Category
regional-innovation-systems
1650 entries tagged regional-innovation-systems.
Articles — 1603
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Enhancing Rural Innovation in Canada
OECD Rural Studies report examining Canada's rural innovation ecosystem — the actors, funding flows, and policy levers that shape innovation in rural and remote regions, with comparative international benchmarks. Verify exact publication year on the cover.
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Innovation and Networking in Peripheral Areas — a Case Study of Emergence and Change in Rural Manufacturing
Case study of rural manufacturing in a peripheral region, tracing how innovation and networking emerge and change. Foundational reference for thinking about innovation systems beyond core regions.
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Rural innovation system: Revitalize the countryside for a sustainable development
Proposes a 'rural innovation system' framework drawing on new growth theory, institutional theory, and innovation systems theory, with three pillars: technology innovation, institutional/management innovation, and community-based network/intermediary platforms. Compares rural and urban innovation systems.
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A Primer on Innovation, Learning, and Knowledge Flows
Working paper from Memorial University connecting New Regionalism, knowledge flows, and learning to rural and regional economic development. Frames the region as the locus where competitive advantage is distilled from social and institutional assets.
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Applicability of Territorial Innovation Models to Declining Resource-Based Regions: Lessons from the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland
Tests how well established territorial innovation models (regional innovation systems, learning regions, etc.) travel to declining resource-based rural regions, using Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula as the case.
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Regional Innovation Systems in the Periphery: The Case of the Beauce in Québec (Canada)
Survey-based study of 45 SMEs in the Beauce region of Quebec asking how innovation actually happens in a peripheral regional innovation system, where actors are less diversified than in oft-cited core regions like Silicon Valley or Emilia-Romagna.
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Enhancing agricultural innovation : how to go beyond the strengthening of research systems
Strong research systems alone don't guarantee agricultural innovation. This paper argues that innovation depends on interactions among all actors in the agricultural sector—not just scientists. The authors develop a framework for diagnosing innovation capacity and planning interventions based on eight case studies. They identify what drives innovation and propose generic interventions that build capacity to innovate across entire agricultural systems.
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Why do Social Innovations in Rural Development Matter and Should They be Considered More Seriously in Rural Development Research? – Proposal for a Stronger Focus on Social Innovations in Rural Development Research
Social innovations—new organizational forms, practices, and services—are critical drivers of rural development but remain underexamined in rural research. The author defines social innovation conceptually, models its process, and argues that weak social innovation capacity constrains rural community vitality in developed countries. An actor-oriented network approach offers a promising methodology for studying how social innovations emerge and function in rural contexts.
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Rural Marginalisation and the Role of Social Innovation; A Turn Towards Nexogenous Development and Rural Reconnection
Rural areas across Europe face increasing marginalization despite EU development policies, with gaps widening between prosperous and struggling regions. This paper examines whether social innovation can combat rural decline. Through three case studies, the author identifies distinctive features of rural social innovation: reliance on civic self-organization due to state withdrawal, and cross-sectoral collaboration. The paper proposes a new framework called nexogenous development, emphasizing socio-political reconnection as a driver of rural revitalization beyond traditional endogenous or exogenous approaches.
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Rural entrepreneurship or entrepreneurship in the rural – between place and space
This paper distinguishes two ideal types of entrepreneurship in rural areas. The first type—entrepreneurship in the rural—pursues profit-driven, mobile ventures with weak local ties. The second type—rural entrepreneurship—leverages local resources and maintains deep place-based connections, showing greater commitment to staying and optimizing local development. Both contribute to rural economies, but place-embedded ventures demonstrate superior potential for sustainable local growth.
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Beyond agricultural innovation systems? Exploring an agricultural innovation ecosystems approach for niche design and development in sustainability transitions
This paper argues that agricultural innovation systems need to adopt an ecosystems approach to better support sustainability transitions. The authors show that innovation ecosystems thinking enhances traditional approaches by emphasizing power dynamics, including diverse actors and ecological factors, and enabling cross-sector collaboration. This framework enables design of transboundary innovation niches that support sustainable agriculture across multiple scales and paradigms.
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Towards a Better Conceptual Framework for Innovation Processes in Agriculture and Rural Development: From Linear Models to Systemic Approaches
This paper argues that agricultural innovation requires moving beyond linear, technical models to systemic approaches that recognize farming's multifunctional role. The authors identify gaps between societal demands for change and farmers' capacity to innovate, showing that technical and economic factors alone cannot explain innovation processes. They propose that successful innovation emerges from collaborative networks where social and institutional factors, farmer knowledge, motivations, and values drive change. Extension services and institutions often become barriers when they fail to recognize shifted farmer and societal needs.
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Social innovation in rural development: identifying the key factors of success
Social innovation succeeds in rural development through three layers of factors: overall innovation process conditions, the actor network's operational space, and participation mechanisms. Most success factors resist external control, but rural policy can influence the room to maneuver available to innovation actors. Top-down steering of social innovation proves ineffective, questioning whether policymakers can instrumentalize social innovation for rural development.
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Rural entrepreneurship in Europe
Rural entrepreneurship in Europe operates within a distinct territorial context shaped by physical geography, social capital, networks, and governance structures. The authors argue that rurality itself functions as a dynamic entrepreneurial resource, creating both opportunities and constraints. They present entrepreneurship as a three-stage sequential process influenced by specific territorial characteristics and propose a research agenda addressing both theoretical understanding and policy development for supporting rural entrepreneurs.
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Strengthening agricultural innovation capacity: are innovation brokers the answer?
Innovation brokers—intermediaries who connect actors in agricultural systems—emerge as key players in strengthening innovation capacity. Using Dutch agriculture as a case study, the paper argues that brokers facilitate interaction between farmers, researchers, and other stakeholders. The authors conclude that innovation brokerage works in developing countries too, but requires public investment and supportive policies that enable local embedding and institutional learning.
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Resources and bridging: the role of spatial context in rural entrepreneurship
Rural entrepreneurs succeed by leveraging local resources and building connections beyond their immediate area. This study of 28 ventures identifies two key strategies: using place-specific assets and bridging to external networks. The research reveals that rural entrepreneurs are more diverse than previously recognized, and that spatial context significantly shapes how they operate and create value for their communities.
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Twenty Years of Rural Entrepreneurship: A Bibliometric Survey
This bibliometric analysis of 181 articles on rural entrepreneurship reveals the field remains underdeveloped theoretically despite growing research interest. Rural entrepreneurship research concentrates in Europe, particularly the UK and Spain, and focuses on organizational characteristics, policy, and governance. Empirical work emphasizes developed nations like the UK, USA, and Finland. The authors argue that weak theoretical foundations limit the field's progress and call for expanded research in less developed countries where rural entrepreneurship holds significant potential.
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Transformative social innovation for sustainable rural development: An analytical framework to assist community-based initiatives
This paper develops an analytical framework for understanding how local community initiatives and government structures work together to achieve sustainable rural development. Using a Costa Rica case study, the authors identify that successful social innovation requires 'bottom-linked governance'—where actors across different political levels and sectors share decision-making. They find that bridging roles (network enabler, knowledge broker, resource broker, conflict resolver, vision champion) and power-sharing are critical for social innovation to scale up and transform governance systems.
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Capacity development for agricultural biotechnology in developing countries: an innovation systems view of what it is and how to develop it
Agricultural biotechnology capacity in developing countries requires more than building research infrastructure and human capital. Using an innovation systems framework, this paper argues that countries must develop broader innovation capacity—the ability to use knowledge productively. The author examines six capacity development approaches and concludes that effective policy must take a multidimensional approach that integrates diverse innovation systems strategically.
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INNOVATION PLATFORMS: EXPERIENCES WITH THEIR INSTITUTIONAL EMBEDDING IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT
Innovation Platforms bring farmers, researchers, and stakeholders together to drive systemic agricultural innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. The paper finds that successful platforms require fundamental institutional changes within agricultural research organizations—including new mandates, incentives, procedures, and funding structures. Without these changes, platforms risk becoming superficial rebranding of traditional technology-focused approaches rather than enabling genuine paradigm shifts toward system-oriented development.
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Pathways for impact: scientists' different perspectives on agricultural innovation
Agricultural scientists often misunderstand how their research reaches farmers and creates real-world impact. This paper examines five pathways for agricultural innovation—technology transfer, farmer-driven innovation, market-induced innovation, participatory development, and innovation systems—and argues that scientists must better understand these mechanisms to improve smallholder productivity and reduce rural poverty. The author calls for changes in scientific training, promotion criteria, and funding to embed impact thinking into agricultural research professionalism.
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Exploring market orientation, innovation, and financial performance in agricultural value chains in emerging economies
This study examined 190 actors in Vietnam's beef cattle value chain to understand how market orientation drives innovation and financial performance. Market orientation itself did not directly improve performance, but customer orientation and inter-functional coordination within the chain significantly boosted innovation. Innovation then directly improved financial performance. The findings reveal how agricultural value chains in emerging economies can leverage internal coordination and customer focus to drive profitability.
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Rural entrepreneurship in place: an integrated framework
Rural entrepreneurship requires a different analytical approach than agglomeration-based theories used in urban contexts. The authors develop a place-sensitive framework that identifies the specific conditions enabling entrepreneurship in rural communities. This meso-level framework helps policymakers and researchers understand rural entrepreneurial places holistically, moving beyond generic ecosystem models to address the distinct characteristics of rural contexts.
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In-migrant entrepreneurship in rural England: beyond local embeddedness
In-migrant entrepreneurs in rural England rely less on local networks and resources than locally-born business owners. Instead, they draw on national and international connections for materials, capital, and markets. This enables them to integrate rural economies into broader markets but weakens local community ties and may undermine rural localities as cohesive entities.
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Advances in Knowledge Brokering in the Agricultural Sector: Towards Innovation System Facilitation
Agricultural extension has evolved from pushing research findings to farmers toward collaborative models that recognize innovation emerges from interactions among multiple actors. Knowledge brokers now facilitate systemic change by building linkages and creating enabling contexts for technical, social, and institutional innovation. This innovation systems approach applies beyond agriculture to other sectors, requiring knowledge brokers to move beyond research uptake to broader innovation facilitation activities.
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RAAIS: Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Innovation Systems (Part I). A diagnostic tool for integrated analysis of complex problems and innovation capacity
RAAIS is a diagnostic tool that analyzes complex agricultural problems by examining institutional, technological, and socio-cultural dimensions across multiple levels. It assesses innovation capacity within agricultural systems and identifies constraints affecting farmers, government, and researchers. The tool combines qualitative and quantitative methods to find entry points for innovation. Testing in Tanzania and Benin on parasitic weed problems in rice production demonstrated its effectiveness.
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Developing entrepreneurship and enterprise in Europe's peripheral rural areas: Some issues facing policy-makers
This paper examines policies supporting rural entrepreneurship across ten European peripheral areas. It categorizes existing policies, identifies lessons from their implementation, and highlights barriers to enterprise development. The authors argue that peripheral rural regions need more strategic, coordinated policy approaches to build entrepreneurial capacity and clarify enterprise's role in future rural development.
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Beyond knowledge brokering: an exploratory study on innovation intermediaries in an evolving smallholder agricultural system in Kenya
In Kenya's agricultural sector, 22 intermediary organizations support smallholder innovation through roles beyond knowledge distribution. These organizations foster interaction among diverse actors and drive technological, organizational, and institutional change. The study identifies four intermediation arrangements: technology broker, systemic broker, enterprise development support, and input access support. Innovation brokering requires policy support but should avoid one-size-fits-all approaches.
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Systemic problems affecting co-innovation in the New Zealand Agricultural Innovation System: Identification of blocking mechanisms and underlying institutional logics
This study identifies systemic barriers preventing co-innovation in New Zealand's agricultural sector, where farmers, researchers, and other actors should jointly drive technological and social change. The analysis reveals three main blocking mechanisms: competitive science operating in isolation, hands-off government innovation policy, and science-dominated approaches. These institutional barriers persist across many countries and prevent co-innovation principles from being adopted in agricultural policy. The paper argues that transformative policy instruments are needed to overcome these entrenched structures.
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Local Embeddedness and Rural Entrepreneurship: Case-Study Evidence from Cumbria, England
Rural entrepreneurs in Cumbria, England operate within complex local contexts that extend beyond simple geographic boundaries. The paper challenges the assumption that economic activity depends primarily on territorial embeddedness. Instead, it shows that locality functions through multiple dimensions of social connection and context. The research demonstrates how entrepreneurs navigate between local place-based factors and broader networks, requiring policymakers to move beyond territorial approaches to understanding rural economic development.
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Social network analysis of multi-stakeholder platforms in agricultural research for development: Opportunities and constraints for innovation and scaling
Multi-stakeholder platforms in Burundi, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of Congo show structural weaknesses that limit their innovation and scaling capacity. Social network analysis reveals that NGOs dominate while the private sector is underrepresented, connections between local and higher government levels are weak, and influential actors often remain disconnected. Organizations central to knowledge exchange attract collaboration, but innovation scaling occurs mainly within single organization types rather than across different sectors.
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Fitting in and Multi‐tasking: Dutch Farm Women's Strategies in Rural Entrepreneurship
Dutch farmwomen starting new income-generating activities adopt a distinctive entrepreneurial approach characterized by fitting new work into existing family and farm responsibilities rather than expanding operations aggressively. Research from 1995–2001 shows women deliberately multi-task and prioritize family stability over business growth. However, when women experience successful work-life balance and financial rewards, they expand their enterprises. Current rural development policies fail farmwomen because they promote male-typical entrepreneurial models rather than supporting women's actual strategies.
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Self-employment and entrepreneurship in urban and rural labour markets
Self-employment, business creation, and innovation correlate strongly in urban areas but not in rural areas. Rural workers become self-employed more often in weak labour markets, yet this doesn't translate to entrepreneurship. When accounting for local labour market conditions, the rural gap disappears. The findings suggest self-employment in rural areas reflects necessity rather than genuine entrepreneurship, unlike in cities where these measures align.
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Enterprise across the digital divide: information systems and rural microenterprise in Botswana
Rural microenterprises in Botswana lack ICT access and rely on informal, social, and local information systems. While these systems work well in many respects, they limit entrepreneurs' connections and opportunities. The paper argues that shared telephone services should be the priority for breaking this isolation, with ICTs playing a supporting role through intermediary organizations that provide finance, skills, and knowledge alongside technology.
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Sustainable intensification of agricultural systems in the Central African Highlands: The need for institutional innovation
This study examines agricultural innovation in the Central African Highlands using an agricultural innovation systems approach. The research finds that constraints to sustainable intensification are primarily economic and institutional—caused by weak policies, poor market access, limited financial resources, and ineffective stakeholder collaboration. The authors conclude that 69% of constraints require institutional innovation, particularly improved credit access, services, and markets. They argue that current research and development investments focus too narrowly on farm-level productivity, neglecting the institutional and natural resource management innovations needed at national and regional levels.
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The Rural Creative Class: Counterurbanisation and Entrepreneurship in the Danish Countryside
Well-educated urban professionals move to rural Denmark to start small businesses, seeking less stressful lives while maintaining careers. Initially, most businesses serve metropolitan markets in media and business services. Over time, these enterprises evolve into regional lifestyle businesses that blend urban-sector work with local market adaptation, reducing travel to cities. While their local impact remains limited, they extend regional networks and provide organizational energy across broader areas.
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Innovation Systems, Institutional Change And The New Knowledge Market: Implications For Third World Agricultural Development
This paper applies information theory to analyze innovation systems in developing countries, focusing on agricultural poverty. It argues that Third World agricultural research and development requires fundamental institutional reform, not just technological fixes or policy adjustments. The author examines knowledge markets in industrialized countries as models and contends that without restructuring institutions—particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa—technological innovations cannot reach their economic potential.
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Identifying social innovations in European local rural development initiatives
This paper examines social innovation in European rural development by analyzing community-led local development initiatives across five countries. Using a Schumpeterian framework, the authors identify how new resource combinations create social value in rural areas. They find distinct processes and outcomes that generate positive change, and argue these insights should inform the design and evaluation of future rural development policies and programmes.
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Structural Conditions for Collaboration and Learning in Innovation Networks: Using an Innovation System Performance Lens to Analyse Agricultural Knowledge Systems
This study examines structural conditions in eight European agricultural innovation systems that enable or block collaboration and learning in multidisciplinary networks. Using an Innovation System Failure Matrix, researchers identified key barriers including insufficient funding, fragmentation between actors, and weak evaluation criteria for collaborative networks. The findings show each country's system has distinct features, requiring tailored policy approaches rather than one-size-fits-all solutions for promoting collaboration.
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From Digital Divide to Social Inclusion: A Tale of Mobile Platform Empowerment in Rural Areas
A mobile platform called WeCountry reduces China's rural digital divide by improving digital capability and user skills. The platform empowers villagers across structural, psychological, and resource dimensions, enabling political inclusion, social participation, and economic inclusion. Platform providers and government partnerships prove essential for bridging the divide and achieving social inclusion in rural areas.
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Digitalisation in the New Zealand Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System: Initial understandings and emerging organisational responses to digital agriculture
Agricultural knowledge providers in New Zealand understand digital agriculture primarily as farm-focused, despite its broader disruptive potential. Organizations respond with ad-hoc adaptations to capabilities and services rather than strategic planning. The study reveals that uncertainty about digital agriculture's early development drives reactive rather than proactive approaches. Agricultural innovation systems should better support knowledge providers in developing deliberate digitalization strategies that anticipate future scenarios and reshape business models.
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Romancing the rural: Reconceptualizing rural entrepreneurship as engagement with context(s)
Rural entrepreneurship research often romanticizes rural contexts in misleading ways. This paper argues that understanding rural entrepreneurship requires examining how entrepreneurs actually engage with the specific contexts that define rural areas, rather than relying on idealized notions of rurality. The authors propose new methods to better understand rural entrepreneurial processes through context-focused analysis.
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Understanding place-based entrepreneurship in rural Central Europe: A comparative institutional analysis
This study examines how local institutions shape entrepreneurial behavior in rural Central Europe across five countries. The researchers find that normative and cognitive institutions—like social norms and shared beliefs—matter more than formal regulations in driving entrepreneurship. The fit between different institutional types determines whether entrepreneurial practices emerge in specific locations. Entrepreneurs in rural transition and non-transition contexts adopt different strategies based on place-specific institutional conditions.
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Creative Outposts: Tourism's Place in Rural Innovation
Tourism drives innovation in rural communities by fostering social capital and enabling local entrepreneurs to diversify their economies. A case study of Jokkmokk, an Arctic village, reveals that tourism firms and local institutions co-evolve through loose, project-based networks. Tourism acts as a catalyst for institutional change and strengthens community leisure spaces, helping rural communities survive and thrive as complementary coping strategies.
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Implications of the digital divide on rural SME resilience
Rural SMEs in Wales face reduced resilience during economic crises due to the digital divide. While broadband infrastructure investments improved connectivity, many rural businesses still lack reliable digital connections. Distance from urban areas significantly predicts poor connectivity, limiting businesses' ability to diversify activities and develop resilience. The pandemic accelerated digital-dependent business operations, leaving poorly connected rural SMEs more vulnerable.
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Community-driven social innovation and quadruple helix coordination in rural development. Case study on LEADER group Aktion Österbotten
Social innovations in rural areas emerge through collaboration between universities, industry, government, and civil society—the quadruple helix model. This study of Finland's LEADER programme shows that community-driven projects succeed when local knowledge combines with external actors' expertise. Cultural events, nature activities, and social gatherings strengthen community identity and spark entrepreneurial ventures in tourism and social services. Local community involvement proved decisive for project success.
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Public-private partnerships as systemic agricultural innovation policy instruments – Assessing their contribution to innovation system function dynamics
Public-private partnerships function as systemic policy tools within agricultural innovation systems. This study evaluates four Dutch agricultural PPPs by examining how they influence innovation system functions and feedback loops, rather than just direct organizational benefits. The research reveals that different PPP types have varying strengths and weaknesses as systemic instruments and different capacities to coordinate other policy tools, depending on whether they target sustainability or international competitiveness.
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Broadband Internet and New Firm Location Decisions in Rural Areas
Broadband deployment significantly increases where new firms choose to locate in rural areas. Using a difference-in-differences approach that controls for location-specific factors, the researchers found that broadband availability positively influences new firm entry decisions. The effect is strongest in more densely populated rural areas and those near metropolitan regions, indicating that broadband's impact on firm location grows stronger where agglomeration economies are present.
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The rural university campus and support for rural innovation
Rural university campuses in the UK can contribute to local innovation systems, but face significant challenges. Campuses pursuing narrow disciplinary specialization can engage niche industry clusters, though development takes years. Those focused on broad educational access struggle to connect with business. The paper concludes that using new campuses to boost rural innovation requires long-term commitment and may conflict with goals of expanding higher education access.
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Agricultural Innovation Systems: An Investment Sourcebook
This World Bank reference guide explains agricultural innovation systems and their key components. It emphasizes that successful systems require collaboration through national coordination, innovation networks, market access, and farmer organization capacity. Agricultural education and training are critical for building human resources that enable these systems to function effectively.
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‘Recession push’ and ‘prosperity pull’ entrepreneurship in a rural developing context
This study examines how access to non-farm wage employment affects rural entrepreneurship in central Vietnam. Using household survey data from 110 communes, the authors distinguish between opportunity entrepreneurs (those pursuing business ventures) and necessity entrepreneurs (those driven by lack of alternatives). They find that better access to non-farm jobs increases opportunity entrepreneurship but does not reduce necessity entrepreneurship. This supports the 'prosperity pull' hypothesis: economic growth attracts entrepreneurs, while poverty-driven entrepreneurship persists regardless of job availability.
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The new harvest: agricultural innovation in Africa
This review examines agricultural innovation across Africa, analyzing how farmers develop and adopt new farming practices and technologies. The paper discusses the conditions enabling innovation in African agriculture, including access to resources, knowledge systems, and institutional support. It argues that understanding local innovation processes is essential for improving agricultural productivity and food security in rural African communities.
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Foresighting Australian digital agricultural futures: Applying responsible innovation thinking to anticipate research and development impact under different scenarios
Australian researchers used foresighting workshops to explore how digital technologies will shape agriculture's future and identify social and ethical implications. Participants developed four scenarios based on resource security and farm business model changes. The analysis reveals that reflexivity in research and development is essential to ensure digital agriculture benefits farming communities equitably and addresses potential inequities in technology adoption across value chains.
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Economic growth and broadband access: The European urban-rural digital divide
Broadband access drives economic growth differently in European urban and rural regions. Lower-speed broadband boosted growth in both areas but with weaker effects in rural regions. High-speed broadband significantly accelerated rural economic growth while having no impact in cities. Rural high-speed expansion shows increasing returns to scale and represents critical infrastructure for rural development, supporting policies to close the urban-rural digital divide.
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Innovation gaps in Scandinavian rural tourism
Rural tourism in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden has significant growth potential, but five innovation gaps prevent its realization: portfolio limitations, fragmented policy, knowledge deficits, weak change motivation, and misaligned resource interpretation. Consumer surveys reveal that new customer groups, especially from Germany, demand higher-quality, diversified products like outdoor activities and cultural events. Rural tourism businesses innovate slowly despite having assets to expand offerings without losing authenticity. The gap between customer expectations and spending patterns partly explains this sluggish innovation.
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Entrepreneurship Within Urban and Rural Areas: Creative People and Social Networks
Creativity drives entrepreneurship in urban areas but not rural areas, despite urban environments being more competitive and supportive. Social networks prove especially critical for rural entrepreneurs, likely because rural areas have stronger personal ties but fewer institutional support systems. Creativity itself does not improve survival rates for new businesses in either setting.
