Territorial Dynamic, Innovative Milieus and Regional Policy
Posted: 17 Nov 2009
Date Written: 1995
Abstract
Explores the significance of innovative milieus in regional economic development. Several approaches to the concept of milieu are considered- including micro-analytical, cognitive, and organizational approaches - but generally the concept of an innovative milieu suggests that territories are not merely supports of economic activity, as is often assumed, but the grouping together of economic players and resources that enables development processes. This concept is significant because it explains how regions have unexpectedly been able to autonomously develop their economies. Typically, an innovative milieu is successful if it is able to stimulate the local economy, create an innovation dynamic based on territory, and build up a network of new enterprises. In addition to having organized and linked economic, cultural, and technological structures, the innovative milieu is capable of opening up to the resources and opportunities of the outside world. Thus, territory is constructed rather than an a priori given, and this opens up valuable new opportunities for regional policy. Since interaction logic and a collective learning dynamic are common to all innovative milieus, regional policymakers can adapt organizational approaches and learning processes to a region to initiate the building up process. The territorial dimension of industry should be central to the study of innovation processes, especially for its usefulness to regional policy. (CJC)
Keywords: Innovation networks, Spatial analysis, Localization, Innovation process, Learning networks, Regional economies, Regional development, Regions, Regional policies, Industrial districts, Institutional alliances, Regional resources
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