The above article, published online on 4 December 2015 in Wiley Online Library (), has been retracted by agreement between the author, the journal Editor in Chief, Professor Roberta Capello, and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to overlap between this article and the following article published in Belgeo, 'Paradigm change in regional policy : towards smart specialisation? Lessons from Flanders (Belgium)' by Ties Vanthillo and Ann Verhetsel. Belgeo [Online], 1-2 | 2012, Online since 04 December 2012, connection on 29 January 2016. URL: . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]