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Shaping agricultural innovation systems responsive to food insecurity and climate change
Agricultural innovation systems must adapt to climate change and food insecurity by learning from smallholder farmers' strategies in developing countries. The paper examines three regional cases and identifies four key features that strengthen food security: recognizing agriculture's multiple functions, ensuring access to diversity for resilience, building decision-maker capacity at all levels, and maintaining sustained commitment to farmer well-being. These insights guide policymakers in reshaping innovation systems.
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Entrepreneurship and rural economic development: a scenario analysis approach
This paper demonstrates how scenario analysis helps rural policymakers and entrepreneurs understand barriers to small business growth and economic development. Researchers in Mid Wales used structured scenario development with stakeholders to build shared understanding of uncertainties affecting rural entrepreneurship. The findings show that effective rural enterprise support must be tailored to local context and account for diverse external factors.
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Marketing and innovation: Useful tools for competitiveness in rural and peripheral areas
Rural entrepreneurship drives competitiveness in peripheral areas, but low population density creates obstacles. The paper argues that innovative rural firms succeed by adopting niche marketing strategies tailored to their organizational context. This approach lets rural businesses capitalize on emerging social trends. The author offers policy recommendations to support this model.
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Exploring business models for open innovation in rural living labs
Living Labs are user-centered innovation environments where rural communities collaborate with stakeholders to develop solutions through rapid prototyping. The paper identifies critical business model design elements needed to sustain these partnerships while protecting intellectual property. It provides practical guidance on structuring open innovation initiatives that balance collaborative development with commercial interests, enabling rural regions to benefit from participatory innovation.
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European Rural Development under the Common Agricultural Policy's ‘Second Pillar’: Institutional Conservatism and Innovation
The EU's Rural Development Regulation, launched in 2000 as the Common Agricultural Policy's second pillar, aimed to promote sustainable rural development through decentralized, participative delivery and multi-sectoral approaches. A European study found that institutional conservatism hindered effective implementation of these new principles. The authors argue that further institutional adaptation is necessary for success and identify lessons from EU regional policy that could improve future CAP reforms.
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Advancing Rural Entrepreneurship in Rwanda Through Informal Training – Insights From Paulo Freire’s <i>Pedagogy of the Oppressed</i>
Informal entrepreneurship training through village savings and loan associations in rural Rwanda empowers participants to make better decisions and improve their livelihoods. Using Paulo Freire's pedagogy framework, the study shows how CARE International's train-the-trainer approach and peer dialogue at weekly meetings create both economic and socio-cultural value. This qualitative research reveals how VSLAs emancipate rural entrepreneurs beyond just financial outcomes.
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Rural Poverty Alleviation Strategies and Social Capital Link: The Mediation Role of Women Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation
Women entrepreneurs in rural Ghana's agribusiness sector leverage social capital from formal and informal networks to reduce poverty. The study of 333 women entrepreneurs found that women's entrepreneurial growth directly alleviates rural poverty, while social innovation and relational social capital strengthen this effect. Policymakers should expand women's entrepreneurial opportunities in agribusiness to combat rural poverty in developing countries.
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Conceptualising the DAIS: Implications of the ‘Digitalisation of Agricultural Innovation Systems’ on technology and policy at multiple levels
Digital technologies are transforming agriculture, raising critical questions about data ownership, privacy, and governance. This paper examines Australia's Digiscape Future Science Platform and argues that agricultural industries need proactive policy frameworks and stakeholder forums to manage digital innovation systems effectively. The authors propose that deliberate attention to societal values in technology policy can help agriculture capitalize on digitalization opportunities while mitigating risks.
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Social Innovation and Sustainable Rural Development: The Case of a Brazilian Agroecology Network
The Ecovida Agroecology Network in Southern Brazil demonstrates how social innovation drives rural development. This network of farming families, NGOs, and consumer organizations created innovations in horizontal governance, participatory organic certification, and local market relationships. These innovations influenced public policy and strengthened rural-urban cooperation, showing that collaborative food networks can challenge industrial agriculture while meeting consumer demand for healthy food.
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Sustainable primary health care services in rural and remote areas: Innovation and evidence
Rural and remote Australia has developed innovative primary health care models that work when tailored to local conditions and supported by aligned governance, funding, and workforce systems. Success requires coordination across government levels, clear service benchmarks, and national information systems to monitor outcomes. These evidence-based approaches can guide global health system reform to deliver sustainable care in hard-to-reach communities.
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Theory and application of Agricultural Innovation Platforms for improved irrigation scheme management in Southern Africa
Agricultural Innovation Platforms enable small-scale irrigation scheme actors in Southern Africa to collaborate, experiment, and learn together. By fostering interaction between previously disconnected subsystems and stakeholders, these platforms build adaptive capacity, increase market-oriented production, and help farmers escape poverty more effectively than traditional infrastructure-focused interventions.
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Economic and Social Sustainable Synergies to Promote Innovations in Rural Tourism and Local Development
A rural tourism network in southern Italy demonstrates how territorial collaboration strengthens local development. The initiative connected local producers with quality-conscious consumers, reduced transaction costs, and increased competitiveness in tourism and production chains. The case reveals that rebuilding trust and social capital through traditional and hybrid institutions—supported by research organizations—is essential for rural areas to develop sustainable tourism and achieve broader socio-economic growth.
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Agricultural Extension, Collective Action and Innovation Systems: Lessons on Network Brokering from Peru and Mexico
Extension services in Peru and Mexico show that fostering agricultural innovation requires more than collective action alone. Peru's approach, using NGO brokers and trusted local farmers called Kamayoq, successfully built innovation networks among diverse value chain actors. Mexico's linear seed-transfer model created collective action but no innovation networks. The research concludes that extension must combine collective action with active networking to shift from technology transfer toward genuine agricultural innovation systems.
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Rural Financial Development Impacts on Agricultural Technology Innovation: Evidence from China
Rural financial development significantly boosts agricultural technology innovation in China. The study of 31 Chinese provinces from 2003 to 2015 shows that rural finance efficiency drives innovation in low-marketization regions, while rural finance scale matters more in high-marketization regions. Stronger agricultural technology innovation subsequently supports rural economic development.
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How does energy matter? Rural electrification, entrepreneurship, and community development in Kenya
Rural electrification in Kenya increases household income and entrepreneurial activity. Communities with electricity access formed more new micro-enterprises than control sites. Access to power enhances individuals' future expectations and business opportunities. Women-led households benefit more from electrification than men-led ones, though income gaps persist. The findings support resource-based entrepreneurship theory and suggest electrification should be central to development policy in areas with limited electricity access.
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Determinant factors for the development of rural entrepreneurship
Rural entrepreneurship in Spain depends on market opportunities rather than unemployment rates. R&D investment and available credit encourage rural business creation. Surprisingly, highly educated professionals are less likely to start rural ventures than those with secondary education. The findings suggest policymakers should focus on innovation funding, credit access, and employment policies to revitalize rural economies and combat depopulation.
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Unpacking systemic innovation capacity as strategic ambidexterity: How projects dynamically configure capabilities for agricultural innovation
Agricultural innovation projects succeed by strategically balancing exploitation of existing capabilities with exploration of new ones across multiple levels of innovation systems. The authors studied two New Zealand projects addressing lamb survival and sustainable land management, finding that project actors must configure resources and capabilities across individual, organizational, and network levels to overcome capability gaps and break unhelpful path dependencies. Effective projects require dedicated facilitators for reflexive monitoring and alignment with innovation policies supporting sustainable development goals.
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Provoking identities: entrepreneurship and emerging identity positions in rural development
This ethnographic study of a declining rural community over six years reveals how entrepreneurship reshapes local identity and agency. Entrepreneurs challenged dominant narratives by repositioning their community's assets—locality, history, and place—as resources rather than liabilities. Four key tensions (change versus tradition, rational versus irrational, spectacular versus mundane, individual versus collective) shaped how local actors negotiated new identity positions and opportunities through entrepreneurial action.
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Public-private sector partnerships in an agricultural system of innovation: Concepts and challenges
Public-private partnerships in agriculture face institutional barriers rooted in trust, habits, and practices rather than technical obstacles. The paper argues partnerships succeed when embedded within local agro-enterprise networks that drive rural development. Building social capital within agricultural innovation systems, tailored to local contexts, is essential for overcoming these constraints and enabling effective collaboration between public research organizations and private actors.
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Transitions in water harvesting practices in Jordan’s rainfed agricultural systems: Systemic problems and blocking mechanisms in an emerging technological innovation system
Water harvesting innovation in Jordan's rainfed agriculture faces three major barriers: insufficient funding, fragmented government vision, and institutional problems that prevent technology legitimization. The study reveals that donor interventions, informal land tenure laws, and cultural institutions significantly shape innovation outcomes. Effective policy requires integrated approaches, better donor coordination, and recognition that informal institutions hold equal weight to formal ones in developing countries.
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How innovative is your agriculture? Using innovation indicators and benchmarks to strengthen national agricultural innovation systems
This paper develops a framework for measuring agricultural innovation in developing countries by adapting the innovation systems approach. It identifies potential indicators to benchmark national agricultural performance, reviews data sources and construction methods, and provides guidance for policymakers and development partners seeking to design evidence-based policies that strengthen agricultural innovation systems.
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The Digital Divide and ICT Learning in Rural Communities: Examples of Good Practice Service Delivery
Rural communities face barriers to ICT adoption and skills development. This paper identifies successful approaches to building digital culture in rural areas, including community resource centres for hands-on experience, internet cafés and gaming to lower entry barriers, user management strategies to build ownership, mobile service delivery, integration of ICT into existing services, and targeted financial support.
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Rural broadband speeds and business startup rates
Using county-level data from 2014, this study examines how broadband speeds affect rural business startup rates across different industries. The researchers find that broadband coverage significantly influences startup activity, with download speeds mattering more than upload speeds. Mobile broadband also plays a role. Importantly, the impact varies by industry type—what drives startups in one sector may not apply to another. The findings confirm that broadband access is increasingly critical for rural entrepreneurship.
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The impact of entrepreneurship of farmers on agriculture and rural economic growth: Innovation-driven perspective
Farmers' innovative entrepreneurship significantly drives agricultural and rural economic growth in China, with spatial analysis of 30 provinces from 2015–2020 revealing positive spillover effects across regions. The impact varies by urbanization level, grain production patterns, and household income. The research demonstrates that rural innovation clusters in low-income areas and recommends tailored incentive policies to support farmer entrepreneurs.
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A new approach to stimulate rural entrepreneurship through village-owned enterprises in Indonesia
Village-owned enterprises (BUMDes) in Indonesia successfully encourage rural entrepreneurship by leveraging local resources and involving community stakeholders in exploration, empowerment, and capacity building. However, implementation faces significant obstacles: misalignment between regulations and practice, insufficient skilled managers, and weak coordination between village governments and enterprises.
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Rural tourism and the development of Internet-based accommodation booking platforms: a study in the advantages, dangers and implications of innovation
Internet-based accommodation booking platforms like Booking.com have grown rapidly and now dominate rural tourism markets. While small rural businesses benefit from cheap global reach, these platforms concentrate market power and divert revenue from local and regional booking organizations that provide training, marketing, and destination promotion. The paper studies rural Norwegian accommodation providers to show how platform adoption reshapes competition, pricing, and business operations, then proposes new roles for regional organizations.
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Interactions between Niche and Regime: An Analysis of Learning and Innovation Networks for Sustainable Agriculture across Europe
This study examines how 17 learning and innovation networks for sustainable agriculture across Europe interact with mainstream agricultural systems. The researchers found five distinct interaction modes based on compatibility levels, which determine how sustainable practices spread into conventional agriculture. Effective interaction requires specific connecting processes like certification, regulatory exemptions, and networking support. The findings suggest agricultural transition happens through multiple adaptive changes rather than wholesale regime replacement.
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Entrepreneurship in rural hospitality and tourism. A systematic literature review of past achievements and future promises
This systematic review of 101 articles from 2000–2020 examines entrepreneurship in rural hospitality and tourism. The authors identify six key research themes: barriers and enablers, entrepreneur roles, women entrepreneurs, firm performance drivers, innovation, and value creation. They find that entrepreneurship journals have given limited attention to rural hospitality, most studies are qualitative, and research concentrates heavily in Europe. The review proposes an ecosystem framework and outlines six future research directions.
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Tourism and Community Leadership in Rural Regions: Linking Mobility, Entrepreneurship, Tourism Development and Community Well-Being
Analysis of 47 rural tourism case studies reveals that community entrepreneurs—not simply local or outsider status—drive positive tourism outcomes. Social and human capital matter more than financial investment. Governance structures prove critical for long-term success. The local-outsider distinction fails to explain tourism development effectiveness. Community entrepreneurs best support both tourism growth and destination well-being.
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Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation, Spatial Spillover and Agricultural Green Development—Taking 30 Provinces in China as the Research Object
Agricultural science and technology innovation significantly promotes green agricultural development in China through spatial spillover effects. Using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces (2006–2019), the study finds that innovation improvements benefit both individual provinces and neighboring regions. Eastern provinces show declining green development while southwestern provinces improve. The research demonstrates that increased agricultural science and technology investment generates positive spillover effects across provincial boundaries, supporting evidence-based regional policy design.
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Social Innovation for Sustainability Transformation and its Diverging Development Paths in Marginalised Rural Areas
Social innovation—collaborative responses from civic society to societal challenges—drives sustainable development in marginalised rural areas facing biophysical limits and funding shortages. Analysis of 211 social innovation examples and 11 in-depth cases identified four distinct development paths for social innovation. The research shows that social innovation requires both local and external actors, but depends critically on internal local activity and knowledge to succeed in transforming marginalised rural communities.
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Transition Management and Social Innovation in Rural Areas: Lessons from Social Farming
Social farming in Italy demonstrates how rural areas can manage transitions toward sustainability by integrating agricultural, health, and education sectors. The study shows that linking public and private actors through collective learning creates social innovation and new economic value. Extension services must be redesigned to support these cross-sector partnerships, helping rural communities adapt to welfare state challenges and build inclusive, sustainable development.
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Making Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) Work for Development in Tropical Countries
Agricultural innovation systems in tropical low-income countries struggle because capacity development initiatives don't align with national efforts. A study of Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America found that external programs focus on training individuals, while countries actually need institutional strengthening. The research recommends improving south-south collaboration and building institutional capacity to make national agricultural innovation systems more responsive to smallholder farmers' needs.
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Quantifying entrepreneurship and its impact on local economic performance: A spatial assessment in rural Switzerland
This study measures entrepreneurship in 1,706 Swiss rural municipalities and tests whether it drives local economic growth. Results show entrepreneurship correlates with higher business tax revenues and lower welfare dependency, but has weak effects on employment. The researchers conclude that while entrepreneurship helps rural economies, policymakers should temper expectations about its short-term impact on endogenous rural development.
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Can Social Innovation Make a Change in European and Mediterranean Marginalized Areas? Social Innovation Impact Assessment in Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, and Rural Development
Social innovation initiatives in European and Mediterranean marginalized rural areas produce measurable impacts across economic, social, environmental, and governance dimensions. The study evaluated nine social innovation projects in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and rural development. Results show these initiatives generate cross-sectoral and multi-level benefits that improve societal well-being and reduce marginalization within their territories.
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Effects and mechanisms of rural E‐commerce clusters on households' entrepreneurship behavior in China
Rural e-commerce clusters in China's Taobao Villages significantly boost household entrepreneurship. The study identifies four key mechanisms: local resource endowment, entrepreneurial atmosphere and culture, low entrepreneurship thresholds, and demonstrative leadership all positively influence entrepreneurial behavior. External support from government and business environments further strengthens e-commerce development. These clusters effectively stimulate entrepreneurial enthusiasm and increase entrepreneurial activity among rural households.
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Platform, Participation, and Power: How Dominant and Minority Stakeholders Shape Agricultural Innovation
In Kenya's Yatta Sub-county, smallholder farmers participating in agricultural innovation initiatives face significant power imbalances with dominant stakeholders. Policy actors prioritize commercialization and modernization, but existing social hierarchies limit farmers' access to platform resources and control over decisions. These disparities risk marginalizing vulnerable groups further and reinforcing existing power structures, undermining inclusive and sustainable farmer-driven innovation.
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Whose Narrative is it Anyway? Narratives of Social Innovation in Rural Areas – A Comparative Analysis of Community‐Led Initiatives in Scotland and Spain
Social innovation in rural communities relies on compelling narratives that mobilize people around shared challenges. This study analyzes narratives from three community-led initiatives in Scotland and Spain using a framework examining problematization, solutions, actors, and plot. The research finds that marginalisation, environmental concerns, and community activation dominate these narratives. Collective leadership and supportive policies strengthen narratives over time, improving project sustainability and reducing power imbalances.
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Diverse diversities—Open innovation in small towns and rural areas
Innovation thrives in small towns and rural areas, not just cities. This study of seven successful Swiss firms shows that rural innovation depends on three types of diversity: internal workforce diversity, multiplexed interactions across hierarchical levels, and external connections beyond the region. The findings challenge the assumption that geographic density and agglomeration are necessary for innovation, demonstrating that rural networks can be equally diverse along certain dimensions.
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How digitalisation interacts with ecologisation? Perspectives from actors of the French Agricultural Innovation System
French agricultural actors—conventional farmers, organic farmers, and digital technology promoters—all engage with agricultural digitalization, but they perceive different benefits and risks. Organic and conventional actors implement distinct innovation processes despite apparent convergence. Digital actors fail to recognize these differences in perception, which risks excluding organic farming and agroecology from digital development benefits.
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Key actors in community-driven social innovation in rural areas in the Nordic countries
Nordic rural communities facing demographic decline and service closures have developed social innovation projects. Analysis of 18 projects reveals that community members, civil society organizations, and local government drive project initiation, while civil society organizations dominate implementation. Success depends on local actors' ability to generate ideas, secure resources, and manage decisions effectively.
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Social Innovation in Rural Regions: Urban Impulses and Cross‐Border Constellations of Actors
Social innovation in rural German regions emerges through cross-border networks of actors and urban influences rather than in isolation. Ethnographic research in the Eifel, Lower Lusatia, and Uckermark regions shows that rural communities adopt knowledge and practices from urban areas, creating hybrid rural-urban innovations. These connections strengthen rural-urban relationships and reduce traditional antagonisms between them.
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Rural Entrepreneurship: An Analysis of Current and Emerging Issues from the Sustainable Livelihood Framework
Rural entrepreneurship differs fundamentally from urban entrepreneurship because it operates under resource constraints. This literature review examines rural entrepreneurship through a sustainable livelihood framework, identifying key themes: women entrepreneurs, poverty reduction, youth engagement, social entrepreneurship, and institutional support. Social and human capital emerge as critical resources. The authors highlight research gaps in social entrepreneurship, governance, institutional development, livelihood growth, and eco-entrepreneurship.
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Rurality and social innovation processes and outcomes: A realist evaluation of rural social enterprise activities
Rural social enterprises drive social innovation through both push and pull factors. The paper finds that rural context shapes how innovation happens—not the outcomes themselves. Different rural areas deploy distinct mechanisms to address similar challenges based on local resources. Rural social innovation policies should remain flexible rather than prescriptive, since context determines both the problems and the solutions available.
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‘Sharing the space’ in the agricultural knowledge and innovation system: multi-actor innovation partnerships with farmers and foresters in Europe
This paper reviews 200 European agricultural and forestry partnerships involving farmers and foresters to assess how multi-actor networks foster knowledge sharing and co-innovation. The researchers found that various EU and non-EU funding instruments effectively engage users in collaborative innovation across agriculture, forestry, and value chains. The study reveals that successful co-innovation requires recognizing diverse partnership approaches—both formal and informal—and better coordination between programs to reach currently underengaged actor groups.
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Agricultural innovation systems and farm technology adoption: findings from a study of the Ghanaian plantain sector
This study examines technology adoption in Ghana's plantain sector using social network analysis and innovation systems theory. The researchers found weak innovation systems where farmers occupy central network positions but lack influence. Social network capital significantly drives adoption of improved farm technologies. The study recommends strengthening connections between focal farmers, research institutions, and extension agents through targeted policies to enhance technology dissemination.
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Local development through rural entrepreneurship, from the Triple Helix perspective
University-industry-government collaboration programs effectively support rural entrepreneurs by creating knowledge-rich environments that benefit both individual businesses and local communities. Nascent rural entrepreneurs value this Triple Helix partnership and recognize their own contributions to economic, social, and cultural development. The study reveals how low-tech rural entrepreneurs experience and benefit from multi-stakeholder collaboration at the micro level.
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Scaling Up Agricultural Innovation for Inclusive Livelihood and Productivity Outcomes in Sub‐Saharan Africa: The Case of Nigeria
Agricultural innovation programs in Nigeria significantly improved rural smallholder farmers' incomes, productivity, and income diversification through better market linkages and capacity building. When programs ended, farmers lost these gains and income diversity declined. The study recommends integrating agricultural innovation system concepts into all public extension and research programs to sustain rural livelihoods.
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The role and characteristics of social entrepreneurs in contemporary rural cooperative development in China: case studies of rural social entrepreneurship
Village leaders and entrepreneurs in rural China are driving cooperative development through social entrepreneurship, responding to government modernization policies. Research based on interviews in Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces identifies key characteristics of these social entrepreneurs and their leadership roles in building rural cooperatives. The findings show how social entrepreneurship capabilities strengthen rural community development in transitional economies.
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Innovation for sustainability through co-creation by small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMEs): Socio-cultural sustainability benefits to rural destinations
Tourism SMEs in rural Norwegian destinations co-create sustainable innovations with local stakeholders, generating socio-cultural benefits for their communities. Through practices like local sourcing, education, and resource sharing, these businesses strengthen rural sustainability. The study shows that rurality's defining features—local embeddedness, personal relationships, and trust—enable SMEs to collaborate effectively and improve quality of life in their destinations.
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Social innovation in rural governance: A comparative case study across the marginalised rural EU
Rural marginalisation across the EU intensified after 2008, as traditional state governance failed to serve remote communities. This study examines how beyond-the-state governance systems—horizontal, networked, and collaborative—address this gap. Comparing three marginalised regions in Austria, Portugal, and Greece, the authors identify key factors enabling socially innovative governance: decentralised government structures, strong interregional networks, stakeholder discourse, and institutional stability. The findings reveal conditions necessary for embedding social innovation in rural governance.
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Smart Villagers as Actors of Digital Social Innovation in Rural Areas
Rural inhabitants drive digital social innovation to address problems like poor mobility, demographic decline, and digital inequality. Two German villages demonstrate how local innovators—termed Smart Villagers—create solutions like community apps and car-sharing systems. These bottom-up actors work as drivers, supporters, and users, collaborating with external professionals. The research shows Smart Villagers are motivated and skilled but require outside support to sustain their initiatives.
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Looking at Agricultural Innovation Platforms through an Innovation Champion Lens
Innovation platforms bring agricultural stakeholders together to drive change, but the role of 'innovation champion' within these platforms remains poorly understood. This study analyzes three West African innovation platforms and identifies different types of champions using management science frameworks. The authors find that existing champion categories don't fully capture agricultural innovation dynamics, suggesting new categories may be needed and that champion interactions deserve further investigation.
