abstract

The regional literature of the last decades has been characterized by an extended debate on the role of regional diversification compared to specialization as a driver of innovation. In this context, the smart specialization framework has recently developed a balanced perspective by emphasizing the role of related diversification of the regional portfolio. Nevertheless, most of the empirical research on the topic has investigated the intensity rather than relevance of technological progress. This article contributes to this framework by exploring the breakthrough performance of European regions. In particular, by focusing on industry–region pairs in place of regions as a whole, the article attempts to claim that the ability to produce breakthrough inventions is higher in multispecialized clustered regions, since it depends on both the specialization of industries and the technological relatedness to the clustered industries of the region. The implications at the level of regional policies are huge, given that the potential of unrelated competitive industries might remain largely unexploited, and diversification in related, although not competitive, industries risks being unprofitable.

摘要

过去几十年的区域文献的特点是，与作为创新驱动力的专业化相比，区域多元化的作用展开了广泛的辩论。在此背景下，智能专业化框架最近通过强调区域投资组合相关多元化的作用，形成了一种平衡的观点。尽管如此，关于该主题的大多数实证研究都调查了技术进步的强度而不是相关性。本文通过探索欧洲地区的突破性表现为该框架做出贡献。特别是，通过关注产业-区域对而不是整体区域，文章试图声称在多专业集群区域中产生突破性发明的能力更高，因为它取决于产业的专业化和与该地区集群产业的技术相关性。考虑到不相关的竞争性产业的潜力可能在很大程度上仍未被开发，相关产业的多元化虽然没有竞争力，但存在无利可图的风险，因此区域政策层面的影响是巨大的。