This book discusses the importance of innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems in supporting regional competitiveness. It also encourages academics, business professionals and policy-makers to rethink innovation ecosystems as drivers of regional competitiveness, demonstrating the complex interactions between regional economic and social actors, and their impact on regional competitiveness. Further, the book examines the role of entrepreneurship and innovation policies in different regions (e.g. lagging regions, rural regions, etc.), and describes critical success factors in multi-level technologies and innovation policies and strategies.

Autorentext

Luís Farinha is an Adjunct Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, and Assistant Professor and researcher at the University of Beira Interior (Portugal). He is the founder and Dean of the Regional Helix International Conference, and is Vice President of InovCluster, a nationally and internationally recognized center of excellence in the agro-industrial sector. He is the co-editor of two books: Handbook of Research on Global Competitive Advantage through Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Multiple Helix Ecosystems for Sustainable Competitiveness (Springer, 2016), and has published several journal articles and book chapters.

Domingos Santos is an Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (IPCB) in Portugal. He has been involved in several national and European research projects, and was the executive coordinator of the Center for Regional Development Studies at the IPCB, where he was responsible for defining and implementing the institution's innovation and entrepreneurship policy. He has been involved in the evaluation of public policies and programs in Portugal and was the executive coordinator of the Center for Regional Development Studies at IPCB. 

João J. Ferreira is an Associate Professor at University of Beira Interior, Portugal. He completed the European Doctoral Programme on Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. He is currently the scientific coordinator of NECE a research unit on business sciences. He has published several articles in international journals and has edited a number of international books.  Marina Ranga works with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre in Seville, Spain, and is also an Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw's School of Management. She has held academic positions at Stanford University and at several universities in Europe. She also carries out consultancy and evaluation work for the European Commission and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the UN Economic Commission for Europe, and national and regional government innovation agencies. She chairs the Strategic Advisory Board of Imperial College's Institute for Molecular Science and Engineering and is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities and of the Scientific Board of the University-Industry Innovation Network (UIIN).

Inhalt

1. Regional Helix Ecosystems and Economic Growth.- The role of universities in building dense Triple Helix Ecosystems in sparse regional environments.- Between good intentions and enthusiastic professors: the missing middle of university social innovation structures in the Quadruple Helix.- Why do publicly funded firms find the University more useful to innovate than others? Can we accomplish the RIS3 target?.-  Applying Regional VRIO Model to Island Regions: an Evaluation of RIS3.- Implications of urban sustainability, socio-ecosystems and ecosystem services.-  Regional Innovation Ecosystems: Tuning the Regional Engine's Helix Through Smart Specialization.- Regional industrial restructuring.- The Role of Clusters in the Smart Specialisation Process: The case of Inovcluster in Portugal.- Incubation: Does it make a difference after graduation? Analysis from Portugal