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Fostering entrepreneurship as a means to overcome barriers to development of rural peripheral areas in Europe
Rural areas in Europe face development barriers as traditional agriculture and forestry decline. The paper argues that fostering entrepreneurship can overcome these challenges. Success requires understanding rural areas through sociospatial characteristics and social representation rather than outdated definitions. Entrepreneurship thrives when supported by institutional contexts that encourage cooperation, social networks, and learning capacity within firms embedded in their broader social and political environments.
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Social Innovation to Sustain Rural Communities: Overcoming Institutional Challenges in Serbia
Social innovations in rural Serbia address poverty, inequality, and migration despite institutional obstacles like weak law enforcement, poor infrastructure, and low trust. The study of nine rural initiatives reveals that social innovators operate through subsistence, idealistic, or lifestyle goals, creating new social values. Solutions to institutional gaps include developing context-specific organizations, strengthening legal frameworks, and designing innovative financing mechanisms.
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The entrepreneur–opportunity nexus: discovering the forces that promote product innovations in rural micro-tourism firms
This study examines what drives product innovation in small rural tourism businesses by analyzing 40 new tourism products created by micro-firm owners in rural Sweden. The research identifies three types of forces that trigger innovation: internal factors within the firm, supply chain dynamics, and reactions to external changes. The findings show that entrepreneurial opportunities emerge through a specific nexus between entrepreneurs and opportunities, with triggering forces playing a critical role in initiating the innovation process.
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Some rural examples of place-based education
Rural Australian schools implement place-based education to improve student learning and well-being, particularly in farming communities facing economic pressure. The paper examines what place-based education means and how rural schools apply it, often without using the term explicitly. Evidence shows this teaching approach strengthens literacy learning for rural students by connecting education to local contexts and community needs.
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Return Migration, Entrepreneurship and Local State Corporatism in Rural China: The experience of two counties in south Jiangxi
Returned migrants in rural Jiangxi, China introduce capitalist enterprise and market knowledge to their home communities, reshaping local governance. Local officials leverage resources from returnees to fund rural industries and town development. Simultaneously, returnees use their urban experience to negotiate policy changes and infrastructure improvements that support business growth. This two-way dynamic breaks rural isolation and accelerates local economic transformation.
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INNOVATION PLATFORMS IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT
Innovation platforms bring together agricultural stakeholders to learn, negotiate, and solve development challenges collaboratively. However, this study warns they are not universally applicable. The authors provide a decision-support tool for agencies to critically assess when innovation platforms are genuinely needed versus when simpler, cheaper alternatives exist. The tool helps determine what resources and conditions are necessary for platforms to succeed in achieving agricultural development outcomes.
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Frugal innovation for sustainable rural development
Frugal innovation—creating affordable, resource-efficient solutions—contributes more effectively to sustainable development goals in rural South Asia than conventional products. The study analyzed 13 frugal enterprises through interviews and found these innovations positively impact multiple SDGs, though some goals require national-level policy rather than enterprise-level action. Frugal approaches offer a practical pathway for rural sustainable development.
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DO MATURE INNOVATION PLATFORMS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT? A META-ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDIES
Innovation Platforms in agricultural research for development generate local enthusiasm and bring stakeholders together, but rarely achieve impact at scale. The study analyzed eight mature platforms across three continents and found that while they can produce locally adapted, economically feasible innovations, scaling remains limited. Platforms work best when demand-driven, participatory, and embedded in broader extension networks. The authors call for rigorous measurement of platform performance to understand what process designs actually work.
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Transforming the Roles of a Public Extension Agency to Strengthen Innovation: Lessons from the National Agricultural Extension Project in Bangladesh
Bangladesh's public agricultural extension agency attempted to transform its role from linear technology transfer to facilitating interactive communication and stakeholder collaboration. However, the agency failed to strengthen collective action because institutional barriers persisted: staff remained wedded to technology-transfer models, undervalued intermediary roles like brokering and convening, and treated extension methods as information delivery rather than interactive learning. The study identifies obstacles preventing innovation systems thinking in low-income country extension work.
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The long way to innovation adoption: insights from precision agriculture
Italian farms adopt precision agriculture technologies at low rates despite their potential for sustainable soil management. This study uses the awareness-knowledge-adoption-product framework to identify barriers to adoption, including farm characteristics, socio-economic factors, and psychological complexity. The research finds that agricultural knowledge and innovation systems play a critical mediating role in promoting technology uptake, and strengthening these systems across all adoption phases could increase farmer understanding and reduce adoption barriers.
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Community Matters: Successful Entrepreneurship in Remote Rural US Locations
Rural entrepreneurs in remote US towns succeed more when motivated by family income and flexibility rather than wealth or personal challenge. Entrepreneurs in communities with strong bridging social capital—networks connecting diverse groups—perform better because these connections help retain skilled workers, reduce costs, access capital, and build customer loyalty. Community characteristics matter more than general rural disadvantages in explaining entrepreneurial success.
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Place-based landscape services and potential of participatory spatial planning in multifunctional rural landscapes in Southern highlands, Tanzania
Rural communities in Tanzania's southern highlands benefit most from landscape services related to social gathering sites and cultivation. Participatory mapping methods effectively engaged 313 local residents in identifying and spatializing these services, revealing that cultural services cluster in small areas while provisioning services reflect biophysical patterns. Workshops demonstrated that maps and satellite imagery empower communities to express spatial opinions and participate in landscape planning, offering practical value for data-scarce regions.
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Conflicts of customary land tenure in rural Africa: is large-scale land acquisition a driver of ‘institutional innovation’?
Large-scale biofuel land acquisition in rural Sierra Leone creates new contractual arrangements between investors and local authorities, framing customary land tenure through formal registration. This institutional innovation formalizes existing power structures but deepens social inequalities, triggering conflicts between lineages, villages, families, and generations. These conflicts challenge traditional land-based social hierarchies and may reshape rural society.
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‘Stuck Out Here’: The Critical Role of Broadband for Remote Rural Places
Broadband connectivity is essential for economic and social sustainability in remote rural Scotland. Research with small rural business owners shows that internet access directly enables business development and sustainability while supporting education, leisure, and social participation. Without broadband, remote rural communities face significant disadvantages in maintaining viable livelihoods and quality of life.
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Strengthening Agricultural Education and Training in sub-Saharan Africa from an Innovation Systems Perspective: A Case Study of Mozambique
Agricultural education and training in Mozambique must strengthen farmers' capacity to innovate by improving how organizations transmit and adapt knowledge. The paper argues that AET systems need cultural reform, better incentives, and stronger networks linking educators with other stakeholders. Key reforms include aligning AET mandates with national development goals and building connections between training institutions and the broader agricultural innovation ecosystem.
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Highlighting the Retro Side of Innovation and its Potential for Regime Change in Agriculture
Farmer innovations based on rediscovering forgotten traditional knowledge create viable alternatives to dominant modern food systems. Two case studies reveal niche formation where old and new knowledge combine effectively. These retro innovations offer significant potential for rural development and can challenge prevailing food regimes. Social scientists are essential for understanding how these alternative knowledge systems influence agricultural practice.
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Digital Villages Construction Accelerates High-Quality Economic Development in Rural China through Promoting Digital Entrepreneurship
Digital village construction in rural China drives high-quality economic development, with digital entrepreneurship serving as the key mechanism. Using entropy weight TOPSIS and mediation analysis across four regions, the study finds a positive correlation between digital infrastructure investment and rural economic growth. Digital industry entrepreneurship activity directly transmits digitalization benefits to rural economies.
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Thinking Together Digitalization and Social Innovation in Rural Areas: An Exploration of Rural Digitalization Projects in Germany
This paper examines how digitalization and social innovation work together in rural German communities. The author develops a conceptual framework connecting these two areas, which are typically studied separately, and uses it to analyze existing rural digitalization projects in Germany. The framework helps identify the range of initiatives and provides a systematic approach for supporting smart villages that integrate both digital technologies and social innovation.
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Happy to Be Home: Place-Based Attachments, Family Ties, and Mobility among Rural Stayers
Rural Vermonters who choose to stay in their home state do so primarily because of place attachment and family proximity. The study reveals that contented stayers value landscape, community, and living near relatives. Beyond simple immobility, these residents actively exercise diverse forms of mobility—travel and engagement—while maintaining their commitment to home. The research shifts focus from migration patterns to understanding why people remain rooted in rural places.
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Lessons on Transdisciplinary Research in a Co-Innovation Programme in the New Zealand Agricultural Sector
New Zealand's agricultural R&D programme implements co-innovation through six innovation platforms using an agricultural innovation systems approach. The programme faces three main challenges: managing complex multi-stakeholder networks, aligning rigid research funding procedures with flexible co-innovation needs, and shifting participants from linear to interactive innovation thinking. The authors conclude that learning-by-doing is essential, and institutional changes to national R&D structures are needed to support co-innovation through updated policies, instruments, and incentives.
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Agricultural innovation platform as a tool for development oriented research: Lessons and challenges in the formation and operationalization
Agricultural Innovation Platforms (AIPs) bring together multiple stakeholders to address agricultural development challenges through integrated research. This study documents the formation and operation of AIPs across Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, identifying six key stages from problem identification through implementation. Success depends on recognizing indigenous knowledge, involving local leadership, ensuring strong facilitation, and building stakeholder capacity. Market-led approaches accelerated results, while major obstacles included limited stakeholder skills and dependency mentality.
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Reconnecting Farmers with Nature through Agroecological Transitions: Interacting Niches and Experimentation and the Role of Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems
Farmers in Almeria's greenhouse sector reconnect with nature through agroecological practices like biological control, soil health management, and ecological restoration. The study shows that experimental niches within conventional agricultural systems help farmers develop deeper ecosystem understanding and transition toward sustainability. By engaging with nature-based practices, farmers gain ecosystem services and move away from industrial agriculture's disconnection from natural systems.
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Rural resilience through continued learning and innovation
Rural businesses in England build resilience through continuous learning and incremental innovation. When facing economic adversity, small rural enterprises adapt by leveraging available resources and developing new practices to survive. The study shows that learning from challenges creates a resilient organizational culture, with innovation becoming essential for business continuity during difficult economic periods.
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Assessing Sustainability Perspectives in Rural Innovation Projects Using Q‐Methodology
This study uses Q-methodology to identify distinct perspectives on sustainable agriculture among participants in a Dutch innovation program called TransForum. The research reveals two main competing viewpoints: radical perspectives reject technology and favor multifunctional rural landscapes, while prosaic perspectives embrace technology and prioritize agricultural production. Notably, no ecological modernization perspective emerged, prompting the authors to propose a new concept of 'metropolitan agriculture' to address this gap.
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Making Land Rights Accessible: Social Movements and Political-Legal Innovation in the Rural Philippines
Social movements in the rural Philippines overcame obstacles to land reform by combining political and legal strategies with support networks for rights advocacy. The paper shows that agrarian reform laws can be effectively implemented when rural poor claimants access mobilization support structures and pursue integrated strategies that activate state actors and resist elite opposition. However, these strategies have inherent limits.
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Innovation Systems: Implications for agricultural policy and practice
Agricultural innovation requires rethinking research as part of a dynamic system involving multiple organizations, not just policy and research bodies. The paper argues that farmers and businesses adapt through interactions across a broader ecosystem of actors. Success depends on developing institutional practices, incentives, and policy environments that encourage continuous learning and innovation to improve livelihoods and competitiveness.
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How to Strengthen Innovation Support Services in Agriculture with Regard to Multi-Stakeholder Approaches
The EU AgriSpin project analyzed 57 agricultural innovation case studies to identify effective innovation support services. The research shows that support needs vary by innovation phase: early stages require network building and innovator support, while later phases need training and credit services. Brokering functions and knowledge co-production services prove essential for helping farmers and value chains innovate across farm, supply chain, and territorial levels.
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‘Workable utopias’ for social change through inclusion and empowerment? Community supported agriculture (CSA) in Wales as social innovation
Community supported agriculture (CSA) projects in Wales function as social innovations that address food system problems through bottom-up initiatives. These CSA models meet demand for ecologically sound, ethically produced food while empowering individuals and communities. The study finds CSA initiatives operate as viable small-scale social enterprises, but identifies barriers preventing their replication, policy participation, and scaling up that must be overcome for broader transformative impact.
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Compositional dynamics of multilevel innovation platforms in agricultural research for development
Innovation platforms in agricultural research for development require multilevel stakeholder engagement across community and national levels to fulfill key innovation system functions. The study of platforms in Central Africa reveals that different functions demand strategic involvement of specific stakeholders at particular levels, rather than equal participation across all groups. Research and dissemination activities dominated the functional sequence in these platforms, distinguishing them from business-oriented innovation platforms.
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Place-Based Rural Development and Resilience: A Lesson from a Small Community
Community resilience drives rural development. This case study of a small economically disadvantaged community identifies three key factors for building resilience: rebuilding social ties and trust within the community, creating a cascade effect where initial projects spark additional initiatives, and adopting systemic approaches that connect previously disconnected sectors and areas. Place-based policies succeed when they rely on resilient actors and communities.
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Between capital investments and capacity building—Development and application of a conceptual framework towards a place-based rural development policy
This paper develops a framework for place-based rural development policy that divides investments into territorial capital (physical, human, natural) and capacity building (modernisation, restructuring, stabilisation). Using EU regional spending data from 2007–2011, the authors find that over half of European regions prioritise natural capital or stabilisation, while others combine multiple topics. Regional spending patterns vary significantly, reflecting how different authorities and local actors shape policy implementation across places.
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Lessons for co-innovation in agricultural innovation systems: a multiple case study analysis and a conceptual model
This study examines three agricultural innovation projects in New Zealand to identify what makes co-innovation successful. The researchers found that effective co-innovation requires network-level capability and legitimacy, clear understanding of actor priorities, and sufficient resources. Project leaders must include the right mix of stakeholders and foster open dialogue to build shared vision. The paper presents a conceptual model to guide future co-innovation efforts in agricultural systems.
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The Community Reclaims Control? Learning Experiences from Rural Broadband Initiatives in the Netherlands
Four Dutch rural broadband initiatives reveal that communities struggle to maintain control over digital infrastructure despite participatory ideals. Local groups must navigate competing interests from commercial providers and government authorities while managing limited social, intellectual, and financial resources. Volunteer burnout threatens project sustainability. Communities succeed only when members develop professional expertise to compete in complex broadband markets, yet learning remains secondary to achieving broadband access itself.
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A paradigm shift in African agricultural research for development: the role of innovation platforms
Agricultural research organizations in Africa shifted from focusing solely on technology efficiency to using multi-stakeholder innovation platforms that address institutional barriers. Case studies of maize and cassava value chains in West and Central Africa show that yields and incomes increased significantly when platforms combined three capacity-building interventions: learning workshops for policymakers, skills training for facilitators, and coaching support. Success required facilitators to master observation, testing, and refinement of platform processes using practical, visualizable tools.
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Rurality and resilience in education: place-based partnerships and agency to moderate time and space constraints
Rural schools take longer to implement and sustain resilience-building strategies compared to urban schools, facing constraints from time, space, and place. Teachers in rural areas build resilience through relationships and prioritized needs, but must reconfigure place and agency to overcome geographic and resource barriers. When teachers adapt to local conditions and leverage available relationships, they successfully negotiate ongoing challenges and improve student resilience outcomes.
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Promoting innovations in agriculture: Living labs in the development of rural areas
Living Labs represent an effective approach for developing agricultural innovations in rural areas. This systematic review of 18 studies shows that agricultural Living Labs vary significantly by geography, theme, and organization. The research identifies two core dimensions: the innovation process and the actors involved. The findings emphasize that successful agricultural Living Labs require examining how different actors interact and adapting flexible approaches to fit specific local agricultural contexts for sustainable development.
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Understanding inclusive innovation processes in agricultural systems: A middle-range conceptual model
This paper develops a middle-range theory explaining how inclusive innovation works in smallholder agricultural systems across the Global South. By analyzing three cases from South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa, the author identifies a consistent pattern: initial activities alter local context, triggering social learning, social capital strengthening, and consensus formation. These mechanisms drive technical, organizational, and institutional innovation. The model provides practitioners and researchers with a framework for understanding, facilitating, and evaluating inclusive agricultural innovation processes.
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Developing a framework for radical and incremental social innovation in rural areas
Social innovation in rural areas takes two forms: radical and incremental. Using case studies from Spain and Scotland, the authors show that radical social innovation requires conflict management and new skills, while incremental innovation suits communities with different aspirations. Both pathways drive sustainable development, but they reshape communities differently. Public actors should recognize local aspirations and support appropriate innovation types.
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Unpacking sustainable business models in the Swedish agricultural sector– the challenges of technological, social and organisational innovation
Swedish agri-food companies employ eight distinct sustainable business models, grouped into three archetypes. A survey of 1,143 companies found no regional differences in technological or social innovation, but significant regional variation in organisational innovation. Northern Sweden showed stronger organisational innovation than southern and eastern regions, likely driven by greater environmental and economic pressures. The study identifies pathways for translating social and environmental value into competitive advantage.
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A land of cheese: from food innovation to tourism development in rural Catalonia
Artisanal cheese production in rural Catalonia drives economic innovation and community development through food tourism. Small producers diversify income by attracting visitors to cheese-making operations, which preserves cultural heritage and local landscapes. The research shows how cheese tourism enables rural agri-food companies to survive economically while strengthening regional identity and entrepreneurship in the Catalan Pyrenees.
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User innovation and entrepreneurship: case studies from rural India
Rural innovators in India develop low-cost solutions to local problems driven by necessity rather than profit. Five case studies reveal that these user-innovators lack resources to commercialize their inventions. External actors can bridge this gap by providing support. The research proposes a framework for enabling rural innovation and entrepreneurship in developing countries, showing that successful innovations reduce poverty and create positive social impacts for entrepreneurs and their communities.
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Superfast Broadband and Rural Community Resilience: Examining the Rural Need for Speed
Superfast broadband enhances rural community resilience by enabling greater control over daily activities and providing reliable access to high-capacity services like video. Interview data from 36 rural UK residents shows that faster internet supports personal skill-building and individual empowerment. However, the relationship between broadband speed and community resilience proves complex and sometimes contradictory, with users primarily viewing the internet as an individualized tool rather than a collective resource.
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Rural Entrepreneurship in an Emerging Economy: Reading Institutional Perspectives from Entrepreneur Stories
Rural entrepreneurs in China adapt their strategies to navigate weak institutional environments. They avoid external collaboration due to poor intellectual property protection, instead relying on family networks. These entrepreneurs strategically use guanxi (personal relationships) to overcome institutional constraints and build legitimacy through alliances with established firms or approval from authority figures.
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Inter-regional innovation in Brazilian agriculture and deforestation in the Amazon: income and environment in the balance
Agricultural innovation in Brazil between 1985 and 1995 had mixed effects on deforestation and farm income. Innovation outside the Amazon reduced deforestation while innovation inside the Amazon increased it, resulting in no net change to overall deforestation rates. Livestock productivity improvements proved most influential for deforestation outcomes. Technological advances outside the Amazon, particularly for small farms in the Northeast, boosted agricultural income, improved income distribution, and limited forest loss.
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Rural entrepreneurship: towards collaborative participative models for economic sustainability
Rural entrepreneurship through village-owned enterprises (BUMDes) in West Java, Indonesia creates local economic activity and reduces poverty. The study examined three BUMDes using qualitative case research and identified three sustainability dimensions: economic, social, and market sustainability. The authors propose a collaborative stakeholder model that optimizes BUMDes performance by strengthening coordination among local actors to achieve rural entrepreneurship sustainability.
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Bridging Indonesia’s Digital Divide: Rural-Urban Linkages?
Indonesia's rural-urban internet access gap persists despite high social media use nationwide. Rural households have half the internet access of urban households. This paper examines the digital divide beyond mere access, analyzing how people actually use the internet and their digital skills. The authors identify social inequality, lack of motivation, and limited digital skills as root causes. They reject simple rural-urban categorization and propose rural-urban linkages—integrating people, information flows, and cross-sector connections like agriculture and services—to bridge the divide.
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Place-based policy and rural poverty: insights from the urban spatial mismatch literature
Rural poverty persists partly because geographic distance creates barriers to economic adjustment, similar to spatial mismatch in cities. Using US data, the authors show that remoteness correlates with higher poverty rates and that poor people don't simply choose to live in isolated areas. Labor supply responses confirm these distance-based frictions matter. The findings support place-based anti-poverty policies rather than focusing solely on helping poor individuals relocate.
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Rural Entrepreneurship Success Factors: An Empirical Investigation in an Emerging Market
This study identifies key factors distinguishing successful from failed small businesses in rural emerging markets. Using logistic regression on 230 rural businesses, the researchers found that capital, industry experience, staffing, and marketing skills most significantly predict success. The Lussier prediction model achieved 71% accuracy, validating its use across both advanced and developing economies and providing practical guidance for rural entrepreneurs, policymakers, and financial institutions.
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Incentives for Developing Resilient Agritourism Entrepreneurship in Rural Communities in Romania in a European Context
Economic factors like regional GDP and road infrastructure positively influence agritourism business creation in Romanian counties. Tourism-related factors—including employment, tourist numbers, and tourism sector turnover—also drive agritourism entrepreneurship. The study demonstrates that agritourism development directly supports sustainable regional development and resilient rural communities.
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Innovation systems and technical efficiency in developing‐country agriculture
This study analyzes how agricultural innovation systems affect technical efficiency across 85 developing countries from 2004 to 2011. Mobile phone subscriptions and scientific research output both improve agricultural production efficiency. Countries in the lower technological class achieve 44% efficiency compared to 62% in the higher class, revealing substantial room for productivity gains through efficiency-focused investments in innovation infrastructure.
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Innovations on a shoestring: a study of a collaborative community-based Aboriginal mental health service model in rural Canada
A mental health team in northern Ontario developed an innovative collaborative model integrating clinical approaches with traditional Aboriginal healing. Despite severe resource constraints, the Knaw Chi Ge Win service improved care quality and cultural safety for Aboriginal clients. The model succeeded through shared information systems, protocols, and ongoing education. Challenges remain around chronic underfunding and limited understanding of traditional healing outcomes. This approach offers a replicable model for other rural Indigenous mental health systems.
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An Interactional Approach to Place-Based Rural Development
Rural America faces unprecedented economic transformation from globalization, eliminating traditional employment sources. Traditional rural development policies have become ineffective. The authors argue that place-based competitiveness strategies alone fall short and propose an interactional approach that simultaneously addresses economic, environmental, and social well-being as integrated components of rural development.
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Rural Digital Innovation Hubs as a Paradigm for Sustainable Business Models in Europe’s Rural Areas
Rural Digital Innovation Hubs improve sustainability in European rural areas by connecting local businesses, people, and authorities with digital technology and skilled support. A case study of a wine hub in Slovenia shows that DIHs reduce costs, create jobs, optimize operations, lower environmental impact, and increase digital inclusion. The authors conclude that rural DIHs should be integrated into smart rural development policies.
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Introducing ‘microAKIS’: a farmer-centric approach to understanding the contribution of advice to agricultural innovation
This paper introduces microAKIS, a farmer-centered framework for analyzing how agricultural advice systems contribute to innovation on farms. The approach shifts focus from institutional structures to individual farmer experiences and decision-making, examining how advisory services actually influence farmers' adoption of new practices and technologies. The framework helps identify which advice mechanisms most effectively support agricultural innovation at the farm level.
