Unpacking smart specialization strategies: how collective policy-making processes shape the direction of regional strategies

Abstract

Regional strategies, such as smart specialization strategies, can set the course for future diversification. Despite its importance, surprisingly little is known about how the underlying policy-making process affects the direction of regional strategies, i.e. the priority areas that regions aim to promote. As a consequence, the underlying reasons why certain regions have difficulties in developing adequate future-oriented strategies remain concealed. The purpose of this article is to provide a framework to unpack the policy-making process of regional strategy development and link it to the policy outcomes. The conceptual elaborations highlight that only by considering the features of this policy-making process, distributed across various actors with heterogenous interests and capabilities, can we explain why regions favour the promotion of certain types of path development over others.