Regional Innovation Systems in Sweden
Regional Innovation Systems in Sweden

Summary/Abstract: Over the past two decades, social scientists and governments have been payingmore and more attention to regions as designated sites of innovation and competitivenessin the globalizing economy. Thus, innovation and innovation systemsare becoming increasingly interesting to policy‐makers as ways of achieving theireconomic and social goals. Europe 2020, the European Union’s key strategyfor the current decade, aims to foster a smart, sustainable, and inclusive economy.“Innovation has been placed at the heart of the strategy”, as it providesthe “best means of successfully tackling major societal challenges” (EuropeanCommission 2010, p. 2). The new age of capitalism requires a new kind of region.In effect, regions are increasingly defined by the same criteria and elementswhich comprise a knowledge-intensive firm: continuous improvement, new ideas,knowledge creation and organizational learning (Florida 2003, p. 236). Theincreased policy and research interest in regional clusters and innovation systemsreflects the growing significance of the regional level, and the importanceof specific and regional resources, for stimulating the innovation capability andcompetitiveness of firms. The social and interactive practice of innovation alsopoints to the importance of the relationship between the firm and its environment.The learning economy perspective affirms that learning and innovation are localized,not placeless processes (Storper 1997). Thus, it emphasizes that innovationis a territorially-embedded process, based not only on resources that are placespecific but also on social and institutional contexts (Asheim, lsaksen 2002). Thispaper describes the role of innovations in Sweden and Swedish regions in developmentand growth, mainly by analysing the concept of regional innovationsystems. Moreover, the actors and associations from the innovation system perspectiveare pointed out in the article. An analysis of the policy documents anda literature overview was the basis of the empirical material. Data comes fromthe OECD and EUROSTAT databases.

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