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Organisational Innovation Systems for multi-actor co-innovation in European agriculture, forestry and related sectors: Diversity and common attributes
This study examined 200 multi-actor co-innovation partnerships across European agriculture and forestry sectors. Partnerships succeeded when they brought together actors with complementary knowledge, involved stakeholders throughout the innovation process, and fostered effective knowledge sharing. Most partnerships co-designed objectives, prioritized communication beyond their boundaries, and received external funding. The research reveals that current policy interpretations of agricultural knowledge systems may not adequately reflect regional differences in how European co-innovation partnerships actually operate.
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Scaling practices within agricultural innovation platforms: Between pushing and pulling
Innovation platforms in Rwanda combine two scaling approaches: push strategies that solve immediate problems and pull strategies that build networks across multiple levels. The study finds that platforms most effectively increase farmer revenues when their activities align with government policies and existing conditions. Successful scaling requires protected spaces, flexibility to handle complexity, and strategic balance between both approaches to transform agriculture across Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Explaining Broadband Adoption in Rural Australia: Modes of Reflexivity and the Morphogenetic Approach1
Australia's national broadband rollout requires rural areas to adopt new infrastructure, but adoption remains complex and contested. This paper uses critical realism to examine why rural communities and small businesses accept or reject broadband. The authors argue that individual reflexivity—how people think through their own circumstances—shapes adoption decisions alongside economic, cultural, and ideological factors.
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The Impact of Technological Innovations on Agricultural Productivity and Environmental Sustainability in China
Technological innovations significantly boost agricultural productivity in China, especially in more developed provinces. The study analyzed data from 2012 to 2022 and found that rural education, technological capability, and environmental conservation initiatives all matter. Sustainable farming practices and targeted policies are essential for balancing productivity gains with environmental protection and reducing regional disparities.
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Tourism entrepreneurship in rural destinations: measuring the effects of capital configurations using the fsQCA approach
This study examines how different types of capital combine to enable tourism entrepreneurship in rural China. Analyzing 140 rural enterprise owners, the researchers identified four distinct capital configurations that promote tourism entrepreneurship. Human and physical capital emerged as most critical. The findings show multiple pathways to success exist, and entrepreneurs must strategically combine various capital forms—human, physical, venture, and social—rather than relying on single factors alone.
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Eco-efficiency and agricultural innovation systems in developing countries: Evidence from macro-level analysis
This study examines how agricultural innovation systems contribute to eco-efficiency across 79 developing countries. The researchers found that public research spending significantly boosts eco-efficiency in emerging economies, while foreign aid for extension services matters most in less developed countries. Foreign aid for research showed no significant effect. The findings demonstrate that effective agricultural innovation requires context-specific policy interventions tailored to each country's development level, rather than uniform global approaches.
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Unpacking the Personal Initiative–Performance Relationship: A Multi‐Group Analysis of Innovation by Ugandan Rural and Urban Entrepreneurs
Personal initiative drives innovation differently in rural versus urban Uganda. The study identifies two mechanisms: business planning works better in dynamic environments, while social network development matters more in individualistic settings. In static, collectivistic rural contexts, personal initiative has less impact on innovation. The findings come from surveying 573 Ugandan entrepreneurs across rural and urban areas.
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Entrepreneurial Origin and the Configuration of Innovation in Rural Areas: The Case of Cumbria, North West England
Rural entrepreneurs in Cumbria, England access innovation knowledge from beyond their region, creating innovation systems that cross regional and national boundaries. New arrivals and immigrants innovate most frequently, while locally born and returnee entrepreneurs show lower innovation rates. The study reveals that rural areas possess weaker local knowledge systems but entrepreneurs overcome this by tapping nonlocal infrastructure, suggesting innovation systems are constructed by individual actors rather than confined to regional boundaries.
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Contribution of farmers' experiments and innovations to Cuba's agricultural innovation system
Farmers in Cuba conduct their own experiments and innovations that significantly contribute to the country's agricultural system. The study found that government support for participatory knowledge development, combined with interactive meetings like farmer field schools, enables knowledge exchange between farmers and researchers. This multi-stakeholder approach institutionalizes farmer knowledge and builds resilience in farming systems.
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Innovation system approach to agricultural development: Policy implications for agricultural extension delivery in Nigeria
Nigeria's agricultural sector requires a shift from traditional research-extension models to an innovation systems approach. The paper argues that sustainable agricultural development demands holistic consideration of policy frameworks, human capital, infrastructure, and knowledge flows—not just R&D investment. Government should enact favorable policies, strengthen farmer and private sector innovation, and ensure extension workers integrate institutional context into technology packages delivered to farmers.
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The Institutional Limits to Multifunctional Agriculture: Subnational Governance and Regional Systems of Innovation
This paper examines how regional governance in England's East Midlands implements multifunctional agriculture policies. The author uses a regional innovation systems approach to show that while multifunctionality is promoted across Europe, translating this concept into actual policy faces significant institutional challenges. The study reveals gaps between the theoretical appeal of postproductivist agricultural strategies and the practical capacity of subnational governance to deliver them.
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Agricultural Innovation Platforms in West Africa
Innovation platforms in West Africa can create institutional change benefiting smallholders when researchers initiate them with clear principles and deep value chain analysis. Effective platforms combine technical and entrepreneurial support for smallholders with strategic mobilization of high-level actors for regulatory and market backing. Success depends on the platform's maturity and the operating environment; contentious settings limit mobilization efforts.
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The Diffusion of Internet Technologies to Rural Communities: A Portrait of Broadband Supply and Demand
Rural Oklahoma communities face persistent digital divides driven primarily by demand-side factors rather than infrastructure gaps. While telecommunications companies underinvest in rural areas due to low population density, the study finds that infrastructure availability contributes only minimally to broadband access disparities. However, infrastructure's importance grows as Internet knowledge spreads, suggesting that supply-side investments become more critical as rural demand increases.
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Determinants of Rural Industrial Entrepreneurship of Farmers in West Bengal: A Structural Equations Approach
Farmers in West Bengal's Bardhaman district are more likely to start rural industrial enterprises when they have higher education, financial family support, innovativeness, and wealth. Age, marital status, number of children, crops grown, and occupational status also influence entrepreneurship decisions. The study recommends targeted education and training programs, plus development of rural capital markets, to encourage farmers to diversify into industrial enterprises while preventing inefficient ventures.
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Entrepreneurship for social impact: encouraging market access in rural Bangladesh
This case study examines how an entrepreneur in rural Bangladesh created new institutional arrangements to enable poor people to access markets and participate in the economy. By combining available resources and institutions creatively, the entrepreneur built platforms that addressed the institutional gaps preventing the poorest from engaging in economic activity. The findings offer practical strategies for development agencies and policymakers seeking to reduce poverty and corruption.
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A New Path of Sustainable Development in Traditional Agricultural Areas from the Perspective of Open Innovation—A Coupling and Coordination Study on the Agricultural Industry and the Tourism Industry
In Henan province, China, agricultural and tourism industries show increasing coordination from 2009 to 2018, with coordination scores rising from 0.278 to 0.921. The study demonstrates that integrating these two industries effectively drives rural economic development and poverty alleviation. The authors recommend optimizing agricultural structure, extending tourism chains, and implementing supportive policies to sustain this integrated development model.
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Innovation for inclusive rural transformation: the role of the state
Governments in developing countries must actively support rural innovation to achieve inclusive development. Analysis of programs across Algeria, Vietnam, South Africa, Peru, India, and Argentina shows state involvement succeeds most when coupled with local community participation. The state's critical roles include promoting agricultural innovation, building rural capacity, and delivering pro-poor social innovations. Success requires governments to support local capability building and bridge knowledge gaps between innovation producers and rural communities.
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Path mechanism and spatial spillover effect of green technology innovation on agricultural CO2 emission intensity: A case study in Jiangsu Province, China
Green technology innovation directly reduces agricultural carbon emissions and creates positive spillover effects in neighboring regions. Energy structure optimization and agricultural industry agglomeration both strengthen this effect, though using both mechanisms simultaneously may reduce agglomeration's benefits. The study uses Jiangsu Province data to demonstrate that managing technology transfer between regions while accounting for spatial spillover effects can effectively reduce agricultural emissions.
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Bridging the urban-rural digital divide: taxonomy of the best practice and critical reflection of the EU countries’ approach
EU countries use fragmented approaches to reduce the urban-rural digital divide. This paper creates a taxonomy of European rural digitalization strategies and groups countries by their implementation patterns. The analysis reveals that digital infrastructure and virtual sphere coherence are critical challenges preventing successful bridging of the divide across EU member states.
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The Role of Actors in Social Innovation in Rural Areas
Social innovation in rural areas depends on specific types of actors playing distinct roles. This study interviewed key informants from three socially innovative initiatives in rural Spain and Scotland. Local actors and processes prove central, while facilitators and neutral intermediaries significantly impact outcomes. Social economy organizations coordinate networks effectively, and public sector involvement through LEADER programs shapes how rural communities address social needs and opportunities.
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Social Innovation in Rural Areas of the European Union Learnings from Neo-Endogenous Development Projects in Italy and Spain
Social innovation in rural EU areas, particularly in Spain and Italy, succeeds through public-private partnerships and the LEADER approach. Local leaders, social enterprises, and Local Action Groups drive participation by overcoming community resistance. Effective projects require collective learning, sustained long-term commitment, and integration of both external and internal knowledge. Network complexity influences outcomes, and intangible contributions often go undervalued in rural development practice.
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Entrepreneurship and Innovation Towards Rural Development Evidence from a Peripheral Area in Portugal
Rural entrepreneurship and innovation in Portugal's Montemuro region demonstrate how endogenous, community-driven initiatives reverse depopulation and economic decline. Over thirty years, local entrepreneurs developed innovative projects that increased population, revitalized socio-economic activity, and created jobs. The study shows that leveraging internal resources and community energy proves essential for rural development in peripheral, mountainous areas facing crisis.
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The Digital Economy, Green Technology Innovation, and Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity
The digital economy significantly increases agricultural productivity in China, with green technology innovation strengthening this effect. Using provincial data from 2011 to 2020, the study finds that digital economy development boosts overall agricultural total factor productivity and that green technology adoption amplifies this benefit. The impact varies by region, with eastern China experiencing greater gains than western areas.
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Service-Learning for Sustainability Entrepreneurship in Rural Areas: What Is Its Global Impact on Business University Students?
Service-learning in sustainability entrepreneurship improves business students' outcomes in Spain. Students working with rural entrepreneurs to develop business plans reported gains in social responsibility, sustainability commitment, and professional skills. Service-learning participants achieved significantly higher academic performance than non-participating peers, demonstrating the method's effectiveness for holistic business education.
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The digital divide in rural South Asia: Survey evidence from Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka
This paper examines how organizational innovations can bridge the digital divide in South Asia by providing affordable internet access. Using survey data from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, the authors find that education is the primary driver of computer and internet adoption, both as a motivation for use and as an enabling factor—particularly English language proficiency.
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A gender- and class-sensitive explanatory model for rural women entrepreneurship in Turkey
Rural women's agricultural cooperatives in Turkey have declined despite government promotion as vehicles for economic integration. This paper develops a gender- and class-sensitive framework combining macro, meso, and micro-level factors to explain why. Using intersectional theory, it identifies how policymaking, implementation, and everyday experiences create disadvantages for rural women entrepreneurs. The research calls for holistic policy reform at state and cooperative levels to address structural inequalities.
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Classification of Social Innovations for Marginalized Rural Areas
This paper establishes a common definition of social innovation tailored for marginalized rural areas. The authors argue that existing definitions lack specificity for rural contexts and propose a classification framework to standardize how social innovations are identified and evaluated in rural development. This enables consistent measurement and comparison of social innovations addressing rural marginalization.
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Enhanced learning from multi‐stakeholder partnerships: Lessons from the Enabling Rural Innovation in Africa programme
Multi-stakeholder partnerships in rural innovation require structured learning approaches to succeed. The Enabling Rural Innovation programme in Africa identified five key success factors: shared vision, strong leadership support, demonstrated benefits, investment in human and social capital, and joint resource mobilization. Major challenges include staff turnover, personality conflicts, institutional differences, and sustaining private sector engagement. Participatory reflection practices help organizations build partnership capacity and drive innovation.
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How Programme Teams Progress Agricultural Innovation in the Australian Dairy Industry
Programme teams in the Australian dairy sector bring together researchers, extension workers, farmers, and policymakers to drive agricultural innovation. These teams identify stakeholder needs, design change strategies, and pilot solutions—integrating research-led and demand-pull approaches. This semi-formal governance mechanism overcomes institutional weaknesses that favor simple technology adoption, though investment in such innovation capacity remains low and inconsistent across dairy domains.
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Innovation policies in Uzbekistan: Path taken by ZEFa project on innovations in the sphere of agriculture
This paper examines how agricultural innovations developed by the ZEF/UNESCO project in Uzbekistan move from research into government practice. The author analyzes the bureaucratic, legal, and political barriers to adopting both technological and institutional innovations. The study finds that Uzbekistan is developing an innovation system, though currently operates more as a knowledge ecology that could support future innovation infrastructure.
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Opportunity Recognition in Rural Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries
Rural entrepreneurship can reduce poverty in developing countries, but success depends on opportunity recognition. The authors present a model showing that intellectual, human, environmental, and socio-cultural resources influence how rural entrepreneurs identify opportunities, mediated by national framework conditions. Understanding these factors helps developing countries design better policies to support rural entrepreneurship and economic growth.
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The digital divide in Europe's rural enterprises
Rural enterprises across ten European regions show significant digital divides in ICT adoption. While north-south geographic differences exist, sectoral factors, firm size, and network connections matter more. Human capital characteristics—skills and knowledge of workers—emerge as the strongest predictor of whether rural businesses adopt digital technologies. Regional and national context also shapes adoption patterns beyond simple geographic location.
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Disruption disrupted? Reflecting on the relationship between responsible innovation and digital agriculture research and development at multiple levels in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand
Digital agriculture technologies promise productivity gains but create socio-ethical challenges. This paper examines responsible innovation practices in Australian and New Zealand public agricultural research organizations. The authors find that responsible innovation remains only partially implemented, with gaps between stated goals and actual practice. They argue that systemic organizational changes—including new performance measures and reward structures—are necessary to embed responsibility across research teams and enhance socially beneficial outcomes in digital agriculture development.
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Social Entrepreneurship in Agriculture, a Sustainable Practice for Social and Economic Cohesion in Rural Areas: The Case of the Czech Republic
Social farming in the Czech Republic uses agricultural enterprises to address rural social exclusion and service gaps through therapeutic activities, sheltered employment, and educational programs. The study examines fifteen Czech social farms to determine whether they meet social entrepreneurship criteria and assesses their contribution to rural development. Social farms successfully integrate vulnerable populations while supporting economic sustainability and social cohesion in countryside communities.
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The Role of Agency in the Emergence and Development of Social Innovations in Rural Areas. Analysis of Two Cases of Social Farming in Italy and The Netherlands
This paper examines how agency—the ability to turn challenges into opportunities—drives social innovation in rural agriculture. Researchers studied two social farming cases in Italy and the Netherlands, developing a framework to evaluate agency dimensions using both quantitative and qualitative data. The findings show that a strong innovation idea, agency resilience, and the agency's embeddedness in local context are critical for social innovations to emerge and develop in rural areas.
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Innovation and firm growth in agricultural inputs industry: empirical evidence from India
R&D investments in India's agricultural input firms—seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and machinery—drive firm growth, with stronger effects for younger companies. Export-oriented firms and those importing raw materials show different growth patterns. The study of 1,320 firm-year observations from 2001–2019 demonstrates that innovation benefits compound over time and help firms capture industry externalities, suggesting governments should subsidize R&D to boost agricultural input sector competitiveness.
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Enterprise and entrepreneurship on islands and remote rural environments
Island and remote rural entrepreneurs face distinct challenges beyond typical rural business obstacles, shaped by isolation and peripheralization. The paper compares SME experiences across developing countries and Northern Europe, finding that social capital, cultural values, and local norms drive success. It argues policymakers must account for geographic differences and recognize how remoteness can become a competitive advantage as place-based distinctiveness gains market value.
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Financial development, technological innovation and urban-rural income gap: Time series evidence from China
This study examines how technological innovation and financial development affect China's urban-rural income gap from 1985 to 2019. The researchers find that technological innovation increases income inequality between urban and rural areas, while financial development shows an inverted-U relationship with the gap. The two factors have bidirectional causal relationships with income inequality. The findings suggest policymakers should strengthen financial systems and mitigate negative distributional effects of technological advancement.
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Non-farm entrepreneurship, caste, and energy poverty in rural India
Non-farm entrepreneurship significantly reduces energy poverty in rural Indian households, with effects varying by caste. The study analyzed panel data from 2015 and 2018 using quasi-experimental methods. Scheduled Tribe members experienced the largest poverty reduction. The mechanism works through increased financial savings and durable asset accumulation, enabling access to cleaner energy for lighting and cooking. Governments should promote non-farm entrepreneurship to reduce rural energy poverty.
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Empowerment or employment? Uncovering the paradoxes of social entrepreneurship for women via Husk Power Systems in rural North India
Social enterprises deploying off-grid solar systems in rural India face significant challenges beyond market imperfections. The study reveals that successful deployment requires managing community engagement, stakeholder coordination, and organizational capacity building. Mini-grid sustainability depends on integrating social and technical design aspects. Multi-criteria decision tools help planners avoid unintended consequences when scaling off-grid energy solutions in low-income markets.
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Understanding social innovation processes in rural areas: empirical evidence from social enterprises in Germany
German rural communities increasingly rely on social enterprises called community cooperatives to address infrastructure loss and provide public goods. This study examines how these cooperatives drive social innovation through formalized collective action. The research finds that macro-level policy financing matters, but local public actors rarely initiate innovation alone—they need private incentives. Actor networks and resource patterns differ between establishing new infrastructure versus maintaining existing services, yet all successful innovations require legitimizing formal processes.
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Evaluating Innovation in European Rural Development Programmes: Application of the Social Return on Investment (SROI) Method
This paper evaluates social innovation outcomes from England's Rural Development Programme using Social Return on Investment methodology. Analysis of 196 beneficiaries found that innovation support generated £170 million in benefits through individual behavior changes, operational improvements, relational shifts, and institutional reforms. The authors argue that traditional performance measures fail to capture social innovation's full value and call for comprehensive evaluation approaches that better connect innovation outcomes to rural policy decisions.
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Scaling up research-for-development innovations in food and agricultural systems
Research-for-development innovations in food and agriculture often fail to scale despite successful pilots, particularly in poor regions. The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund supported applied research to develop and scale innovations. Key lessons show that successful scaling requires embedding innovations within local socio-ecological systems, engaging end users throughout research, enabling participatory decision-making, and ensuring innovations deliver returns for end-users.
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Finance, technology, and values: A configurational approach to the analysis of rural entrepreneurship
Rural entrepreneurship requires understanding how multiple factors interact, not in isolation. This study examines religious tourism development in rural areas, analyzing how combinations of financial resources, technology, and cultural values shape entrepreneurship levels. The research finds that successful rural ventures depend on interdependent relationships between these factors rather than single conditions, challenging oversimplified policy approaches.
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The green side of social innovation: Using sustainable development goals to classify environmental impacts of rural grassroots initiatives
Rural grassroots social innovations across Europe and the Mediterranean region deliver measurable environmental benefits. Analyzing 238 initiatives, the researchers found that 68% directly address sustainable development goals, with the strongest impacts in natural resource management, sustainable food production, and land access. The study demonstrates that SDG classification effectively categorizes and communicates the environmental value of community-led rural innovations.
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On the role of key players in rural social innovation processes
Rural social innovation projects succeed when led by assertive key players embedded in strong communities capable of collective action. This study of two German communities building rural infrastructure systems reveals that key players navigate internal opposition and external barriers by combining micro-, meso-, and macro-level strategies. Communities seeking independence from remote political and economic control benefit most when leaders and residents work together to overcome resistance to novel approaches.
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Systemic Innovation Areas for Heritage-Led Rural Regeneration: A Multilevel Repository of Best Practices
This paper analyzes 20 case studies of heritage-led rural regeneration projects across multiple countries. Using the Community Capitals Framework, researchers identified six systemic innovation areas that enable successful capital transfer in these projects. The study created a repository of best practices showing how cultural and natural heritage drives economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability in rural communities, positioning culture as essential to sustainable rural development.
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Social innovation and rural territories: Exploring invisible contexts and actors in Portugal and India
Social innovation in rural areas drives personal and socioeconomic development by meeting citizen needs and promoting empowerment. This study compares social innovation emergence in rural Portugal and India, revealing how top-down and bottom-up approaches shape innovation differently across contrasting socioeconomic contexts. The research fills a gap by examining rural innovation dynamics in both western and non-western settings.
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The influence of multi-stakeholder platforms on farmers' innovation and rural development in emerging economies: a systematic literature review
Multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) in emerging economies create interfaces connecting diverse actors to support farmer innovation. This systematic review of 44 studies finds that MSPs achieve different innovation outcomes depending on their organizational goals and activities. The research identifies key gaps: disciplinary fragmentation, linear thinking, insufficient attention to informal institutions, and overlooked power dynamics that affect how MSPs influence farmer innovation.
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Agricultural innovation and socio-economic change in early medieval Europe: evidence from Britain and France
During the Middle Saxon period (650–850 CE) in eastern England and early medieval France, animal husbandry shifted from subsistence-focused to specialized production targeting wool and pork surpluses. Zooarchaeological evidence shows this innovation coincided with state formation, urban development, and monasticism. Both monastic and secular estate centers drove these agricultural changes, suggesting innovation emerged from rural centers rather than top-down imposition.
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Innovation and Rural Development: Some Lessons from Britain and Western Europe
Rural innovation in Britain and Western Europe requires integrating economic, social, and environmental objectives rather than pursuing growth alone. Successful rural development combines local entrepreneurship with strategic infrastructure investment, particularly in broadband and services. The paper argues that innovation thrives when communities engage in planning processes that balance modernization with preserving rural character and quality of life.
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Firms’ eco-innovation and Industry 4.0 technologies in urban and rural areas
Rural firms eco-innovate more than urban firms despite lower digital adoption, but urban location amplifies the eco-innovative impact of Industry 4.0 technologies. The study analyzed European firms and found that rural areas show unexpected strength in environmental innovation, though urban firms better leverage digital tools for eco-innovation purposes.
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Supporting bottom-up innovative initiatives throughout the spiral of innovations: Lessons from rural Greece
Bottom-up innovative initiatives emerge in rural areas even under difficult conditions. The Spiral of Innovations framework, applied non-linearly, helps track how these initiatives develop. Innovation Support Services tailored to each initiative and its development stage prove critical for success. Networking between diverse actors—farmers, researchers, businesses, policymakers—drives innovation co-generation and strengthens rural economies.
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Interpretations of Innovation in Rural Development. The Cases of Leader Projects in Lecce (Italy) and Granada (Spain) in 2007–2013 Period
This study examines how the Leader initiative interprets and implements innovation in rural development across Granada, Spain and Lecce, Italy from 2007–2013. The researchers analyzed projects Local Action Groups labeled as innovative and found that while social innovation is programmatically central to Leader, local implementation faces significant obstacles. Key problems include limited local understanding of social innovation's role and weak institutional support structures in these peripheral regions.
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Understanding Indigenous Innovation in Rural West Africa: Challenges to Diffusion of Innovations Theory and Current Social Innovation Practice
Development agencies implementing social innovation in West Africa often impose external processes that disrespect indigenous creativity and ignore existing local innovation. The author documents a functioning innovation system among Hausa villagers in Niger that operates independently of development intervention, challenging diffusion of innovations theory. Supporting indigenous innovation processes proves more effective than initiating externally-designed change.
