The role of critical conjunctures in regional path creation: a study of Industry 4.0 in the Silesia region

Abstract

Conceptualizations of path creation proposed in recent years neglect the role of time and temporal mechanisms. This paper argues that a more comprehensive understanding of inter-path relations that incorporates both agency and relationships among temporal sequences can be achieved using the concept of critical conjuncture, which is overlooked in the contemporary path-creation literature. This paper draws on a case study of the industrial region of Upper Silesia, Poland, where a new regional trajectory is emerging as the result of the unpredicted critical conjuncture of the endogenously driven path of the information technology services sector and the exogenous foreign direct investment-based path of the automotive industry.