Review of Regional Research - Call for Papers – Special Issue: Regional Innovation Policies

Regions and firms have long faced complex global competition, which has affected their growth potential, while also having expectations to handle social, economic, and ecological sustainability. In recent years, the world has been characterized by a pandemic, a war in Ukraine, and a subsequent economic recession. This has left a deep mark on the world economy and has accelerated the challenges regions and firms face at present.

In times of crisis and accelerating challenges, innovation, and renewal are key to creating new opportunities for growth. However, this type of reallocation of resources, and unleashing of creativity puts pressure on existing national and regional innovation systems. Policymakers are called to enhance the functioning of the system and to inspire radically new trajectories addressing these intensified challenges in the short, medium, and long-run perspectives. From this perspective, incentives for breakthrough inventions as well as exaptation opportunities may be boosted through different forms of collaboration and networking activities. That implies new and strengthened linkages between different parts of the innovation system but also between growing regions and those behind.

We welcome submissions related to regional innovation policy, in relation, but not limited, to the following themes:

• Innovation in time of crisis: outcome, determinants, and likelihood.
• Knowledge accessibility, competence provision and innovation.
• The role of innovations for sustainable development (social, economic, or environmental).
• Regional aspects of entrepreneurship and innovation.
• Geography of innovation.
• Innovation in different institutional contexts.
• Digitalization in a regional context.
• Evaluation of innovation policies.

We welcome contributions that develop innovative approaches in analysis, concepts, theory, and/or methods, and could have relevance to form future general as well as place-specific strategies for regional growth.

Please take note of the following requirements if you wish to have your paper considered for the Special Issue:

• The content of the paper must conform to the terms of reference of the Review of Regional Research
• All papers submitted will be subject to the normal mutually anonymous peer-review process undertaken by the journal
• Submitted papers must not be under review by any other journal

For further information about the journal and author guidelines, visit

https://www.springer.com/journal/10037 (this opens in a new tab)

Submit your work by the 20th of January 2024 at

https://www.editorialmanager.com/jfre (this opens in a new tab) 

Guest Editors: 

 Lina Bjerke, Jönköping International Business School, Sweden, Lina.Bjerke@ju.se (this opens in a new tab)

 Helena Nilsson, Jönköping University, Center for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics, Sweden, Helena.Nilsson@ju.se (this opens in a new tab)

 Deborah Strumsky, Jönköping University, Center for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics, Sweden, deborah.strumsky@ju.se (this opens in a new tab)