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New challenges for public research organisations in agricultural innovation in developing economies: Evidence from Embrapa in Brazil's soybean industry
Brazil's agricultural research organization Embrapa possesses diverse technological capabilities for soybean innovation, varying in novelty and complexity across different technologies and distributed across multiple units. The paper argues that as global food demand rises and innovation becomes increasingly interdependent, indigenous public research organizations like Embrapa must fundamentally reorganize how they manage these capabilities to better support agricultural innovation and productivity growth in developing economies.
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“Communities in the middle”: Interactions between drivers of change and place-based characteristics in rural forest-based communities
Rural forest-based communities in the middle of the United States—neither wilderness nor urban edges—face common shocks including industrial decline, demographic change, climate change, and new energy demands. The paper shows that communities respond differently based on interactions between local conditions and larger drivers of change. Three development trajectories emerge, shaped by the resource base, connectivity to other places, and social adaptability. The framework identifies vulnerabilities, opportunities, and novel recombinations as key to understanding how these communities adapt.
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Connecting for Innovation: Four Universities Collaboratively Preparing Pre-service Teachers to Teach in Rural and Remote Western Australia
Four Western Australian universities collaborated to improve teacher preparation for rural and remote employment. They created seven curriculum modules aligned with professional teaching standards, established cross-institutional field experiences, and built a community of practice connecting universities, schools, and the education department. The project enhanced university capacity to prepare graduates for rural placements and demonstrated how collaborative research can inform policy and program development.
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Intermediation for technology diffusion and user innovation in a developing rural economy: a social learning perspective
Academic research centers can effectively transfer technology to rural small businesses by acting as intermediaries that broker, facilitate, and configure technology for end-users. A study of fish farming businesses in rural Colombia shows that intermediation activities help users adopt and adapt technology through social learning. The research identifies specific design components that optimize technology transfer from universities to rural industries in developing economies.
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Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Rural Areas
Rural entrepreneurship reduces poverty, migration, and creates employment in rural areas. This study identifies barriers to rural entrepreneurship—including lack of capital, poor supply chains, economic dependence, and weak institutional support—and proposes a model for sustainable rural entrepreneurship. The research concludes that comprehensive rural development requires creating conditions for sustainable entrepreneurship, which enables communities to identify local resources and opportunities while solving problems and improving village conditions.
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Entrepreneurship in rural regions: the role of industry experience and home advantage for newly founded firms
Industry experience improves survival rates for new firms across all regions, but home advantage—where local entrepreneurs outperform outsiders—only benefits firms in rural areas. Native rural entrepreneurs create substantially more jobs than non-local founders, suggesting that local knowledge and networks matter most in rural contexts.
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Rural Entrepreneurship Strategies: Empirical Experience in the Northern Sub-Plateau of Spain
Rural entrepreneurship strategies in Spain's depopulated Northern Sub-Plateau work best when designed and evaluated by local beneficiaries from the start. The authors implemented a participatory entrepreneurship strategy in Ávila province using an adapted 'Working With People' model, finding that community-led approaches significantly strengthen rural entrepreneurship initiatives in aging, depopulated regions.
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The evolution of the MasAgro hubs: responsiveness and serendipity as drivers of agricultural innovation in a dynamic and heterogeneous context
The MasAgro program in Mexico evolved from a narrow technology focus to a broader innovation system approach by adapting to local contexts and opportunities. Hub managers drove this shift through responsive management, creating diverse partnerships and technology portfolios suited to different regions. The research shows that effective large-scale agricultural programs require stable macro-level vision combined with flexibility at implementation levels to accommodate farmer diversity and institutional change.
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The role of living labs in cultivating inclusive and responsible innovation in precision agriculture
Living labs serve as effective platforms for developing precision agriculture technologies that meet farmer and community needs. Researchers used an interdisciplinary approach combining farmer interviews, field data collection, experiments with payment incentives, design workshops, and extension activities. The methodology produced sustainable solutions that balance social, economic, and environmental concerns. Including diverse experts and engaging farmers throughout the innovation process proved essential for creating trustworthy, responsible agricultural technologies.
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Testing a Framework to Co-Construct Social Innovation Actions: Insights from Seven Marginalized Rural Areas
This study tested a governance framework for developing social innovation actions across seven marginalized rural areas in Europe and the Mediterranean. The researchers found that early-stage support for social innovators and local actors is critical for addressing rural challenges. Defining social innovations requires ongoing engagement and refinement. Feasibility assessments helped identify key success factors: managing social networks, ensuring financial sustainability, and building local knowledge. The framework's lessons apply broadly across rural sectors.
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Exploring the impact of innovation adoption in agriculture: how and where Precision Agriculture Technologies can be suitable for the Italian farm system?
Precision agriculture technologies using IoT and ICT can improve farm efficiency and sustainability by reducing inputs while protecting resources. This study identifies barriers to adoption in Italy, including cultural resistance to innovation, limited awareness of benefits, and small average farm sizes that make investment difficult. Analysis shows northeastern Italy is most suitable for precision agriculture technology adoption.
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Building farmers' capacity for innovation generation: Insights from rural Ghana
Rural farmers in Ghana who participate in farmer field forums—a participatory extension approach—generate significantly more innovations than non-participants, with 27% higher probability of innovation and 49% more innovation practices implemented. Education and risk preference also drive farmer innovation. However, the program shows no spillover benefits to non-participants, raising cost-effectiveness concerns. Policies should build farmer innovation capacity through institutional arrangements enabling stakeholder interaction and learning.
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Hegemony, Technological Innovation and Corporate Identities: 50 Years of Agricultural Revolutions in Argentina
Argentine agriculture experienced two major technological shifts since the mid-1960s: the Green Revolution and the Agribusiness Paradigm. Each period was led by a different agrarian elite that framed technological adoption as essential for agricultural survival. The paper shows how agrarian leaders used technological innovation as ideology to gain political influence, with each era linking specific technologies, business models, and government policies to construct and maintain their power over agricultural development.
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Exploring Opportunities for Enhancing Innovation in Agriculture: The Case of Oil Palm Production in Ghana
This study identifies institutional barriers limiting innovation in Ghana's oil palm sector. Researchers found that technical farm-level innovations alone cannot drive sustainable production and poverty reduction without addressing systemic constraints. The study recommends integrating small-scale processors into value chains, organizing farmers for better negotiating power, improving access to high-yielding seedlings, and reforming tenancy arrangements to incentivize tenant farmer investment.
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Roles of ‘small- and medium-sized enterprises’ in service industry innovation: a case study on leisure agriculture service in tourism regional innovation
Small and medium-sized enterprises in Taiwan's leisure agriculture sector boost competitiveness through cooperation that engages customers in value creation. The study identifies four evolutionary stages of leisure agriculture services and shows that SME collaboration overcomes resource constraints while shifting the tourism industry from product-focused to service-focused business models.
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Reconstructive Social Innovation Cycles in Women-Led Initiatives in Rural Areas
Women-led social innovations in rural Canada, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, and Serbia address gender equity challenges by reconstructing discriminatory practices, institutions, and beliefs. The study identifies a reconstructive social innovation cycle—cyclical processes where women engage through civil society initiatives to question and transform marginalizing norms. These innovations operate across everyday practices, institutional structures, and cognitive frames, offering concrete pathways for rural women to overcome patriarchal barriers and create opportunities for education and employment.
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Social Innovation in Rural Areas? The Case of Andalusian Olive Oil Co-Operatives
Andalusian olive oil cooperatives function as social innovations that address rural development challenges by helping farmers compete internationally while preserving rural livelihoods. The study finds that these cooperatives are slowly adopting organizational and management innovations with broader social benefits. Despite historical market competition difficulties, cooperatives maintain rural populations and improve quality of life, warranting government support as public goods.
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Exploring potential climate-related entrepreneurship opportunities and challenges for rural Nigerian women
Rural women in southwest Nigeria recognize climate change impacts on their livelihoods and show strong interest in entrepreneurship as adaptation. Crop farmers demonstrate the highest climate awareness. Women report soil fertility loss, unpredictable rainfall, and extended dry seasons severely affecting their activities. The study identifies technological, institutional, and infrastructural innovations as opportunities to build adaptive capacity and entrepreneurship, emphasizing the need for government support and collaboration between local authorities, community organizations, and public-private actors.
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Design, innovation, and rural creative places: Are the arts the cherry on top, or the secret sauce?
Rural establishments with strong design orientations—particularly those integrating design into core operations—grow faster economically than those without systematic design approaches. Design-intensive rural firms cluster in counties with educated workforces and performing arts organizations. The study identifies three distinct design and innovation orientations among rural businesses and confirms that design integration correlates with wage growth during economic recovery, suggesting design capability drives rural economic performance.
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Broadband and civic engagement in rural areas: What matters?
Broadband adoption, rather than mere access or infrastructure, most strongly correlates with civic engagement in rural US communities. Community anchor institutions matter specifically for neighbor interactions and school confidence. The study analyzed 19 civic engagement metrics from national surveys using state and household-level data, finding adoption consistently outperforms access and infrastructure measures in predicting community involvement.
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Evaluation of renewable energy sources in peripheral areas and renewable energy-based rural development
This paper develops an integrated methodology to evaluate renewable energy potential in peripheral rural areas by combining three energy sources: biomass, solar, and wind. Using mapping techniques, wind farm simulation software, and geographical information systems, the authors create a comprehensive assessment framework that measures total renewable energy capacity. This approach addresses the gap in existing methods and supports evidence-based renewable energy development for rural economic growth and climate protection.
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Renewable energy for sustainable rural development: Synergies and mismatches
Renewable energy development in rural areas is promoted as an economic opportunity, but this potential remains largely unfulfilled because the link between energy transition and rural development has been assumed rather than actively cultivated. This review examines experiences in Denmark and Scotland, revealing policy mismatches that prevent renewable energy from effectively supporting rural development. The authors argue that rural communities and their needs must be central to energy transition planning for genuine synergies to emerge.
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Optimization and cost-benefit assessment of hybrid power systems for off-grid rural electrification in Ethiopia
A hybrid power system combining solar, wind, battery storage, and diesel generation can reliably electrify remote rural villages in Ethiopia at lower cost than standalone solar systems. Researchers modeled an optimal system for a specific village, finding it generates electricity at $0.207 per kilowatt-hour while reducing annual carbon emissions by 37.3 tons compared to diesel-only generation.
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Analyzing of a Photovoltaic/Wind/Biogas/Pumped-Hydro Off-Grid Hybrid System for Rural Electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa—Case Study of Djoundé in Northern Cameroon
This study designs and analyzes a hybrid renewable energy system combining photovoltaic, wind, biogas, and pumped-hydro storage to electrify a rural village in northern Cameroon. Using optimization software, researchers found an optimal configuration with solar panels and a biogas generator could deliver electricity at €0.256/kWh. The system is technically viable but requires substantial subsidies for widespread adoption across sub-Saharan Africa, though costs will improve as solar technology prices decline.
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Technology transfer, indigenous innovation and leapfrogging in green technology: the solar-PV industry in China and India
China and India have rapidly advanced their solar photovoltaic industries by combining technology transfer with indigenous innovation. Both countries strategically mixed different mechanisms for acquiring, adapting, and developing solar technology. Their national innovation systems proved essential for sustaining progress. The paper shows developing countries can follow this mixed approach to catch up in green industries and build competitive green economies without replicating developed nations' paths.
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Renewable energy systems based on micro-hydro and solar photovoltaic for rural areas: A case study in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
This paper designs hybrid renewable energy systems combining micro-hydro and solar power for rural areas in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where many communities lack electricity access. Using particle swarm optimization, the researchers analyzed local hydropower and solar potential to determine optimal system capacities. The analysis evaluated designs based on capital costs, grid sales revenue, energy costs, and net present value to identify the most economically viable configuration.
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Decentralized rural electrification in Kenya: Speeding up universal energy access
This paper maps Kenya's energy infrastructure and develops a spatial model to identify cost-effective rural electrification strategies. The model evaluates diesel generators, solar, wind, hydro mini-grids, hybrid systems, and grid extension for remote areas. Comparing the model's results with Kenya's national Rural Electrification Master Plan reveals complementarities in planning approaches. The analysis shows that decentralized renewable energy systems can deliver universal energy access to rural households competitively.
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Indigenous Innovation and Economic Development: Lessons from China's Leap into the Information Age
This paper examines indigenous innovation in China's computer electronics industry through case studies of four leading companies—Stone, Legend, Great Wall, and Founder—from their origins through the late 1990s. The analysis applies a framework emphasizing strategic control, organizational integration, and financial commitment as critical factors driving innovation. The findings illuminate how Chinese firms developed indigenous technological capabilities and their implications for understanding innovation dynamics and economic development.
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The role of SMEs in rural development: Access of SMEs to finance as a mediator
Small and medium enterprises drive rural development in Pakistan, but financing access is critical. This study surveyed 338 rural entrepreneurs across three districts and found that SME growth directly improves rural development outcomes. Access to finance significantly strengthens this relationship, acting as a key mediator between SME evolution and rural development gains. The findings highlight the importance of improving credit availability for rural SMEs.
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Development of Renewable Energy Technologies in rural areas of Pakistan
Pakistan has significant renewable energy potential in solar, wind, biomass, and hydroelectricity, yet few companies develop these technologies in rural areas. This study examines renewable energy technology development and policy implementation for rural Pakistan. Rural households consume less electricity than urban ones despite agriculture being the primary income source. The authors recommend governments expand renewable energy projects in rural areas to create employment, improve living standards, and boost the economy, while adopting policies similar to China and the US.
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Entrepreneurial orientation, strategic flexibilities and indigenous firm innovation in transitional China
This paper examines how entrepreneurial orientation influences innovation in Chinese firms during economic transition, mediated by strategic flexibility. The researchers developed a conceptual model and tested it empirically, revealing how firms' willingness to take risks and pursue opportunities translates into innovation through their ability to adapt strategies flexibly.
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From Urban to Rural: Lessons for Microfinance from Argentina
Rural microfinance organizations in Argentina have adapted urban microfinance practices to rural contexts, but the approach faces significant obstacles. High distances, specialized farming, and elevated wages make microfinance ineffective for reaching Argentina's poorest rural populations. The paper argues that improving rural financial access requires strengthening market-supporting institutions rather than government-mandated lending programs.
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Indigenous Welfare and Community-Based Social Development: Lessons from African Innovations
Indigenous community-based welfare practices in Southern Africa have long supported social well-being but remain underrecognized. The paper examines three examples where traditional cooperative practices integrate with formal social development programs, demonstrating how these innovations strengthen communities. The authors argue that other countries should adopt similar approaches to combine indigenous knowledge with formal development initiatives.
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Optimal Design of a Hybrid Off-Grid Renewable Energy System Using Techno-Economic and Sensitivity Analysis for a Rural Remote Location
Researchers designed an optimal hybrid renewable energy system for a remote rural village in India using solar, wind, diesel, and hydrogen storage. The system minimizes costs while maximizing renewable energy use, achieving 84% renewable fraction at $0.244 per kilowatt-hour. Solar paired with battery storage proved most economical. Sensitivity analysis tested performance across varying loads, project lifespans, and equipment degradation.
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Indigenous in the city: contemporary identities and cultural innovation
This edited collection examines how Indigenous peoples in Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand construct and maintain cultural identities while living in urban environments. The chapters document Indigenous urbanization patterns, community formation, legal recognition, place-making practices, and cultural innovation in cities. The work shows how Indigenous communities adapt traditional identities to contemporary urban contexts through institutions, social networks, and cultural practices like powwows.
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Designing and Sensitivity Analysis of an Off-Grid Hybrid Wind-Solar Power Plant with Diesel Generator and Battery Backup for the Rural Area in Iran
Researchers designed and analyzed off-grid hybrid renewable energy systems for a rural Iranian village lacking grid electricity. Using HOMER software, they evaluated combinations of solar, wind, diesel generators, and batteries to meet daily energy demands of 22 kWh. Sensitivity analysis tested how variations in solar radiation, light reflection, and wind speed affected system performance. Four hybrid configurations emerged as viable options, with solar-wind-generator-battery systems offering cost-effective solutions for remote areas.
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Indigenous Knowledge and Developing Countries’ Innovation Systems: The Case of Namibia
Namibia's innovation system faces structural challenges in coordinating actors and resources. The paper argues that developing countries should integrate indigenous knowledge into their innovation systems through doing-using-interacting modes rather than formal institutional frameworks. This approach enables participatory development, strengthens local community resilience, and builds competitive advantage.
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Sizing of renewable energy based hybrid system for rural electrification using grey wolf optimisation approach
This paper develops an optimization method for sizing hybrid renewable energy systems in rural villages. Using grey wolf optimization, researchers designed a solar, biomass, biogas, and battery system to provide reliable electricity to households in Haryana, India. The proposed approach outperformed existing optimization methods like harmony search and particle swarm optimization.
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Can China’s digital inclusive finance help rural revitalization? A perspective based on rural economic development and income disparity
Digital inclusive finance in China promotes rural revitalization by expanding economic growth and reducing urban-rural income gaps. The effect varies by region, with stronger impacts in eastern and central provinces than western areas. Coverage breadth and usage depth drive revitalization, while digitalization shows a U-shaped relationship. A threshold effect exists: below certain levels, digital finance facilitates revitalization; above thresholds, effects strengthen significantly.
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Exploring peer-to-peer returns in off-grid renewable energy systems in rural India: An anthropological perspective on local energy sharing and trading
Off-grid renewable energy systems in rural India enable peer-to-peer energy sharing, but returns for energy provision extend beyond money. This ethnographic study identifies three return types—cash, in-kind, and intangible—and shows that people's preferences depend on their social relationships. Configuring returns is a sociocultural process, not purely economic. Energy practitioners should support diverse return mechanisms and engage local economies.
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"Fostering Indigenous Innovation Capacities": The Development of Biotechnology in Shanghai's Zhangjiang High-Tech Park
China's government strategy to build indigenous innovation capacity shaped biotechnology development in Shanghai's Zhangjiang High-Tech Park. Municipal authorities drove initial biotech clustering, then shifted focus toward integrating the park into global knowledge networks. The park exemplifies a hybrid governance model blending state direction with entrepreneurial market mechanisms at the science park level.
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Energy Management Strategy for Rural Communities’ DC Micro Grid Power System Structure with Maximum Penetration of Renewable Energy Sources
This paper develops an energy management strategy for DC microgrids serving rural communities that integrates solar, wind, fuel cells, and batteries. The strategy balances power between renewable sources and storage systems to meet variable loads while minimizing diesel generator use. The authors tested their approach through simulation and laboratory experiments, demonstrating it effectively handles dynamic load variations and improves system reliability for rural power systems.
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On the urban-rural bus transit system with passenger-freight mixed flow
This paper examines bus transit systems that serve both urban and rural areas while carrying mixed passenger and freight loads. The authors analyze how combining these functions affects system efficiency and operations, providing insights into integrated transportation solutions that can serve dispersed rural populations while maintaining economic viability through freight revenue.
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Industry relatedness, FDI liberalization and the indigenous innovation process in China
This study examines how Chinese firms innovate through related industries, particularly when foreign ownership restrictions ease. The research shows that R&D investment drives innovation output, which boosts productivity. Related industries consistently support innovation across all stages. When FDI liberalization occurs, firms increasingly leverage relatedness to adapt foreign technologies locally, recombine knowledge from adjacent sectors, and solve organizational challenges—strengthening their indigenous innovation capacity.
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Feasibility and Optimal Reliable Design of Renewable Hybrid Energy System for Rural Electrification in Iran
Researchers designed a hybrid renewable energy system combining hydroelectric, wind, and solar power with hydrogen storage to electrify 12 remote villages in northwestern Iran. Using local meteorological and geographic data, they optimized the system to minimize costs while ensuring reliable power supply. A genetic algorithm outperformed HOMER software in finding configurations that achieved energy costs below $0.30 per kilowatt-hour while accounting for equipment failures.
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“Indians Don't Make Maps”: Indigenous Cartographic Traditions and Innovations
Indigenous cartographers have developed distinct mapping traditions that challenge colonial knowledge systems and assert sovereignty over territory and land relationships. The paper documents historical and contemporary Indigenous cartographic innovations and argues that expanding cartographic training in Indigenous communities strengthens cultural documentation, tribal sovereignty, and restorative justice efforts.
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Impact of Digital Inclusive Finance on Rural High‐Quality Development: Evidence from China
Digital inclusive finance significantly promotes rural economic development in China by improving economic efficiency, urban-rural structure, ecological sustainability, livelihoods, and innovation capacity. The relationship is nonlinear, initially restraining growth before accelerating after a threshold. The authors recommend expanding rural digital infrastructure and inclusive finance services, particularly in economically underdeveloped regions.
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Exploring the coupling coordination relationship between eco-environment and renewable energy development in rural areas: A case of China
China's rural areas must transition to renewable energy to achieve carbon neutrality, but this development affects rural ecosystems. The study models the coupling relationship between renewable energy development and environmental quality across Chinese provinces from 2005 to 2019. Results show coordination improved over time, with projections indicating further gains by 2025. Regional variation is significant, requiring tailored approaches based on local resources and economic conditions.
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Design and implementation of Hybrid Renewable energy (PV/Wind/Diesel/Battery) Microgrids for rural areas.
This study designs and tests a hybrid microgrid system combining solar panels, wind turbines, diesel generators, and batteries for rural electrification. Using simulation software, the researchers developed control strategies to manage power flow from multiple energy sources and maintain system stability. The coordinated control approach successfully optimized the microgrid's performance, demonstrating that these hybrid systems can reliably serve remote areas.
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A Novel Off-Grid Optimal Hybrid Energy System for Rural Electrification of Tanzania Using a Closed Loop Cooled Solar System
This paper designs an off-grid hybrid solar-wind energy system for rural Tanzania, where electrification rates are extremely low. The system includes a novel closed-loop cooled solar design that increases power output by 10.23% compared to conventional panels. Using optimization software and local resource data, the authors demonstrate a cost-effective configuration with energy costs of $0.26/kWh, suitable for remote areas with similar climates.
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Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Sustainable Rural Development: Perspectives and Challenges in Energy Systems Modeling
Hybrid renewable energy systems effectively electrify rural areas while reducing costs and emissions. Computational optimization models can design these systems while accounting for social factors like health, education, and income. The paper argues that energy modeling tools must evolve to integrate interdisciplinary perspectives and address broader societal transformations beyond traditional cost optimization approaches.
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The Importance of Local Investments Co-Financed by the European Union in the Field of Renewable Energy Sources in Rural Areas of Poland
Polish rural municipalities invested heavily in renewable energy projects between 2014 and 2020 using EU co-financing. The study of 1,117 projects found that agricultural municipalities in Eastern Poland showed the highest investment activity. Less developed municipalities pursued these projects most aggressively, viewing renewable energy as a path to economic growth. Municipal income and investment capacity were key factors determining success in securing EU funds.
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Feasibility study for power generation using off- grid energy system from micro hydro-PV-diesel generator-battery for rural area of Ethiopia: The case of Melkey Hera village, Western Ethiopia
This study evaluates a hybrid off-grid power system combining micro hydro, solar PV, battery storage, and diesel generation for a rural village in western Ethiopia. The system design uses HOMER software to optimize configuration and meets local electricity demand cost-effectively at $0.133/kWh. Hydropower provides 79% of energy, PV provides 20%, and diesel provides 1%, with 99% renewable energy fraction. The hybrid system proves more reliable and cost-effective than grid extension for remote rural electrification.
