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We aim for a better conceptualization of Mission-oriented Innovation Policy (MIP). Our starting point is an analytical decomposition of societal problems and innovative solutions based on the degrees of wickedness regarding three aspects: i) contestation, ii) complexity and iii) uncertainty. We argue that both problems and solutions can be diverging (contested, complex, uncertain) or converging (uncontested, well-defined, informed). Based on the resulting problem-solution topology, we suggest a process-oriented view on MIP and discuss three alternative pathways along which convergence between problems and solutions can be achieved to transform wicked problems into legitimate solutions. We illustrate the pathways with the examples of smoking bans, CCTV and wind energy. For policy makers, locating a societal challenge in this problem-solution space, and implementing policy strategies accordingly, is expected to accelerate both the legitimacy of a mission and the resulting solutions.

The emergence of Open Access (OA) publishing has created new economic niches and debates in academic publishing. OA journals offer numerous publication outlets with differing editorial philosophies and business models. Scholars and academic stakeholders must decide which journals offer acceptable value for the direct or indirect costs of academic publishing. Our research uses the Directory of Open Access Journals (N=12,100) to identify various characteristics of OA academic journals that influence journal prices. The Journal Impact Factor (JIF), language, publisher mission, DOAJ Seal, World Bank Economic and Geographic regions of publishers, peer review duration and journal discipline are identified as factors with significant influence over journal price levels. Journals with status endowments (JIF, DOAJ Seal), published in wealthier regions, in medical or science-based disciplines, and with English-based articles are relatively more expensive. Scholarly and political economic inequalities manifest in the prices and benefits offered by different journals and publishers throughout the world.

In this article, we discuss how economies’ established stronghold industries can form a basis for sustaining competitiveness. As changing market circumstances demand economic strongholds to stay adaptive, their knowledge bases need to be enriched continuously. Previous research has shown that experimentation based on bridging rich knowledge bases provides important opportunities for diversification. Inspired by insights from evolutionary economic geography, we argue why, rather than (only) focusing on related variety, economies should ‘cross-specialise’ by creating linkages between strong but unrelated industries. We discuss how policy makers can facilitate uncommon interactions by targeting cross-over industries or creating platform-like interfaces.

Several studies have identified positive effects of related variety among a region’s economic sectors on employment growth. However, the exact mechanisms through which knowledge spillovers between related sectors translate into employment growth are yet to be demonstrated. Entrepreneurship may be a possible transmission mechanism via which spillovers lead to the creation of new jobs. In this paper, we analyze novel pan-European regional survey data that distinguishes between opportunity- and necessity-driven entrepreneurs and we find that related variety has a positive effect on opportunity-driven entrepreneurship. In addition, we also find that different ‘varieties of capitalism’ influence regional entrepreneurship.

The debate on diffusion in social networks has traditionally focused on the structure of the network to understand the efficiency of a network in terms of diffusion. Recently, the role of social reinforcement has been added to the debate, as it has been proposed that simple contagions diffuse better in random networks and complex contagions diffuse better in regular networks. In this paper, we show that individual preferences cannot be overlooked: complex contagions diffuse better in regular networks only if the large majority of the population is biased against adoption.

Most transition studies are historical in nature and fail to arrive at prospective conclusions about future potential. In this paper we develop a new prospective transition framework, which revolves around the interplay between business models and socio-technical contexts. By looking at the dynamics of increasing returns, industry structure and the role of institutions, we analyze the upscaling potential of innovative bike sharing business models as introduced in Dutch cities over the past ten years (two-way station-based, one-way station-based, one-way free floating, and peer-to-peer sharing). We find that station-based business models are well institutionalized but harder to scale up, while the recent one-way free-floating model has the greatest scaling potential if institutional adaptations and geo-fencing technologies are successfully implemented. Peer-to-peer sharing is likely to remain a niche with special purpose bikes.

The success of Airbnb and Uber has given rise to a public debate about the pros and cons of online sharing and gig platforms. This article reports on five case studies of platforms operating in car sharing (SnappCar), home sharing (Airbnb), home restaurants (Airdnd), ride hailing (UberPop) and cleaning (Helpling). The article then puts the sharing and gig economy into a historical perspective to highlight that the platforms build on pre-existing social practices. and presents a policy framework based on four basic policy options: enforce existing regulations, enact new regulations, deregulate, or tolerate.

Causal relations between knowledge-intensive business services and regional employment growth. Regional Studies. This paper studies the causal relations between regional employment growth in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) and overall regional employment growth using German labour-market data for 1999-2012. Adopting a recently developed technique, it uses a structural vector autoregressive model in which the causal directions between KIBS and other sectors are examined including various time lags. Results show that although regional growth has a negative short-term effect on KIBS, KIBS growth has a long-term positive effect on the whole regional economy. This confirms the claim that KIBS can play a key role in regional policies.

this paper presents a comprehensive study of sectoral co-movements of employment growth in the entire dutch economy. We construct different macro typologies according to manufacturing versus services, innovativeness, labour skills and position in the value chain, thus expanding the list of potential logics of sectoral interrelations. Using a vector autoregression model, we assess whether and how growth in a macro-sector, and in a given region, can predict growth in the same or other macro-sectors, in the same or in other regions. Our findings bring to light the inter-regional nature of intersectoral linkages, as well as the existence of complementarities between sectors. Supporting the growth of innovative firms could have positive externality effects, especially in the knowledge-intensive business services sector which is associated with the growth of the entire economy.

