In this comprehensive original reference work, the editors have brought together an unrivalled group of distinguished scholars and practitioners to comment on the historical and contemporary role of industrial districts (IDs).

The engineering industry in Emilia-Romagna is a strategic asset for the development of Italy. What are the effects of the 2008 crisis on this industry in the region? What were the responses from companies? What questions for public policy emerge from the reading of the structural features of the...

We contribute to the debate on the assessment of the behavioural effects of policies by investigating which features of policy interventions in support of innovation networks, if any, improve the firms’ ability to form subsequent relationships. In order to do so, we analyse the evolution of...

The engineering industry in Emilia-Romagna is a strategic asset for the development of Italy. What are the effects of the 2008 crisis on this industry in the region? What were the responses from companies? What questions for public policy emerge from the reading of the structural features of the...

Greater understanding of what factors promote the formation of innovation networks and their successful performance would help policymakers improve the design of policy interventions aimed at funding R&D projects to be carried out by networks of innovators. In this paper, we focus on the...

While there has been some recent interest in the behavioural effects of policies in support of innovation networks, this research field is still relatively new. In particular, an important but under-researched question for policy design is “what kind of networks” should be supported, if the...

Recent developments in innovation theory and policy have led policymakers to assign particular importance to supporting networks of cooperation among heterogeneous economic actors, especially in production systems composed of small and medium enterprises. Such innovative policies call for...

We discuss how the outcomes of policy evaluation processes can provide valuable feedback in order to design more effective policy interventions. We address our analysis to policies directed at promoting innovation by fostering generative relationships among heterogeneous organizations. The...

Industrial districts – and especially industrial districts in Italy – have been put forth as a model of economic development premised on the deep rooting of firms in a local socio-economic system that is both rich in skills and tied into international flows of goods and knowledge. But there...

The linear model of innovation has been superseded by a variety of theoretical models that view the innovation process as systemic, complex, multi-level, multi-temporal, involving a plurality of heterogeneous economic agents. Accordingly, the emphasis of the policy discourse has shifted over...