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Indigenous innovation vs. teng-long huan-niao: policy conflicts in the development of China's flat panel industry
China's central government pursued indigenous innovation policy to develop locally owned flat panel technologies through import substitution and trade protection. Meanwhile, local governments pursued teng-long huan-niao, an export-promotion policy encouraging competition and market entry. These conflicting approaches undermined each other: the top-down indigenous innovation policy forced local governments away from their incremental industrial development strategies, while misaligned incentives between upstream and downstream industries prevented technology leapfrogging goals from succeeding.
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Optimal design and techno‐economic analysis of a hybrid grid‐independent renewable energy system for a rural community
This paper designs and analyzes hybrid renewable energy systems for rural electrification in India. Using HOMER software, researchers evaluated six configurations for a village in Andhra Pradesh and identified an optimal system combining solar panels, diesel generators, batteries, and converters. This system delivers reliable power at low cost while reducing carbon emissions by 76% and achieving 97% renewable energy fraction, making it suitable for rural electrification projects.
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Renewable energy supported microgrid in rural electrification of Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa faces severe energy poverty, with 600 million people lacking electricity access. This review examines renewable energy microgrids and off-grid systems as solutions for rural electrification across the region. The paper discusses energy poverty's economic impacts, current microgrid developments, technical and implementation challenges, and the potential of renewable technologies to transform rural electrification efforts.
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Rural Electrification Efforts Based on Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems in the Andean Region: Comparative Assessment of Their Sustainability
Off-grid solar electrification projects in Chile, Ecuador, and Peru fail to achieve sustainability across institutional, economic, environmental, and socio-cultural dimensions. Ecuador and Chile lack maintenance mechanisms, while Peru struggles with community engagement despite having funding schemes. All three countries neglect strong, decentralized institutions needed to support rural electrification, leading to project failures and abandonment.
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Building an innovation system and indigenous knowledge in Namibia
Namibia is building an innovation system with support from international development aid, but faces challenges implementing science-technology-innovation approaches due to limited analytical capacity. The study finds that indigenous knowledge and learning-by-doing modes create real advantages for local communities and enable positive change. However, innovations based on indigenous knowledge produce limited practical outcomes. Indigenous knowledge remains valuable for innovation policy by enabling community participation in establishing innovation systems.
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Enhancing microfinance outreach through market‐oriented new service development in Indian regional rural banks
Indian regional rural banks underperform in microfinance because they focus on products rather than markets. This paper develops a conceptual framework showing how manager attitudes, institutional characteristics, and market orientation influence service innovation, customer satisfaction, and outreach performance. The findings suggest that adopting market-oriented approaches to new service development can improve these banks' ability to serve poor populations.
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Credit risk in Islamic microfinance institutions: The role of women, groups, and rural borrowers
Islamic microfinance institutions reduce credit risk by offering more group loans, serving more women, and lending to rural borrowers. Conventional microfinance institutions show opposite patterns, benefiting from fewer group loans and rural lending. The findings demonstrate that Islamic MFIs can successfully promote financial inclusion for women and rural populations while maintaining strong credit quality by leveraging social dynamics within Muslim communities.
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Analysing citizens’ perceptions of renewable energies in rural areas: A case study on wind farms in Spain
Wind energy installations in rural Spain create mixed socio-economic effects that vary significantly by location and stakeholder group. A survey of residents in Campo de Belchite found heterogeneous perceptions of wind farms' impacts on employment, demographics, and local economies. The study shows that management models critically influence social acceptance, and recommends more decentralized, participatory, and transparent governance approaches to maximize rural development benefits.
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Assessments of Wind‐Energy Potential in Selected Sites from Three Geopolitical Zones in Nigeria: Implications for Renewable/Sustainable Rural Electrification
Wind energy can provide affordable rural electrification across Nigeria's three major geopolitical zones. Analysis of wind-speed data from Katsina, Warri, and Calabar shows that even low wind-speed sites can generate electricity at economically viable costs—ranging from €0.0507 to €0.0819 per kWh—making wind turbines a practical renewable solution for electrifying remote rural communities.
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Renewable energy and energy storage systems in rural electrical power systems: Issues, challenges and application guidelines
Renewable energy integration into rural electrical grids faces significant challenges because non-dispatchable sources like wind and solar don't align with traditional grid design. Distributed electrical energy storage systems solve this problem by enabling reliable incorporation of renewable resources while improving overall power system performance and resilience.
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Drivers and Barriers to Rural Electrification in Tanzania and Mozambique - Grid Extension, Off-Grid and Renewable Energy Sources
Rural electrification rates in Tanzania and Mozambique remain below 5%, with grid extension too slow for remote areas. Off-grid systems using diesel generators are unreliable and expensive. Renewable energy alternatives like solar, micro-hydro, wind, and biofuels exist but face significant adoption barriers. This study identifies country-specific institutional, financial, and poverty-related drivers and barriers to both grid and off-grid electrification through interviews with ten national energy sector stakeholders.
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Feasibility and Sensitivity Analysis of a Hybrid Photovoltaic/Wind/Biogas/Fuel-Cell/Diesel/Battery System for Off-Grid Rural Electrification Using homer
Researchers designed and analyzed a hybrid renewable energy system combining photovoltaic, wind, biogas, fuel cells, diesel, and battery storage for remote rural electrification. Using HOMER software, they tested seven scenarios and found that photovoltaic, wind, and biogas together delivered the lowest energy cost at $0.207/kWh, dropping to $0.12/kWh with policy support and carbon cost accounting. Sensitivity analysis showed system costs most respond to changes in energy demand and least to wind speed variations.
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Economic Analysis of Integrated Renewable Energy System for Electrification of Remote Rural Area Having Scattered Population
This study develops an integrated renewable energy system combining solar, wind, biomass, and biogas to electrify a remote village in Gujarat, India. Using optimization algorithms, researchers found that accounting for distribution losses significantly affects system design and reliability. The analysis demonstrates that renewable energy systems using locally available resources are economically more feasible than extending the electrical grid to scattered rural populations.
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Rural tourism development and financing in Romania: A supply-side analysis
Rural tourism businesses in Romania can drive sustainable development by leveraging natural and cultural resources, but they struggle to secure bank financing. Banks identify these ventures as risky due to poor management, seasonality, and small scale, yet recognize their resilience. Rural tourism firms must diversify income, form associations, and maintain healthy debt levels to attract funding. Private domestic banks prove more willing to finance rural tourism than other bank types, and EU co-financing programs offer promising pathways for growth.
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A multiscale approach to optimize off-grid hybrid renewable energy systems for sustainable rural electrification: Economic evaluation and design
This paper designs and optimizes an off-grid hybrid renewable energy system for a remote village in Turkey, combining solar, wind, and battery storage. Using the Nelder-Mead algorithm, the researchers sized system components to minimize costs while meeting electricity demand reliably. The optimized hybrid system delivers power at €0.63/kWh and outperforms diesel generators economically and environmentally, providing 16 years of continuous supply to the village.
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Optimal Design and Operation of an Off-Grid Hybrid Renewable Energy System in Nigeria’s Rural Residential Area, Using Fuzzy Logic and Optimization Techniques
This study designs and operates an off-grid hybrid renewable energy system for a rural Nigerian community using particle swarm optimization to minimize electricity costs and fuzzy logic to manage power distribution. The optimized system achieves a levelized cost of 0.48 USD/kWh with full battery storage and 1.17 USD/kWh with half storage. The results provide practical guidance for feasibility assessments of minigrids in rural areas.
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Rurality and access to higher education
Rural populations face significant barriers to accessing higher education compared to urban populations, both globally and within individual countries. These disparities reflect historical inequalities rooted in colonialism and neo-imperialism, which continue to marginalize rural knowledge systems. The paper examines how rurality mediates educational access and employment opportunities across diverse geographic contexts, revealing that rural-urban inequalities persist in both the global South and North, though often more starkly in the South.
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Assessment the role of renewable energy in socio-economic development of rural and Arctic regions
Renewable energy can drive socio-economic development in rural and Arctic regions by replacing depleting traditional energy sources. The study examines Russian and international renewable energy policies, assesses market growth potential in Russia's Northwestern region, and identifies applications for energy-deficient peripheral areas lacking electrical grids. Effective energy policy must balance environmental and economic goals while prioritizing renewable deployment in remote regions.
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Analysis of Hybrid Solar/Wind/Diesel Renewable Energy System for off-grid Rural Electrification
This paper designs a hybrid solar, wind, and diesel power system for an off-grid rural parish on Ecuador's coast. Using HOMER software and local meteorological data, the authors analyze system feasibility and components under two diesel pricing scenarios—subsidized and non-subsidized. The work addresses rural electrification gaps by demonstrating how renewable hybrid systems can meet energy demand in underserved areas.
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Renewable Energy Project as a Source of Innovation in Rural Communities: Lessons from the Periphery
Renewable energy projects in northwest Romania failed to boost employment or local revenue, contrary to expectations. However, community-owned projects sparked policy innovation and interest in technological change, while privately-owned projects merely prompted consideration of similar ventures. The study shows that who controls renewable energy infrastructure—not the technology itself—determines whether rural communities experience genuine innovation and development.
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Techno-economic analysis of hybrid renewable energy system for rural electrification in India
This paper analyzes a hybrid renewable energy system designed to provide reliable, year-round electricity to off-grid rural households in India. The system combines multiple renewable sources to meet seasonal demand variations while maintaining 100% renewable energy. Results show the hybrid system reduces power interruptions and unmet demand while remaining economically viable over 25 years, offering a practical framework for electrifying underserved rural communities.
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Renewable energy sources‐based hybrid microgrid system for off‐grid electricity solution for rural communities
Pakistan faces severe electricity shortages causing frequent blackouts in rural areas. This paper proposes a hybrid microgrid system combining solar and wind energy to electrify remote communities cost-effectively. The researchers designed and simulated a PV/wind system in MATLAB that produces stable 230-volt output while minimizing voltage transients, offering a practical renewable energy solution for off-grid rural electrification.
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Intellectual returnees as drivers of indigenous innovation: Evidence from the Chinese photovoltaic industry
Chinese photovoltaic firms with leaders who have international experience file significantly more patents than comparable firms without such leaders. The study analyzes patent records, industrial census data, and executive biographies to show that returnees boost innovation both within their own firms and at neighboring companies. Market liberalization and industry policy also influence patenting activity.
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Renewable energy communities in rural areas: A comprehensive overview of current development, challenges, and emerging trends
This review of 86 articles examines renewable energy communities in rural areas across 2004–2024. Rural energy development, community engagement, and agricultural integration drive growth. Systems are shifting from localized solutions to integrated hybrid systems and smart grids. Key challenges include financial constraints, infrastructure gaps, regulatory barriers, and low participation rates. Environmental benefits matter most in China, Thailand, and Italy, while economic gains dominate in the U.S., Poland, and India. Success requires resilience, scalability, innovation, supportive policies, and strong community involvement.
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Modeling and optimization of integrated renewable energy system for a rural site
This paper designs and optimizes a hybrid renewable energy system combining solar, wind, and biomass power for rural electrification. The researchers use HOMER optimization software to determine the most cost-effective configuration of system components for supplying electricity to a remote area. The analysis identifies an optimal setup that balances reliability and affordability by leveraging multiple renewable sources to overcome individual technology limitations.
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Effectiveness of Rural Microfinance: What We Know and What We Need to Know
Rural microfinance shows uncertain effectiveness in improving livelihoods, constrained by weaknesses in program design and the rural financial environment itself. Evidence indicates that microfinance impact remains limited. The paper argues that effectiveness requires developing new impact methodologies, expanding financial service types, and critically reducing risks and operating costs to make rural clients economically viable for financial intermediaries.
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Integration of Renewable Energies in Mobile Employment Promotion Units for Rural Populations
This paper evaluates hybrid renewable energy systems for mobile service units delivering healthcare, training, and employment services to rural populations. The researchers tested two solar photovoltaic installations on trucks, modeled energy performance across seasons, and simulated different battery-storage combinations. Results show that larger solar arrays (3.54 kWp) capture significantly more energy and reduce battery cycling, while optimized PV-battery configurations decrease reliance on diesel generators.
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Making heart-lung machines work in India: Imports, indigenous innovation and the challenge of replicating cardiac surgery in Bombay, 1952-1962
Two Bombay surgeons successfully performed open-heart surgery using heart-lung machines in 1962, despite India's restrictions on foreign imports and currency exchange. Kersi Dastur leveraged local Parsi manufacturing networks while PK Sen used Rockefeller Foundation connections to access international training and equipment. Both faced steep learning curves adapting imported technology to local conditions. Their success required substantial resources and reflected nationalist politics valuing indigenous innovation alongside imported technology.
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A Comprehensive Approach to the Design of a Renewable Energy Microgrid for Rural Ethiopia: The Technical and Social Perspectives
This study designs a renewable energy microgrid for rural Ethiopia combining solar and small-scale hydropower to power irrigation while providing electricity for community needs. Researchers conducted fieldwork interviews to understand local energy demands and social preferences, then modeled four scenarios with different reliability levels. The microgrid proved technically feasible and socially acceptable to the community, with costs sensitive to equipment choices. The authors recommend educational programs and clear policies before implementation.
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Energy Management and Optimization of a Standalone Renewable Energy System in Rural Areas of the Najran Province
This paper designs and analyzes a standalone renewable energy microgrid for a rural community in Saudi Arabia using solar and wind power. The optimized system reduces electricity costs to 0.18 SAR/kWh compared to 0.38 SAR/kWh from conventional generation. Advanced control mechanisms ensure the system reliably handles fluctuating renewable supply and varying demand, demonstrating technical and economic viability for decentralized rural electrification.
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Optimal planning of renewable integrated rural microgrid for sustainable energy supply
This paper develops an optimization method for designing standalone microgrids in rural areas that combine renewable energy sources with battery storage. Using a case study in rural India, the researchers apply grey wolf optimization to minimize energy costs and emissions while meeting local electricity demand. The optimal system configuration achieved a levelized cost of 0.203 $/kWh with 92% renewable energy, demonstrating technical and economic feasibility for remote rural electrification.
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Enhancing the Service Quality of Transit Systems in Rural Areas by Flexible Transport Services
Dial-a-Ride systems improve public transit in rural areas where fixed schedules are inefficient due to variable demand and dispersed destinations. The authors develop a mixed-integer optimization model that minimizes both operating costs and total traveler time, accounting for different user types. Testing on real data from Japan shows the approach reduces waiting times and excess ride duration compared to conventional methods.
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Local action groups and the LEADER co-financing of rural development projects in Slovenia
This study examines how Local Action Groups in Slovenia evaluate rural development projects for LEADER funding. Researchers surveyed 103 LAG board members and analyzed projects funded in 2008-2009. They found that informal systems of board performance—such as personal relationships and trust—significantly influenced members' judgments about project suitability, while formal procedures had minimal impact on these decisions.
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Microfinance and rural development: a long-term perspective
Microfinance institutions can drive rural development by expanding savings and lending services to rural households, though this requires balancing two competing goals: reaching poor populations and maintaining financial sustainability. The paper examines how financial deepening affects rural economies at both household and national levels, finding positive effects overall. However, expanding financial services inevitably creates risks of bank failures, so microfinance sectors must prioritize stability alongside growth to serve more rural people effectively.
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Methodology for strengthening energy resilience with SMART solution approach of rural areas: Local production of alternative biomass fuel within renewable energy community
This paper presents a methodology for rural energy resilience through local biomass fuel production. The approach involves cultivating short rotation coppice on degraded or erosion-prone land, then processing the woody plants into pellet biofuel within community-based energy systems. The method delivers environmental benefits, reduces energy costs, and modernizes heating infrastructure in rural areas.
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Promoting Community Renewable Energy as a tool for Sustainable Development in Rural Areas of Thailand
Thailand's Ministry of Energy promoted 26 community renewable energy projects across rural areas, primarily using biogas and solar thermal systems. These projects involved 1,638 households and generated 845 kW of thermal energy and 86 kW of electricity. Projects cost an average of 1.3 million Thai baht with 60% government co-investment, producing combined annual savings or income of 5.53 million baht while supporting environmental protection.
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Success factors for the effective implementation of renewable energy options for rural electrification in India-Potentials of the CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM
Rural electrification in India faces persistent obstacles despite decades of renewable energy promotion. This study examines how the Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol can facilitate renewable energy investment for rural areas. Analysis of CDM biomass projects across four Indian states reveals that socio-political and historical framework conditions significantly determine whether renewable energy initiatives succeed in providing affordable, stable energy supply to combat rural energy poverty.
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Does regional innovation policy encourage firm indigenous innovation? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment of the pilot project of innovative cities in China
China's innovative cities pilot program significantly boosted firms' indigenous innovation, measured by patent filings. The policy worked especially well in capital-intensive industries and among large companies and non-state enterprises. Government subsidies and market competition drove these gains. The findings show regional innovation policy can effectively stimulate firm-level innovation, though effects vary by industry and firm type.
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Comparative study of economic viability of rural electrification using renewable energy resources versus diesel generator option in Saudi Arabia
This study compares the economic viability of renewable energy systems versus diesel generators for rural electrification in Saudi Arabia. Analyzing a real power station expansion, researchers calculated levelized costs of energy for wind, solar, hybrid, and diesel options under different ownership structures. Wind energy emerged as the most cost-effective choice, followed by diesel generators, hybrid systems, and solar. Capital costs drove the economic outcomes more than operating expenses.
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Experimental study on excitation phenomena of renewable energy source driven induction generator for isolated rural community loads
This paper investigates how induction generators can reliably supply power to isolated rural communities. The researchers conducted experiments to determine safe operating limits for reactive power and rotor speed that prevent over- and under-excitation problems. They tested different methods for calculating required reactive power and identified the most effective approach. Their findings enable induction machines to function as dependable generators for off-grid rural applications.
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Optimization of Electric Bus Scheduling for Mixed Passenger and Freight Flow in an Urban-Rural Transit System
This paper proposes an integrated passenger-freight transit system for urban-rural corridors that addresses low bus utilization and scattered freight demand. The authors develop an optimization model using mixed-integer linear programming to schedule electric buses that alternate between dedicated passenger trips and mixed on-demand passenger-freight trips, accounting for charging needs and service time windows. Testing on real and simulated networks shows the approach reduces travel costs while improving connectivity and resource efficiency in rural areas.
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Enabling Indigenous innovations to re-centre social licence to operate in the Blue Economy
The paper argues that sustainable Blue Economy development requires centering Indigenous perspectives on social licence to operate. It calls for shifting governance practices so Indigenous groups grant consent based on their own values at every project stage, not just initial approval. The authors propose collaborative arrangements and Indigenous-led platforms that respect historical, social, cultural, and economic contexts, enabling Indigenous peoples to participate equitably in ocean-based industries and business agreements.
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Techno-economic Feasibility Analysis of an Off-grid Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Rural Electrification
This study analyzes the technical and economic feasibility of an off-grid hybrid renewable energy system for a rural village in Balochistan, Pakistan. Researchers designed and optimized a system combining wind turbines, solar panels, and battery storage to meet local electricity demand. The optimized configuration delivers 197.74 kWh daily at a cost of $0.137 per kilowatt-hour, proving more cost-effective than grid extension for remote areas with difficult terrain.
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Potential of MicroSources, Renewable Energy sources and Application of Microgrids in Rural areas of Maharashtra State India
This paper examines how microgrids powered by distributed renewable energy sources can address rural electrification challenges in Maharashtra, India. The authors assess the region's potential for renewable energy resources and propose that microgrids can reduce transmission losses, improve power quality, and eliminate load shedding—a persistent problem in rural Indian areas. They argue microgrids offer a decentralized alternative to centralized power systems.
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Long-term optimal capacity expansion planning for an operating off-grid PV mini-grid in rural Africa under different demand evolution scenarios
This study optimizes long-term capacity expansion for an overloaded solar mini-grid in rural Ethiopia using 20-year projections under three demand growth scenarios. Battery and solar capacity expansions dominate costs, while the system cannot fully meet demand even under optimal expansion. The research shows critical trade-offs between minimizing costs and maximizing reliability, and demonstrates that supporting productive user demand improves financial viability and cost-effectiveness.
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Microfinance and micropreneurship in rural South-East Nigeria: an exploration of the effects of institutions
This study examines 30 women micropreneurs in rural South-East Nigeria to understand how institutions affect their entrepreneurial activities. While microfinance is widely promoted as a solution to institutional gaps in poor regions, the research finds that socio-cultural barriers and patriarchal traditions significantly limit women's trust and engagement with microfinance services. The authors conclude that effective enterprise support in developing nations must address local socio-cultural institutions and lived realities rather than relying solely on financial interventions.
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Theoretical Framework of Organizational Intelligence: A Managerial Approach to Promote Renewable Energy in Rural Economies
Energy companies promoting renewable energy in rural communities need stronger organizational intelligence systems. This study proposes a framework combining economic intelligence, knowledge management, and organizational enablers to help companies innovate and adapt. Testing the framework at Romania's Transelectrica reveals that developing these intelligence elements enhances capacity to deploy renewable energy projects and maintain competitive advantage in changing markets.
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Social Ties and Indigenous Innovation in China's Transition Economy: The Moderating Effects of Learning Intent
This study examines how social network ties influence indigenous innovation in Chinese firms. The researchers analyzed 270 companies and found that business network ties show an inverted U-shaped relationship with all three innovation patterns (original, integrative, and re-innovation), while institutional ties affect them differently. Learning intent moderates these relationships, strengthening or weakening the effects of social ties on innovation outcomes.
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Development of low-CO 2 -emission vehicles and utilization of local renewable energy for the vitalization of rural areas in Japan
Japan's rural areas face energy dependency and aging populations. This project developed low-CO2 vehicles—a micro-electric vehicle for single drivers and a low-speed electric bus—designed for elderly residents and tourists. Researchers tested renewable energy sources to power these vehicles, partnering with regional industries, local universities, and municipal governments to create sustainable mobility solutions that revitalize rural communities.
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Indigenous African knowledge systems and innovation in higher education in South Africa
South African higher education must integrate indigenous African knowledge systems and innovations into curricula to achieve genuine development. The paper argues that innovation extends beyond formal university and industrial research settings. Incorporating indigenized African knowledge alongside conventional innovation frameworks strengthens the nation's ability to convert knowledge into wealth and social benefit.
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Socio-economic impacts of energy access through off-grid systems in rural communities: a case study of southwest Nigeria
Off-grid energy systems in rural southwest Nigeria created new businesses and jobs while reducing energy costs and increasing household income. The study analyzed how factors like gender, education, business age, and operating hours influenced income generation among electrified enterprises. Results demonstrate that energy access through off-grid systems drives measurable economic development in rural communities.
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Simulation-Based Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Off-grid Rural Electrification
Researchers developed an optimization algorithm for designing hybrid renewable energy systems that serve off-grid rural communities. The algorithm minimizes energy costs and power outages while maximizing energy matching efficiency. Testing showed it reduced levelized energy costs by 6.27% compared to standard software and delivered significant carbon savings. The approach proves computationally efficient for feasibility studies in rural electrification projects.
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Sustainability of Renewable Off-Grid Technology for Rural Electrification: A Comparative Study Using the IAD Framework
This study examines why renewable off-grid electricity projects in rural Indonesia often fail despite technical success. Researchers compared micro-hydropower and solar projects in Bogor Regency using sustainability indicators and institutional analysis. They found that government preference for grid connections undermines off-grid projects, leaving communities with temporary electricity access while waiting for central grid expansion, regardless of how well the standalone systems perform.
