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3). Smart specialisation is a
regional innovation strategy, introduced in 2010 as the main European cohesion policy
to promote economic convergence. Empirical research shows that catch-up regions
encounter major difficulties in putting S3 theory into practice. The need to understand
why S3 development cannot be taken for granted, brings into focus the
implementation challenge of smart specialisation, which is currently associated with
weaknesses in building responsive governance models, thick institutions and strong
research capabilities for innovation-driven growth.
This study investigates S3 challenges in two European catch-up regions: Crete
and Central Macedonia. It builds upon a conceptual framework that brings together
elements from regional innovation studies with institutional and capacity building
theories, aiming to investigate public policy implementation barriers in two Greek
regions which have been in fiscal crisis for over a decade. It suggests that S3 barriers
derive from a much wider knowledge gap in regional studies, already existing before
the introduction of smart specialisation as a development strategy. This gap rests on
the lack of empirical understanding of what governance and institutional change is
required in lagging regions to tackle the regional innovation paradox: how change
impacts on economic growth, when change must be initiated to be feasible and
realistic, and what capabilities are needed to support change for regional renewal and
development. To operate the conceptual framework, a qualitative case study approach
has been designed, using evidence from academic, public and private local actors with
a key role in developing S3. Primary data were collected by means of fifty semstructured
interviews; participant observation was also used as a complementary
method. Secondary data were gathered from a detailed documentary analysis of
official textual sources.
The thesis demonstrates the implementation challenge of smart specialisation,
extending previous studies which examine S3 development in lagging regions. In
contrast to much literature, it shows that S3 barriers are not simply due to weakness of
catch-up regions to build research capacities, but also to non-smart specialisation-related
barriers, yet highly influential on policy implementation. Such barriers include
critical mass accumulation problems, public-sector administrative burden and lack of
public-private trust. They are institutional and capacity building-related, and they
should not been seen, in conceptual terms, as a precondition to effective S3
implementation. Rather, they are the result of a concurrent existence of weak policy
governance models, limited institutional autonomy for regional self-governance and
lack of transformative capacities for structural shifts.
Two contributions to knowledge are made. Firstly, the research contributes to
bottom-up theoretical understanding of regional policy development by showing that
S3 debate should no longer be just about improving research capacities, but about how
to best understand and address opportunities and challenges emerging from bringing
together institutional integration, policy governance advances and capacity building
improvements. Particularly, it evidences that S3 challenge needs to be examined and
understood through a concurrent analysis of the ways in which governance, institutions
and capabilities embedded in the wider environment of a region are related and
evolved. Secondly, it contributes to the further advancement of regional studies, by
providing a practical understanding of how to best develop S3 in practice. A three-stage
policy implementation model is developed to support innovation strategists to search
for an S3 implementation mix that best corresponds to their own needs.