Contextualizing agency in new path development: how system selectivity shapes regional reconfiguration capacity

Abstract

This paper examines factors shaping the reconfiguration capacity of regional innovation systems (RISs). ‘System selectivity’ is introduced as a concept to understand how factors such as regional imaginaries, power relations and directionality shape how RIS reconfiguration plays out. A comparative case study illustrates the conceptual arguments, investigating industrial change in two Swedish regions (the automotive industry in West Sweden and the digital games industry in Scania). The findings exemplify the influence of system selectivity on agents’ strategy formulation for RIS reconfiguration and highlight the importance of considering structure–agency dynamics to move beyond a stylized view of enabling or constraining RISs.