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Microfinance and Violence Against Women in Rural Guatemala
A study of 883 rural Guatemalan women found that access to microfinance services reduces violence against women, particularly economic and emotional psychological violence. Women with microfinance access experienced significantly less overall violence than those without. However, microfinance showed no effect on coercive control, likely due to entrenched social and cultural norms. The findings contradict Status Inconsistency Theory by demonstrating that women's increased economic independence through microfinance reduces rather than increases violence.
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Smart Integrated Renewable Energy Systems (SIRES) for rural communities
The paper proposes Smart Integrated Renewable Energy Systems (SIRES) to address energy poverty in rural areas. SIRES combines renewable energy technologies with intelligent management to provide multiple essential services—biogas for cooking, water for domestic and irrigation use, and electricity for lighting, communication, cold storage, education, and small-scale industry. This integrated approach promotes sustainable development and improves living standards in energy-deprived rural communities.
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Public Good Provision in Indian Rural Areas: The Returns to Collective Action by Microfinance Groups
Self-help groups of women in rural India collectively contribute to public goods provision, which incentivizes local officials to expand their efforts across more issues. The study combines theoretical modeling with field data to show that when citizens coordinate voluntary contributions, elected officials increase their public goods provision to improve re-election prospects. This demonstrates how grassroots collective action shapes rural governance outcomes.
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TIAR: Renewable Energy Production, Storage and Distribution; A New Multidisciplinary Approach for the Design of Rural Facility
This paper presents TIAR, an integrated renewable energy system designed for rural facilities in Italy. The project combines solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric technologies within a retrofitted rural tower structure, adding energy and thermal storage systems plus weather monitoring to balance variable renewable production with demand. The multidisciplinary approach addresses land use concerns and grid stability issues while preserving the architectural character of traditional rural buildings.
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Renewable energy integration in to microgrid: Powering rural Maharashtra State of India
Maharashtra State in India faces severe energy shortages and relies heavily on depleting fossil fuels. This paper demonstrates that renewable energy resources exist at scale in rural Maharashtra and proposes integrating these sources through microgrids to eliminate forced power cuts. The authors argue that successful integration requires improved infrastructure, institutional reforms, capacity building, and attention to social and market factors.
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Foreign and Indigenous Innovation in China: Some Evidence from Shanghai
China's policy push for indigenous innovation aims to reduce reliance on foreign technology and move beyond low-cost manufacturing. This paper examines multinational R&D centers in Shanghai to assess their innovation contributions and potential unintended consequences. The authors investigate whether policies using market access and procurement to capture global R&D activity within China will achieve their goals or create unexpected problems.
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Renewable Energy Development and Employment in Ecuador’s Rural Sector: An Economic Impact Analysis
Renewable energy development in Ecuador's rural areas reduces unemployment and strengthens rural population retention, but does not significantly boost agricultural production. The study finds that renewable energy creates jobs directly through construction and maintenance work, and indirectly by lowering energy costs and improving business efficiency. These results demonstrate that renewable energy adoption can strengthen rural economies in developing countries.
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A Rising Role for Decentralized Solar Minigrids in Integrated Rural Electrification Planning? Large-Scale, Least-Cost, and Customer-Wise Design of Grid and Off-Grid Supply Systems in Uganda
Uganda faces severe electrification challenges, especially in rural areas. This paper develops an integrated planning model that combines grid extension, solar minigrids, and standalone systems to find the lowest-cost electrification strategy. Applied to southern Uganda, the model shows that minigrids can deliver reliable electricity at significantly lower cost than grid extension in many locations, suggesting they should become central to national electrification planning rather than temporary solutions.
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Entrepreneurial activities and women empowerment in rural India between microfinance and social capital
Microfinance alone does not empower rural women in India. The study finds that social capital—the networks and relationships within peer-lending groups—enables women to access loans and repay them. However, genuine empowerment occurs only when women use these financial resources to start their own businesses and pursue self-determined goals, not simply to fulfill household obligations.
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Governance and Finance: Availability of Community and Social Development Infrastructures in Rural China
This study examines why rural Chinese communities have unequal access to infrastructure. Using data from 307 villages, the researchers found that funding sources and village governance structures significantly affect availability of public transportation, sanitation, healthcare, and aged care services. The impact of these factors varies by infrastructure type. The findings highlight how finance and governance decisions shape rural development outcomes.
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Contribution of Micro-Finance on Socio-Economic Development of Rural Community
Microfinance institutions in rural Nepal significantly contribute to socio-economic development by providing savings and credit services to poor, disadvantaged, and marginalized communities, particularly women. A study of eight microfinance organizations in Syangja district found they drove measurable social change and development across diverse activities. However, the research identifies that improving internal management systems would enable these institutions to deliver services more effectively.
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Optimal renewable energy systems for industries in rural regions
This paper applies Process Network Synthesis to design optimal renewable energy systems for rural industries. Using a case study in Austria, the authors modeled how to supply industrial complexes and households with bio-based energy while avoiding competition with food production. Results show that anaerobic digestion, combined heat and power, and wood gasification emerge as economically viable technologies. The study demonstrates that sustainable regional energy systems are achievable at current market prices, though success depends heavily on heat demand, feed-in tariffs, and local resource availability.
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Optimal Operational Strategy of Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Rural Electrification of a Remote Algeria
This paper designs hybrid renewable energy systems combining solar, wind, and diesel generation for remote rural electrification in Algeria. Using simulation software and meteorological data from five Algerian regions, the researchers determined optimal system configurations and operating strategies. Results show that solar-diesel hybrid systems deliver the best economic performance and lowest pollution, with solar and wind energy proving cheaper and cleaner than diesel alone.
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Design and optimization of various hybrid renewable energy systems using advanced algorithms for powering rural areas
This paper designs off-grid hybrid renewable energy systems combining solar, wind, batteries, hydrogen storage, and diesel generators for rural communities in India. Researchers tested four optimization algorithms to size these systems and found that the Blood-Sucking Leech Optimizer performed best. A solar-wind-battery-diesel configuration proved most cost-effective across three Indian locations, with annual costs ranging from $76,000 to $114,000 and minimal greenhouse gas emissions. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the design maintains reliable power supply for rural development.
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Sustainable energy transition and circular economy: The heterogeneity of potential investors in rural community renewable energy projects
Rural communities show diverse attitudes toward investing in local renewable energy projects. A survey of a Galician village identified four investor profiles—skeptics, financial illiterates, enthusiasts, and yield investors—each with different risk perceptions and financial concerns. Project developers and policymakers must tailor incentive strategies to these distinct groups to successfully promote community renewable energy and rural sustainable development.
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Integrated techno-economic-environmental design of off-grid microgrid model for rural power supply in India
This paper designs an off-grid microgrid system for rural Indian villages using solar, wind, methanol, and diesel generators combined with battery storage. The researchers optimized the system across technical, economic, and environmental metrics using a slime mould algorithm. The hybrid PV-wind-methanol-diesel configuration achieved the best balance of power reliability, cost, and emissions compared to other combinations.
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Designing and Optimization of Stand-alone Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Rural Areas of Punjab, Pakistan
Researchers designed a hybrid renewable energy system combining micro-hydro, solar, wind, and diesel generation to electrify remote areas in Punjab, Pakistan. Using HOMER optimization software, they evaluated three strategies for a canal-based site. A pure renewable approach with water management proved most cost-effective, achieving lower net present costs and energy costs with faster payback than diesel-hybrid systems, making it the most feasible option for rural electrification.
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Just-in-time online professional development activities for an innovation in small rural schools / Activités de perfectionnement professionnel « juste-à-temps » pour l’innovation dans les petites écoles rurales
Remote Networked Schools, a Quebec initiative, provided just-in-time online professional development to teachers in small rural schools to integrate information and communication technologies into learning. Over six years, a university intervention team designed and delivered targeted professional development activities. The study identifies which types of professional development activities teachers actually used and how they supported ICT innovation in rural classrooms.
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GIS Tool for Rural Electrification with Renewable Energies in Latin America
Renewable energy offers viable alternatives for electrifying isolated rural communities in Latin America. The authors present IntiGIS, a GIS-based methodology that integrates geographical data on renewable resources with social and economic factors to support electrification planning decisions. The tool enables cost comparisons between renewable and non-renewable energy technologies, helping communities select sustainable solutions suited to their specific conditions.
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Factors Influencing the Coupling of the Development of Rural Urbanization and Rural Finance: Evidence from Rural China
This study analyzes how rural urbanization and rural finance develop together in China using data from 31 provinces between 2010 and 2019. The research finds that coupling between these two areas remains low across most regions, indicating uncoordinated development. Urban population density reduces coupling effectiveness, while per capita GDP, fiscal spending, and built-up area strengthen it. Financial development's impact varies by region: in less-developed areas it boosts coordination, but in more-developed areas it weakens it.
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Implications of China's innovation policy shift: Does “indigenous” mean closed?
China's indigenous innovation policy encourages firms to develop new technologies domestically, but companies adopt different strategies. Firms using closed innovation collaborate locally through personal networks and learning-by-doing, while open innovation firms partner across distances using science and technology-based learning. This reveals that indigenous innovation in China is not uniform—some firms remain geographically isolated while others engage globally.
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A holistic approach to understanding the acceptance of a community‐based renewable energy project: A pathway to sustainability for Tunisia<i>'</i>s rural region
This study examines why rural communities accept or reject renewable energy projects, using a wind energy case study in Tunisia. Through interviews with multiple stakeholders, the researchers identified specific barriers and motivational factors that determine local acceptance. The findings show that project managers must understand and address these community-level concerns to successfully implement sustainable energy initiatives and achieve lasting behavior change.
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Facilitating greater energy access in rural and remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa: Small hydropower
Small hydropower offers sub-Saharan Africa a viable path to electrify rural and remote areas using abundant untapped water resources. The study identifies major barriers: insufficient funding, weak manufacturing infrastructure, inadequate policies, poor hydrological data, and limited local capacity in design and production. The authors argue that sustainable energy access requires public-private partnerships, domestication of small hydropower technology, and reduced dependence on foreign solutions.
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The DC House Project: Promoting the use of renewable energy for rural electrification
The DC House Project promotes renewable energy adoption for rural electrification. The paper describes the project's phases and components, reports its current status, identifies challenges encountered, and outlines short and long-term goals for expanding renewable energy access to rural communities.
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A feasibility study and cost benefit analysis of an off-grid hybrid system for a rural area electrification
Researchers designed an off-grid hybrid solar and biogas power system for rural facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India, using HOMER optimization software. The system serves two schools and a community building. Analysis shows the hybrid configuration is technically and economically feasible, with sensitivity testing confirming viability across varying biomass availability, costs, solar conditions, and electricity demand.
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Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Energy in Sarawak Remote Rural Area Using HOMER Software
This paper analyzes five hybrid renewable energy systems for three remote rural areas in Sarawak, Malaysia using HOMER optimization software. The researchers compared combinations of solar, hydro, wind, and biomass generators across different locations. Hybrid hydro systems with battery storage proved cheapest and most technically effective. Hybrid renewable systems outperformed standalone diesel generators in cost-effectiveness and carbon emission reduction, offering viable solutions for rural electrification.
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Micro-Scale Wind Resource Assessment for Off-Grid Electrification Projects in Rural Communities. A Case Study in Peru
This study evaluates micro-scale wind resource assessment tools for off-grid rural electrification in remote areas. Researchers tested a computer model in two Andean communities in Peru to determine if standard wind assessment tools could work despite limited data and steep terrain. The model performed well and produced accurate resource maps at the community scale, proving suitable for designing small-scale rural electrification projects in developing countries.
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Impact of Microfinance on Alleviating Rural Poverty in Uzbekistan
Microfinance effectively alleviates rural poverty in Uzbekistan by improving living standards and enabling regional development. The paper analyzes demand for microfinance services across Uzbek regions and evaluates regional programs' impact on area-based development. Using econometric modeling, the authors demonstrate how regional socioeconomic factors drive demand for microfinance services.
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Optimization of a Hybrid Off-Grid Solar PV—Hydro Power Systems for Rural Electrification in Cameroon
This paper designs and optimizes a hybrid solar-hydropower system for rural electrification in Cameroon. Using HOMER Pro and genetic algorithms, researchers sized a 3 kW solar array, 32.2 kW microhydro generator, and battery storage to serve a village consuming 431 kWh daily. The genetic algorithm approach achieved lower costs ($86,991 net present cost, $0.0344/kWh) than HOMER Pro, with minimal power supply failures. Results show that increasing hydropower capacity significantly reduces overall system costs.
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Optimal Decision-Making on Hybrid Off-Grid Energy Systems for Rural and Remote Areas Electrification in the Northern Cameroon
Researchers compared ten hybrid renewable energy systems for rural electrification in northern Cameroon using optimization software. A solar-diesel-battery system proved most cost-effective at $0.36–0.39 per kilowatt-hour, while pure solar-battery systems achieved zero emissions with 100% renewable penetration. The solar-diesel option balanced economics and environment with 95–96% renewable energy. System attractiveness improved with longer project lifespans, lower fuel prices, and reduced discount rates.
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Demand Response Transit Scheduling Research Based on Urban and Rural Transportation Station Optimization
Researchers developed a clustering algorithm combining DBSCAN and K-means to optimize demand-responsive transit routes between urban and rural areas. Testing in Henan Province, China, the system reduced operating costs by 9.5% and running time by 9.0% compared to regional flexible buses. The approach preprocesses passenger demand and optimizes station locations to improve service efficiency while promoting urban-rural integration.
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INDIGENOUS INNOVATION, FOREIGN TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND THE EXPORT PERFORMANCE OF CHINA’S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
Domestic innovation efforts in China's manufacturing industries boost export performance, but skill shortages limit their impact. Foreign technology transfer and knowledge spillovers from foreign enterprises prove even more effective at driving exports than domestic innovation. Over time, China's industrial exports show increasing domestic content, indicating growing reliance on internal innovation alongside foreign technology channels.
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The Experience, Dilemma, and Solutions of Sustainable Development of Inclusive Finance in Rural China: Based on the Perspective of Synergy
This paper examines inclusive finance development in rural China from 2011 to 2017, identifying barriers to sustainable growth caused by resistance among financial institutions, regulators, and other stakeholders. The authors analyze cooperative dynamics between these parties and propose solutions through numerical simulations to overcome obstacles preventing inclusive finance from reaching rural populations effectively.
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Explaining the Diffusion of Renewable Electricity Technologies in Canadian Remote Indigenous Communities through the Technological Innovation System Approach
Remote Indigenous communities in Canada's Northwest Territories and Ontario face electricity challenges that renewable energy technologies could address. This study applies the Technological Innovation System framework to explain how renewable energy diffused in these communities from 2000 to 2016. The research identifies systemic failures blocking deployment and finds that policy interventions strengthening local learning and networking could accelerate renewable technology adoption, benefiting remote communities.
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Renewable Energy Interventions for Sustainable Rural Development: A study on Solar Home System Dissemination in Bangladesh
Solar Home Systems have been rapidly disseminated across rural Bangladesh, where electrification rates lag far behind national averages. This study examines how off-grid solar technology delivers electricity to remote communities and generates socio-economic benefits while reducing environmental impact. The research emphasizes that sustained success requires coordinated collaboration among government, private sector, and community stakeholders to ensure long-term program viability.
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Feasibility analysis of solar DC Nano grid for off grid rural Bangladesh
Solar DC nano grids offer a practical renewable energy solution for off-grid rural areas in Bangladesh. The paper examines an installed nano grid system in Kushita district, analyzing its technical advantages and implementation challenges. The authors argue that solar DC nano grids can effectively meet growing electricity demand in rural Bangladesh while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
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An Off-Grid Solar System for Rural Village in Malaysia
Malaysia implemented a stand-alone solar power system in a rural Sarawak village to provide free electricity to residents. The project installed photovoltaic equipment with an AC bus configuration and analyzed actual electricity consumption patterns and solar radiation data across four days and monthly averages. The system successfully delivered benefits to villagers, though researchers recommend monitoring future load growth to maintain long-term sustainability.
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Analysis and Optimum Energy Management of Renewable Integrated Rural Distribution Network
This paper develops an optimization algorithm to manage rural distribution networks that integrate renewable energy sources like solar and wind. The researchers use a differential evolution algorithm to solve operational problems including voltage violations, power losses, and poor power factor. Testing on a real distribution network shows the algorithm improves voltage stability, power factor, and reduces energy losses.
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Digital inclusive finance and the development of sports industry: An empirical study from the perspective of upgrading the living level of rural residents
Digital inclusive finance promotes sports industry development in rural China by increasing rural residents' disposable income and improving their consumption patterns. The study analyzes provincial data from 2015–2019 and finds that digital finance creates scale effects that boost sports industry growth while upgrading rural living standards. Digital finance's precision targeting helps reshape rural consumption toward sports-related goods and services.
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Renewable energy-based hybrid model for rural electrification
Researchers developed a hybrid renewable energy system combining biomass, biogas, and solar power to electrify rural areas in India where grid electricity is unavailable. They modeled the system for a site in Haryana, optimizing costs using particle swarm optimization. The optimal configuration achieved an annual cost of $64,109 and energy cost of $0.065 per kilowatt-hour, outperforming alternative optimization methods.
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Increasing the Efficiency in Renewable Energy Challenges and Solutions for Rural India
Rural India relies heavily on renewable energy due to unreliable or unavailable grid electricity. This paper identifies multiple renewable energy sources available in rural areas and proposes a hybrid model combining them with an intelligent controller. The controller prioritizes renewable energy use and switches to traditional grid power only when renewable sources are unavailable, improving overall energy efficiency and reducing dependence on commercial supply.
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Hybrid PV/Wind/Diesel Based Distributed Generation for an Off-Grid Rural Village in Afghanistan
This paper evaluates a hybrid solar, wind, and diesel power system for an off-grid rural village in Afghanistan with average daily demand of 7.9 kWh. Using geospatial data analysis and HOMER Pro software, the authors determine optimal component capacities and costs for a reliable system. The study confirms that hybrid renewable generation is technically and economically feasible for remote Afghan communities lacking grid access.
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Smart Village Load Planning Simulations in Support of Digital Energy Management for Off-grid Rural Community Microgrids
Engineers designing renewable energy systems for isolated rural villages lack real demand data to optimize microgrid planning. This paper presents a computer simulation method that generates realistic hourly electricity load profiles for off-grid villages by modeling typical appliances and household behavior patterns. The simulated load data can be exported into energy modeling software to help engineers test smart microgrid designs, economic optimization strategies, and demand response systems before physical installation.
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High performance work systems, workforce productivity, and innovation: a comparison of MNCs and indigenous firms
Foreign-owned multinational corporations in Ireland adopt high-performance work systems more extensively than Irish-owned firms, resulting in higher workforce productivity and innovation rates. The study shows that differences in organizational effectiveness between foreign and indigenous firms are explained by variations in how intensively they use these human resource practices.
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Rural Electrification through an Optimized Off-grid Microgrid based on Biogas, Solar, and Hydro Power
This paper analyzes an off-grid microgrid system combining biogas from cattle manure, solar, and hydropower to electrify rural areas in Pakistan. The researchers conducted a techno-economic analysis of the proposed system in Mandi Yazman to identify the optimal resource combination that minimizes energy costs and net present costs, leveraging agricultural and livestock resources available in rural farming communities.
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Integrating Indigenous with Scientific Knowledge for the Development of Sustainable Agriculture: Studies in Shaanxi Province
Smallholder farmers in Shaanxi Province hold indigenous agricultural knowledge that shapes their farming decisions, yet government and scientists typically ignore this expertise. This study surveyed and interviewed farmers about how they use and acquire both indigenous and scientific knowledge from government extension systems. The research demonstrates that farmers should be active participants in agricultural knowledge development, not passive recipients of top-down scientific advice.
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Integration and control of an off-grid hybrid wind/PV generation system for rural applications
This paper designs and tests a standalone hybrid energy system combining solar panels and wind turbines with battery and super-capacitor storage for rural homes. The system prioritizes solar power, uses wind as backup, and manages storage to keep batteries at 80% charge, extending their lifespan. Simulations using real solar and wind data from Malaysia show the system reliably meets household demand without grid connection.
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Combined solar heat and power with microgrid storage and layered smartgrid control toward supplying off‐grid rural villages
Researchers in South Africa designed and modeled a solar-powered combined heat and power system for off-grid rural villages. The 3 kW electrical, 12 kW thermal system stores energy in a microgrid to supply power and heat day and night. Smart controls manage distribution to households by monitoring usage patterns and balancing demand across the community.
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Renewable Energy and Distributed Generation in Rural Villages
This paper examines renewable energy and distributed generation systems for rural villages in developing nations like Sri Lanka, where conventional energy infrastructure is absent or insufficient. It presents renewable energy technologies and their applications in accessible language for policymakers and community members, connecting technical solutions to local socio-economic conditions. The paper proposes viable renewable energy approaches to reduce economic disparities in underdeveloped rural areas.
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Techno-economic optimization of battery storage technologies for off-grid hybrid microgrids in multiple rural locations of Bangladesh
This study designs and optimizes off-grid hybrid renewable energy systems for five rural locations in Bangladesh, comparing solar, wind, and four battery storage technologies. Simulations using real resource data show that solar-wind systems paired with zinc-bromine flow batteries deliver the lowest costs and highest renewable penetration, achieving 100% renewable energy with zero emissions. The findings demonstrate that zinc-bromine battery systems provide a cost-effective, scalable solution for rural electrification in Bangladesh and similar regions.
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Renewable Energy Adoption and Its Effect on Rural Development in United States
Renewable energy projects like wind and solar farms in rural United States communities create jobs, increase local tax revenues, and diversify economies. Landowners earn additional income by leasing land for energy production. The study recommends using diffusion of innovations theory and technology acceptance models to guide future research, and calls for stronger policy frameworks and practical interventions to expand renewable energy adoption in rural areas.
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Optimal energy scheduling of a standalone rural microgrid for reliable power generation using renewable energy resources
This paper designs an optimal energy scheduling system for a standalone rural microgrid in India using solar, wind, biogas, and diesel generators with battery storage. The researchers used differential evolution optimization to minimize costs and ensure reliable power supply. The optimized system achieves an energy cost of $0.22 per kilowatt-hour and outperforms particle swarm optimization and genetic algorithm approaches, making renewable microgrids economically viable for rural electrification.
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Optimal Design of Hybrid Renewable Energy for Tanzania Rural Communities
Rural communities in Tanzania lack electricity access due to high grid extension costs. This paper designs a hybrid renewable energy system combining solar, wind, and battery storage for Ngw'amkanga village in Shinyanga region. Using optimization methods, the authors determine that a solar-battery system (without wind due to insufficient local wind resources) delivers electricity at 27.18 pence per kilowatt-hour over 25 years—cheaper than Tanzania's grid-connected small power producers.
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The impact of supply structure on solar home system installations in rural off-grid areas
Market concentration in rural off-grid energy markets reduces solar home system installations in Bangladesh. Using data from 4.11 million systems installed across 503 markets over 15 years, the study shows that higher market concentration decreases both the number and capacity of installed systems. The negative effect intensifies at higher concentration levels and varies by system size and customer type. Policymakers should consider supply structure when designing rural electrification programs.
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Living Labs for Rural Areas: Contextualization of Living Lab Frameworks, Concepts and Practices
Living Labs—participatory spaces for co-creating innovation—offer rural areas a framework for sustainable development and smart village initiatives. The paper argues that Living Labs can bridge rural-urban opportunity gaps, drive digital transformation, support circular economy practices, and foster local self-sufficiency. Community engagement and social change emerge as essential elements for enabling sustainable rural living through these collaborative innovation environments.
