In present digital times the focus is on globalization and the dynamics and complexities that it creates. However, in spite of being dominated by technology the world remains populated by human beings practising a localized everyday life. This contrast should challenge every researcher who is concerned with business and societal development and how that is contingent upon the institutional and cultural (national) context. In this book, Swedish researchers reflect upon entrepreneurship as a possible mediator between local and global economic and social concerns. Using as a point of departure the tensions between a functional, footloose rationale and a territorial rationale tied to place, the authors provide different aspects on regional development in a globalised world. A shared concern is the importance of recognizing the many appearances of entrepreneurship that brings it beyond being an innovative force in the market. The book thus presents different strategies and tactics for pursuing localized economic development and it also critically reviews adopted public support programmes and measures of the (local) business climate. The conclusive message is that only by bridging the functional and territorial views will it be possible to sustain, and possibly enhance, economic and social life in local places as well as in our shared world. This book was originally published as a special issue of European Planning Studies.

The role of social capital in regional development is a multifaceted topic which is studied all over the world using various methods and across numerous disciplines. It has long been evident that social capital is important for regional development, however, it is less clear how this works in practice. Do all types of social capital have the same effects and are different kinds of regions impacted in the same way? This book is the first to offer an overview of this rapidly expanding field of research and to thoroughly analyse the complex issue of social capital and regional development.

Migrant women stepping into ethnic catering; homeless men employed to take care of bees producing honey for sale; young people on the edge getting microcredit funding to start social businesses; or former criminals joining forces to create social and economic structures for an honest lifestyle. These initiatives capture the transformative power of social enterprise and might indicate how social enterprises have the potential to make a difference for people and societies. The Nordic countries represent an interesting case. Social enterprises and co-operatives played a significant part in paving the way for the Nordic solicaristic welfare state. As the welfare state grew, civil society organizations and co-operatives lost ground, to a certain extent. But in recent decades, the welfare state has been restructured and, simultaneously, the concepts social entrepreneurship and social enterprises have gained attention. The Nordic context, with extensive public welfare structures and a high degree of citizens’ participation in public affairs, might affect the emergence of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises.

Europe has its strength in regional cultural diversity. However, current debates surrounding globalisation and the integration of markets tend to focus on the homogenisation of cultures, whilst the emergence of vital and innovative regional cultures has typically been neglected. This edited collection addresses this gap, considering relevant questions such as how strategies, orientations, values and symbols help a company to become aware of its location, and how different regional cultures are of interest to particular types of companies. The book’s central focus is the interaction of regional and corporate cultures; how different cultures come together, shape each other and change. The volume takes an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together research from cultural science, regional science, social science and economics. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal European Planning Studies.

The introduction of endogenous growth theory has led to new interest in the role of the entrepreneur as an agent driving technical change at the local regional level. This book examines theoretical and methodological issues surrounding the interface of the entrepreneur in regional growth dynamics on the one hand and on the other presents illuminating case studies. In total the book's contributions amplify understanding of such critical issues as the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship, the entrepreneur's role in transforming knowledge into something economically useful, and knowledge commercialization with both conceptual and empirical contributions. The emergence of endogenous growth theory has unleashed a flurry of new hypotheses and related inquiries that have in turn created an exciting dynamic in the conceptual, theoretical and empirical foundations of the field. A central feature has been the recognition that local initiatives matter in how regions grow and adjust to changes and shocks. Moreover, it is the role of technical change, driven by entrepreneurs, that motivates these initiatives. This volume begins by outlining and explaining the theory and method behind entrepreneurship and development. This is followed by specific case studies of practice and policy. These cases are region specific, offering the reader concrete, empirically based research results. Scholars and students in economics, entrepreneurship and public policy will find this volume a valuable tool in understanding the latest research in regional economic development.

This is the first book dedicated exclusively to the question of the relationships between sustainability and the capability approach. It is rather astonishing that the issue of sustainability first posed by the Brundtland commission in 1987 has gained so little attention from capability scholars despite the approach’s focus on human well-being. This book starts with a seminal contribution by Sen on the "Ends and Means of Sustainability" delivered as a keynote in 2000. All contributions to the book focus on the difficulties that arise from a freedom-oriented view of sustainability: they argue for taking note of the impact of human life on nature, they question the meaning of intergenerational justice when measured in the currency of "substantive freedoms" (capabilities), they raise the issue of collective responsibility and suggest ways to model and operationalize the capability approach to sustainable development. The book presents the state of the art concerning "The capability approach and sustainability" while admitting that it is only a first contribution to a growing field that deserves our attention: Defining what is to be sustained and asking how it can be sustained. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities.

Holistic Innovation Policy puts forward a novel framework for the design and analysis of innovation policy. It provides a theoretically anchored foundation for the design of holistic innovation policy by identifying the core problems that tend to afflict innovations and the activities of innovation systems, including the unintended consequences of policy itself. As most of the current innovation policies focus on few determinants of innovation processes, this is a necessary stepping stone for the identification of viable, relevant, and down-to-earth policy solutions. Rather than presenting a recipe or 'how-to' guide, this book offers a critical analysis of policy instruments and their choice in innovation policy design, and considers the ways in which policy might be providing solutions to problems in systems of innovation. Exploring areas such as knowledge production and R&D, education, training and skills development, demand-side activities, interaction and innovation networks, changing institutions and regulations, and the public financing of early stage innovations, its critical and novel perspective serves policy-makers, scholars, and those interested in the design of innovation policy.