This volume—which is a collection of published articles by the “Stra.Tech.Man Lab” research team—focuses on and examines the dynamics of local systems as the principal contributors to overall socioeconomic development. Our goal is to clarify that local development is a phenomenon that...

This article aims to critically review the advancements in the study of contemporary dynamics of local development under the prism of the analytical perspectives of growth poles and clusters. We proceed to a literature review of clusters and growth poles and attempt an analytical synthesis. The...

The conventional and traditional regional analysis seems to gradually changing focus, content and hermeneutic optic. The regional analysis of past seems increasingly saturated, being incapable to interpret and propose policy solutions that originate primarily from the potential of local...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to counter-propose a new approach of SWOT analysis, which can be used in the strategic planning of the contemporary organizations. Design/methodology/approach: This paper, after presenting the conceptual context of the existing (conventional) SWOT analysis,...

This chapter examines the conceptual evolution of national identity and specificity creation and promotion (nation branding), combining it with theoretical background and developments in the concept of competitiveness and attractiveness and suggesting a new interpretive framework for...

The study of spatial socio-economic development constitutes a significant field of analysis of innovation creation and diffusion. Understanding the spatial evolution of the different socio-economic systems in the age of globalization requires a synthesizing and integrated theoretical approach to...

It seems that the past paradigm of regional analysis gives its place progressively to the approach of the dynamics of local development since the evolving localities constitute the development motor behind innovation and the overall national competitiveness. This study aims to analyze recent...

Competitiveness and industrial policy seem to play a critical role in the development and mutation of different spatialized socio-economic systems. This article aims to review the literature on these two concepts and suggest a novel theoretical framework. First, we identify that, in the relevant...

A growing number of studies examine the concepts of competitiveness and industrial policy in combinatory terms. However, it seems that there is no study in the literature attempting to analyse the parallel and combined historical evolution of these two concepts. Therefore, this contribution aims...

The theories of growth poles and clusters occupy a prominent position in the debate of regional development and underdevelopment. This article aims to identify focal points of the concept of growth poles and the analytical model of clusters by trying to distinguish differences as well as...