The concept of a dominant design has taken on a quasi-paradigmatic status in analyses of the link between technological and industrial dynamics. A review of the empirical literature reveals a variety of interpretations about some aspects of the phenomenon such as its underlying causal mechanisms and its level of analysis. To stimulate further progress in empirical research on dominant designs, we advocate a standardization of terminology by conceptualizing products as complex artifacts that evolve in the form of a nested hierarchy of technology cycles. Such a nested complex system perspective provides both unambiguous definitions of dominant designs (stable core components that can be stable interfaces) and inclusion of multiple levels of analysis (system, subsystems, components). We introduce the concept of an operational principle and offer a systematic definition of core and peripheral subsystems based on the concept of pleiotropy. We also discuss how the proposed terminological standardization can stimulate cumulative research on dominant designs.

The paper explains the commonalities and differences between neoclassical, institutional and evolutionary approaches that have been influential in economic geography during the last couple of decades. By separating the three approaches in terms of theoretical content and research methodology, we can appreciate both the commonalities and differences between the three approaches. It is also apparent that innovative theorizing currently occurs at the interface between neoclassical and evolutionary theory (especially in modelling) and at the interface between institutional and evolutionary theory (especially in 'appreciative theorizing'). Taken together, we argue that Evolutionary Economic Geography is an emerging paradigm in economic geography, yet does so without isolating itself from developments in other theoretical approaches.

Joint Ph.D. projects are a prominent form of research collaboration, connecting universities to firms and public research organizations. When entering into such collaborations, partners need to make choices regarding a project’s governance. This paper investigates how a university and its partners govern such projects, including decision-making, daily management and disclosure policies. Earlier studies show that shared governance modes have had a higher success rate than centralized governance modes. Nevertheless, more than two thirds of the 191 joint Ph.D. projects we investigated opted for centralized rather than shared governance. Our findings show that: (1) geographical and/or cognitive distance render the adoption of a shared governance mode less likely; (2) the partner controlling critical resources tends to centralize governance, and (3) partnering firms are more likely to put restrictions on publication output than public research organizations. We therefore recommend that universities and their partners take these aspects into account when selecting such projects.

Faced with ever-increasing pressure to innovate, firms consider universities to be significant sources of knowledge. Such knowledge flow can take place in a variety of ways such as academic publications and contract research, but also in more collaborative modes such as joint research projects. This paper focuses on a specific collaborative model, in which firms and universities are involved together in a PhD project. We analyze the effects of project management, communication, and supervision characteristics on the success of such PhD projects using a survey conducted at Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. We conclude that management decisions, supervision and communication characteristics have a significant impact on the ultimate success of a project. Among other things, the choice of university supervisor plays a pivotal role. Success is more likely if there is joint decision-making by both university and partner. We believe our findings help universities and firms to collaborate successfully.

Following the study by Frenken et al. (2007) introducing the concept of related variety in regional economics, a number of studies have been undertaken to analyze the effect of related variety on economic development. The review of related variety research made clear that – although the evidence base is still rather small with about 15 studies – most studies find support for the initial hypothesis by Frenken et al. (2007) that related variety supports regional employment growth. We also reviewed the studies looking at branching, following the study by Hidalgo et al. (2007). That is, the process in which a region or countries develops comparative advantage in new industries. Also here it was found that if a region or countries already hosts industries that are related to a specific industry, it is much more likely to become specialized in that industry. We end with a number of further research questions regarding: i. methodology, ii. the role of unrelated variety in regional development, and iii. the need to analyze how related variety may spur innovation and entrepreneurship.

We compare the industrial dynamics in the core, semi-periphery and periphery in the Netherlands in terms of firm entry-exit, size, growth and location patterns. The contribution of our work is to provide the first comprehensive study on spatial differentiation in industrial dynamics for all firm sizes and all sectors, including services. We find that location patterns are largely consistent with the spatial product lifecycle model: traditional Fordist sectors are over-represented in the periphery, while sectors associated with the ICT paradigm are over-represented in the core, with the notable exception of science-based manufacturing. Second, where the industrial dynamics in manufacturing sectors follow the predicted patterns, the industrial dynamics in service sectors largely contradict product lifecycle theory. We conclude that the spatial product lifecycle theory applies well to traditional manufacturing, while more specific theories are required to understand the location and industrial dynamics of science-based industries and service industries.

Faced with ever-increasing pressure to innovate, firms consider universities as significant sources of knowledge. Such knowledge flow can take place in a variety of ways such as academic publications and contract research, but also more collaborative modes such as joint research projects. This paper focuses on a specific collaborative model, in which firms and universities are involved together in a Ph.D. project. We analyze the effects of project management, communication, and supervision characteristics on the success of such PhD projects using a survey conducted at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. We conclude that management decisions, supervision and communication characteristics have a significant impact on the ultimate success of a project. Among other things, the choice of university supervisor plays a pivotal role. Moreover, success is more likely if there is joint decision-making by both university and partner. We believe our findings help universities and firms to collaborate successfully.