Global production networks and regional innovation systems: contrasting or complementary policy implications?

ABSTRACT

This paper contributes to the recent debate between two important streams within current economic geography and regional studies: global value chains/global production networks theories, and regional innovation system theory. Based on the review of key literature, the authors first identify the key conceptual differences between these two streams and then provide a comparative overview of their policy implications. Thereafter, the authors show that considerable space for mutual inspiration in conceptual as well as policy terms exists, especially between the notions of strategic coupling and the new path development model. Moreover, the authors suggest six additional arenas of mutual conceptual and policy-relevant inspiration between these two streams as avenues for future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Global production networks
• global value chains
• regional innovation systems
• new path development model
• strategic coupling

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the editor and both referees for their encouraging insights.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 A search in Google Scholar (October 15, 2021) yielded 43,700 results for 'regional innovation systems', 59,400 results for ‘global value chains’, and 28,900 results for ‘global production networks’.

Additional information

Funding

Research Council of Norway (Centre for the study of innovation policy for industrial transformation, sustainability and digitalization - INTRANSIT), grant number 295021); Grant Agency of The Czech Republic: [grant number 19-03754S].