The smart specialization approach has guided regional innovation policies in Europe for roughly a decade. However, the policy practice under the approach has met considerable criticism which suggests the existence of significant gaps between the conceptual level and the level of policy implementation. To explain and understand the reasons for these gaps, this article proposes an institutionalist perspective rooted in neo-institutional sociology. In particular, the article draws on concepts such as ceremony, myth, and isomorphism and argues that such an institutionalist perspective can provide one of several fields of further research on the political economy of regional innovation policy. Pursuing such research is particularly relevant to inform policymaking in the coming years, given the current tendency to re-orient smart specialization towards challenge orientation, directionality, normativity, and sustainability.

中文翻译：

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智能专业化的制度主义视角：走向区域创新政策的政治经济学

大约十年来，智能专业化方法指导了欧洲的区域创新政策。然而，该方法下的政策实践遭到了相当多的批评，这表明在概念层面和政策执行层面之间存在着重大差距。为了解释和理解这些差距的原因，本文提出了一种植根于新制度社会学的制度主义观点。特别是，本文借鉴了仪式、神话和同构等概念，并认为这种制度主义视角可以提供对区域创新政策的政治经济学进一步研究的几个领域之一。进行此类研究对于为未来几年的政策制定提供信息尤其重要，