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Context matters: Co-creating nature-based solutions in rural living labs
Rural living labs co-create nature-based solutions with local stakeholders, but context shapes these processes differently than in urban settings. This study identifies eighteen contextual factors influencing co-creation in rural areas, including stakeholder engagement challenges. The authors recommend treating co-creation as a dynamic interplay of interconnected local factors rather than a standardized approach, arguing this place-based method increases the success and real-world impact of nature-based solutions in rural territories.
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Promoting and sustaining rural social innovation
Rural social innovation requires addressing rural decline through innovative service delivery, empowering vulnerable groups like immigrants, and involving multiple local stakeholders. The study identifies key mechanisms: identifying urgent societal challenges, increasing rural attractiveness, mobilizing marginalized populations in service design, and using participatory workshops to develop and implement community-driven solutions.
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From Social Entrepreneurship to Social Innovation: The Role of Social Capital. Study Case in Colombian Rural Communities Victim of Armed Conflict
Social enterprises in rural Colombian communities affected by armed conflict generate social capital by integrating into social networks. This social capital enables interactive learning, institutional change, and social innovation. The study demonstrates that social entrepreneurs who build strong network connections develop enhanced capabilities that transform their enterprises into successful social innovations addressing community needs.
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Social Innovation in Rural Regions: Older Adults and Creative Community Development*
Disadvantaged rural regions face demographic decline and economic challenges while being pressured to innovate. This paper examines how social innovations actually emerge in these regions and challenges the assumption that older adults cannot be innovators. Drawing on a research project in rural municipalities, the authors show that older adults actively drive and participate in socially innovative community development projects, with their contributions shaped by personal motivations, community interests, and available resources.
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How Social Media Can Foster Social Innovation in Disadvantaged Rural Communities
Social media, particularly Facebook, has limited adoption in disadvantaged rural Japanese communities despite its potential to foster social innovation through remote networking. Most communities that adopted Facebook failed to expand their social networks. External supporters and migrants proved essential for successful networking outcomes. The findings suggest that policy interventions must address barriers to social media adoption and network expansion in peripheral rural areas.
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Understanding the process of social innovation in rural regions: some Hungarian case studies
This paper examines social innovation processes in rural Hungary through case studies in the Balaton Uplands region. The research identifies key actors—entrepreneurs, scientists, and local action group managers—who drive innovation in this tourism-focused area. The innovations studied include GIS systems, smartphone applications, and entrepreneurial networks that leverage the region's natural, human, and social resources.
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>Intersectional knowledge as rural social innovation
Rural communities develop locally-rooted solutions shaped by intersecting identities of caste, race, gender, ethnicity, and class. The paper argues these grassroots innovations deserve recognition as legitimate social innovation. By centering rural actors' own knowledge and experiences—particularly marginalized groups—the authors expand how we understand and value rural social innovation beyond conventional frameworks.
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Living labs fostering open innovation and rural development: Methodology and results
Rural living labs enable user-driven ICT innovation for economic and social development through open partnerships among stakeholders. The paper presents three case studies from Hungary, South Africa, and Spain, examining how living labs are established, how users participate, and what innovations emerge. Successful approaches include stakeholder platforms, user communities, cyclic innovation processes, and participatory action research—all requiring strong adaptation to local contexts.
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Social Innovation: The Promise and the Reality in Marginalised Rural Areas in Europe
Social innovation offers a practical approach to addressing challenges in marginal rural European areas, but the concept lacks clear theoretical grounding and suffers from definitional confusion. Three European case studies demonstrate that when committed local actors, enabling institutions, and supportive policies align, social innovation delivers positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes in specific places. However, the concept faces competition from established frameworks like community-led local development and emerging approaches like smart villages.
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NEET Rural–Urban Ecosystems: The Role of Urban Social Innovation Diffusion in Supporting Sustainable Rural Pathways to Education, Employment, and Training
Rural youth not in education, employment, or training face greater marginalization than urban peers due to poor infrastructure, limited education access, and few job opportunities. This study analyzes 51 social interventions from the EU Youth Guarantee Programme to identify best practices in social innovation. The authors argue that sustainable rural-urban ecosystems enabling social innovation diffusion can create effective pathways for rural youth to access education, employment, and training opportunities.
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Analyzing social innovation as a process in rural areas: Key dimensions and success factors for the revival of the traditional charcoal burning in Slovenia
A 20-year case study of Charcoal Land in Slovenia reveals how social innovation revived traditional charcoal burning in a remote rural area. The research identifies five key dimensions of the social innovation process and three critical success factors: innovators embedded in multiple networks, strategic use of narratives to secure resources, and legitimization by local and public actors. The revival scaled beyond the original territory and became recognized as an intangible cultural practice with sustainable forestry applications.
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Transformative Social Innovation in Rural Areas: Insights from a Rural Development Initiative in the Portuguese Region of Baixo Alentejo
A rural development initiative in Portugal's Baixo Alentejo region demonstrates transformative social innovation by acting as a knowledge broker, resource broker, and network enabler that bridges stakeholders and promotes cooperation. The initiative triggered bottom-linked governance and knowledge exchange, though it faced implementation challenges. The study refines an analytical framework for assessing how social innovation creates broader systemic change beyond meeting immediate service gaps.
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Social Innovation Impacts and Their Assessment: An Exploratory Study of a Social Innovation Initiative from a Portuguese Rural Region
This case study examines how a social innovation initiative in rural Portugal creates measurable impacts across multiple sectors and timeframes. The research finds that the local development association ADC Moura generates effects spanning social, economic, institutional, and environmental domains, with strongest influence at the municipal level. The study demonstrates that social innovation assessment in rural contexts requires multi-dimensional frameworks capturing impacts beyond single sectors.
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Living labs as instruments for business and social innovation in rural areas
Living labs methodology applied across seven rural European and South African regions successfully supported business and social innovation. A collaborative platform using open service-oriented architecture enabled rural communities to share services and applications. The study demonstrates that living labs accelerated innovation processes and rural development outcomes, with a common methodology supporting launch, operation, experimentation, and monitoring across diverse rural settings.
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Social Entrepreneurship in Marginalised Rural Europe: Towards Evidence-Based Policy for Enhanced Social Innovation
Social entrepreneurs in marginalised rural European regions drive innovation by addressing local social and economic challenges. The paper calls for evidence-based policymaking to support these entrepreneurs, arguing that targeted policies can strengthen social innovation capacity in disadvantaged rural areas and improve outcomes for communities facing decline and limited opportunities.
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Social innovations in rural communities in Africa's Great Lakes region. A social work perspective
Rural communities in Africa's Great Lakes region face poverty, poor infrastructure, and weak services, yet develop innovative local solutions. This study examines two social innovations: Uganda's akabondo household clusters for rural development and Rwanda's umugoroba w'ababyeyi family strengthening program. The authors analyze whether these community-led approaches qualify as social innovations, identify key implementers, assess their impact on rural communities, and discuss challenges they face.
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Rural Living Labs: Inclusive Digital Transformation in the Countryside
Rural areas lag behind cities in digital transformation research and implementation. This study develops a Rural Living Lab framework to support user-centered digitalization in sparsely populated regions. Based on the DigiBy project in northern Sweden, the authors identify five key components for designing digital transformation pilots: rural context, digitalization, governance and business models, facilitating methods, and multi-stakeholder engagement. The framework helps rural communities understand and apply digital opportunities for service development.
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The Role of Farmers’ Umbrella Organizations in Building Transformative Capacity around Grassroots Innovations in Rural Agri-Food Systems in Guatemala
Farmers' umbrella organizations in rural Guatemala catalyze transformative capacity for grassroots innovations in food systems. These organizations enable socio-technical transitions by creating shared sustainability visions, supporting experimentation, providing technical assistance, and connecting farmers across household, community, and institutional levels. Gender and generational gaps limit this potential and require further attention.
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Local Development Initiatives as Promoters of Social Innovation: Evidence from Two European Rural Regions
Local Action Groups and Local Development Associations in rural Austria and Portugal actively promote social innovation to address regional problems. These organizations drive rural development through community-led initiatives, though they face significant operational challenges. The study fills a gap in rural innovation research by demonstrating how local institutions catalyze social change in peripheral areas.
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Converging for deterring land abandonment: a systematization of experiences of a rural grassroots innovation
Rural grassroots initiatives in Portugal's Alentejo region build resilience against land abandonment and degradation through participatory governance, shared sustainability vision, and social capital. The study documents how these socially innovative projects preserve traditional land management knowledge while creating ecological and social resilience in a climate-vulnerable area.
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Social Innovations for the Disadvantaged Rural Regions: Hungarian Experiences of the New Type Social Cooperatives
Social cooperatives in disadvantaged Hungarian rural regions have successfully created long-term local employment and met social objectives, but failed to significantly develop local economies or reintegrate workers into broader labor markets. Capital shortages and limited creditworthiness prevent expansion. The study recommends developing marketing strategies targeting county and national markets to enable sustainable growth.
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“Marrying the ‘System of Innovation’ and micro enterprises in real world rural SADC”: an overview of collaborative SMME incubation in the Rural Living Lab of Sekhukhune
This paper examines a rural living lab in Sekhukhune that combines systems of innovation with small and medium enterprise incubation. The authors identify challenges in bridging formal innovation systems with the practical realities of rural small business operators. They advocate for more inclusive, collaborative approaches to rural development that engage real communities in their actual work environments.
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Digital social innovations in rural areas – process tracing and mapping critical junctures
Digital social innovation projects in rural areas succeed when they combine bottom-up community participation with strategic use of both digital and non-digital tools. The study identifies four critical factors: innovation can start locally or externally with different long-term effects; participatory processes are essential; blending digital and traditional approaches reduces barriers; and collaborative learning supports lasting institutionalization. These elements help rural digitalization projects create sustained impact beyond their initial scope.
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A roadmap to becoming a smart village: Experiences from living labs in rural Bavaria
Rural communities in Bavaria, Germany implemented digital solutions through the government-funded 'Digitales Dorf' project since 2016 to achieve living conditions equivalent to urban areas. The paper documents measures taken in pilot communities, identifies requirements for digital transformation, and extracts best practices for promoting digitalization in traditional rural areas. It emphasizes the transformation process itself rather than individual technological solutions.
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How can rural China achieve sustainable development through inclusive innovation? A tripartite evolutionary game analysis
This study uses evolutionary game theory to analyze how government, enterprises, and low-income customers interact to drive inclusive innovation in rural China. The research finds that government support must evolve across innovation stages—advocating initially, promoting during growth, then stepping back as markets mature. Low subsidies and high supervision costs both undermine innovation adoption. The findings suggest tailored policy mechanisms for different innovation lifecycle stages can accelerate sustainable rural development.
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Developing rural communication through digital innovation for village tourism
Digital platforms transformed Pentingsari Village's tourism economy by improving communication and shifting public perception. Social media and online reviews helped the village document development and counter negative views about tourism's impact on indigenous land and culture. The study shows how digital communication tools enable rural communities to promote sustainable tourism, preserve cultural heritage, boost local economies, and attract visitors and investment.
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Hacking Hekla: Exploring the dynamics of digital innovation in rural areas
This study examines a hackathon called Hacking Hekla in rural Iceland to understand how digital innovation actually works in practice. The researchers found a significant gap between regional policies promoting digitalization and what actually happens in rural communities. Digital innovation in rural areas proves far more complex than policymakers assume, requiring long-term commitment rather than quick fixes to produce meaningful results.
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The role of universities in promoting rural innovation in Latin America
Universities in rural Latin America drive innovation by aligning diverse stakeholders with varying needs. The author examines Chiapas, Mexico, showing that successful rural innovation requires universities to coordinate effectively with different actors across the region, creating shared understanding and collaborative frameworks that address local development challenges.
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Social innovation in service delivery to youth in remote and rural areas
This paper examines a social innovation program in Finland's Kainuu region that uses art and technology to reintegrate marginalized youth in remote areas facing population decline. Rather than pursuing purely economic goals, the program focuses on helping young people reconnect with their identities and rebuild self-worth. The analysis applies quadruple helix and social living labs frameworks to understand how regional governance institutions support youth art training.
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Application of a Comprehensive Methodology for the Evaluation of Social Innovations in Rural Communities
This paper applies a comprehensive evaluation framework based on OECD criteria (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability) to assess a social innovation initiative in rural Southern Italy. The evaluation methodology successfully identifies strengths and weaknesses across multiple dimensions, with 48% of indicators rated high and 36% medium. The results support communication strategies, help project managers address gaps, and provide evidence for policymakers designing cost-effective rural development policies.
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The Importance of Social Innovations in Rural Areas
Social innovations—new ideas addressing existing social problems—play a critical role in rural development that technical innovations alone cannot fulfill. The paper distinguishes social from technical innovation and examines how social innovations expand employment and support rural development. Successful rural strategies require active participation from citizens and civil organizations, supported by strong local identity and community cohesion. Technical solutions are insufficient; social innovations addressing disadvantaged groups and underdeveloped regions are essential for sustainable rural progress.
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Social Innovations for the Achievement of Competitive Agriculture and the Sustainable Development of Peripheral Rural Areas
This study analyzes social innovations across peripheral rural areas in Finland, Croatia, and France, examining nine good practice examples to understand how social innovations drive sustainable rural development and competitive agriculture. The research identifies distinct types of social innovations shaped by regional social conditions and demonstrates that these innovations significantly impact rural economic activities and sustainability outcomes, with notable differences in social, environmental, and economic effects across the three European regions.
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A rural laboratory in the Austrian alm—Tracing the contingent processes fostering social innovation at the local level
Social innovation in rural areas emerges through evolving ecosystems and infrastructures rather than isolated projects. This study of Austria's Mühlviertel region shows how local perceptions and development ideas become institutionalized through governance networks over time, combining incremental and radical innovations in contingent, temporally dependent processes.
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Rural Community Development Click-by-Click. Processes and dynamics of digitally supported social innovations in peripheral rural areas
Digital tools are transforming how peripheral rural communities address local challenges in communication, healthcare, and mobility. This study of five German villages identifies how digitally supported social innovations develop through three phases: inspiration, emergence, and consolidation. The process follows a linear-circular pattern, combining targeted problem-solving with creative feedback loops that generate new ideas throughout implementation.
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Modes of spread in social innovation: A social topology case in rural Portugal
Social innovation spreads through rural regions via material and discursive configurations that circulate across spatial scales and territorial boundaries. Using a network of young farmers in Portugal (EPAM) as a case study, the research demonstrates that social innovation operates simultaneously as a bounded regional object and as a trans-scalar relational process where objects, subjects, and spaces reconfigure each other. Images and infrastructure prove agential in how social innovation diffuses through peripheral rural territories.
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Towards a path-transformative heuristic in inclusive innovation initiatives: an exploratory case in rural communities in Colombia
This study develops a framework to understand how inclusive innovation initiatives transform rural communities. Using a case study in Cumbal, Colombia, the authors identify institutional entrepreneurs as key change agents who drive innovation supported by national entities. The framework successfully explains the transformation process in local communities by combining insights from inclusive innovation, institutional entrepreneurship, and path dependence theories.
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From technological to social innovation: objectives, actors, and projects of the European rural development program (2007-2013) in the Puglia region
This paper examines how the European LEADER program interpreted innovation in Puglia's rural development strategy from 2007-2013. The analysis shows that innovation shifted from purely technological focus to include social and cultural dimensions. Local action groups implemented governance-centered strategies that emphasized knowledge and territorial development, particularly in economically disadvantaged rural areas, reflecting a broader European shift toward socially-oriented rural innovation.
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An exploration of potential growth pathways of social innovations in rural Europe
This paper develops a typology of growth pathways for social innovations in rural Europe. The authors synthesize existing frameworks from literature to clarify how social innovations expand and develop differently across rural contexts. They apply rural development theories to explain why certain pathways emerge in rural areas, addressing the lack of clear conceptualization around both social innovation itself and its scaling mechanisms.
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Entrepreneurial Strategies to Address Rural-Urban Climate-Induced Vulnerabilities: Assessing Adaptation and Innovation Measures in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Climate change drives rural-urban migration to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where the city pursues technology-based innovation for adaptation. The study finds that effective innovations prioritize community ownership over technological sophistication. Misaligned definitions of risk between recipients, corporations, and government undermine projects. Even technical climate measures carry political dimensions. The authors recommend recognizing innovation lifecycles and broadening how cities define innovation to enable more inclusive, effective adaptation.
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Digital factors spur rural industrial integration: mediating roles of rural entrepreneurship and agricultural innovation in China
Digital technology adoption significantly strengthens rural industrial integration in China, with effects varying by region. Rural entrepreneurship and agricultural innovation act as key mechanisms driving this relationship. Entrepreneurship matters more in eastern and non-grain regions, while agricultural innovation dominates in central areas and major grain-producing zones. The study recommends accelerating digital integration, boosting agricultural innovation, and supporting entrepreneurial ecosystems.
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Building Partnership for Social Innovation in Rural Development: Case Studies in Coastal Villages in Indonesia
Community partnerships in Indonesian coastal villages drive social innovation for marine resource development. The study of West Java and Gorontalo villages shows that collaboration between community members, village government, and private businesses creates social innovations that improve economic capacity and optimize marine resources. Strong partnerships accelerate coastal development and enable communities to overcome infrastructure limitations.
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Challenges of impact assessment in Social Innovation: A qualitative study from two European rural regions
Social innovation initiatives in rural Austria and Portugal struggle to assess their impacts despite recognizing its importance. Local development organizations face conceptual and practical challenges in measuring outcomes because no uniform assessment method exists. The study reveals tensions between different approaches to impact evaluation and difficulties in determining what counts as impact across different levels of analysis.
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How Social Innovation can be Supported in Structurally Weak Rural Regions
Social innovation initiatives flourish across rural Europe, driven by residents and entrepreneurs addressing societal challenges. This paper analyzes conditions enabling rural social innovation to emerge and identifies critical factors supporting or hindering its success. The research reconstructs actor constellations and innovation phases, pinpoints obstacles that derail initiatives, and determines which support strategies help social innovation develop in structurally weak rural regions.
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State-driven social innovation: Can neo-exogenous development address rural marginalization? A tale of two villages in China
China's Rural Revitalization Strategy represents state-driven social innovation that can reduce rural marginalization, but outcomes depend heavily on how social capital is built. Two Sichuan villages showed different results: one remained dependent on external actors despite infrastructure improvements, while the other leveraged bonding social capital and local leadership to create inclusive partnerships with government. Effective sequencing of state initiatives regenerates all forms of social capital and enables adaptive governance.
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Unveiling the Resources of Digital Pioneers: an Agency Perspective on Digital Social Innovation in Rural Germany
Digital pioneers in rural Germany access resources through three pathways: personal motivation, social networks, and regional conditions. The study of 40 interviews reveals these key actors can serve as intermediaries in regional governance, but need policy support to strengthen network and regional resource access. Success depends on combining individual agency with structural conditions, not infrastructure alone.
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Municipal Social Innovation in a Rural Region
Swedish rural municipalities in Norrbotten recognize social innovation as essential for improving public services, but adoption varies significantly. Resource constraints from declining populations, aging demographics, shrinking tax bases, and labor shortages limit their capacity to implement social innovation despite national and international promotion efforts.
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Living labs in integrated agriculture and tourism activities: Driving innovation for sustainable rural development
Living labs—structures that involve end-users directly in research and innovation—offer promise for rural development in Bulgaria. The paper analyzes living labs through SWOT analysis to assess their potential for driving sustainable agriculture and tourism in rural areas. It examines how living labs can encourage entrepreneurship, ensure quality and safety, and address the practical challenge of reviving rural regions through integrated agricultural and tourism activities.
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Landscapes of practices, social learning systems and rural innovation.
Rural innovation systems benefit from understanding how communities of practice connect across boundaries. This paper applies Wenger's concept of 'landscapes of practices' to rural innovation, showing how learning and innovation potential increases when strong core practices link through active boundary processes. Examples of rural innovation communities demonstrate how systems thinking can help practitioners enhance their collective learning and innovation capacity across multiple interconnected groups.
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Women-Led Social Innovation Initiatives Contribute to Gender Equality in Rural Areas: Grounded Theory on Five Initiatives From Three Continents
Women-led social innovation initiatives in rural Canada, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, and Serbia advance gender equality by strengthening women's collective agency. The study identifies three structural features—gendered identity, women's independence, and control over rules—that enable or constrain these initiatives. Key enabling factors include women's self-confidence, peer networks, and capacity building. These initiatives increase economic independence, reduce cultural skepticism about women's roles, and shift political dynamics, demonstrating that women's collective action effectively overcomes structures that marginalize rural women.
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Investigating the Impact of Social Capital, Cross-Sector Collaboration, and Leadership on Social Innovation in Rural Social Enterprises
Cross-sector collaboration and leadership significantly drive social innovation in Indonesian village social enterprises (BUMDes), according to research surveying 280 enterprise directors and community members in West Java. Surprisingly, social capital showed no significant effect on innovation outcomes. The study also documents declining community trust in rural Indonesia. These findings provide empirical evidence for understanding social innovation drivers in developing-country rural enterprises.
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Valuation in Rural Social Innovation Processes—Analysing Micro-Impact of a Collaborative Community in Southern Italy
This paper examines how valuation processes embedded within social innovation activities drive rural development in a southern Italian agricultural community. The researchers identify three valuation phases—contesting norms, accumulating symbolic capital, and redefining values—that generate micro-level impacts on the agro-economic system, local culture, and place-making. The study demonstrates that collaborative valuation occurring during social innovation implementation, not just afterward, produces tangible community empowerment and societal change through joint sense-making.
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Rural development as the propagation of regional ‘communities of values’: A case study of local discourses promoting social innovation and social sustainability
Rural development initiatives in Austria's Mühlviertel region use social innovation to address economic and demographic decline by reconstructing how communities understand themselves and their places. The study shows that social innovation efforts succeed by promoting shared regional values and reshaping social bonds, creating new visions of sustainable countryside life that counter narratives of rural decline.
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Integrating Local Food Policies and Spatial Planning to Enhance Food Systems and Rural–Urban Links: A Living Lab Experiment
This study examines how spatial planning and food policy integration strengthen local food systems in peri-urban areas. Using a Living Lab experiment in Lucca, Italy, researchers worked with stakeholders to reclaim abandoned land and identify rural-urban connections. The research reveals weak recognition of rural-urban linkages and insufficient dialogue between rural stakeholders and urban planners. The authors recommend formalizing public-private partnerships and cross-sectoral projects connecting agriculture with education, tourism, and landscape management.
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ARA PAWR: Wireless Living Lab for Smart and Connected Rural Communities
ARA PAWR is a wireless living lab deployed in real agricultural and rural settings that achieves high-speed wireless access and backhaul performance, reaching 3.2 Gbps access throughput and over 10 Gbps backhaul throughput across 10+ km distances. The platform enables research experiments using TV white space, mmWave, and 5G technologies, and will be released publicly for community use to advance rural broadband innovation.
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Social Innovation for Rural Bioeconomies
The SCALE-UP project identifies how social innovation strengthens rural bioeconomies by building multi-actor partnerships among companies, governments, civil society, and researchers. Analysis of regional bioeconomy projects reveals that inclusive approaches—where local communities shape and benefit from sustainable bio-based value chains—drive success. Cross-sector collaboration proves essential for scaling these practices, offering rural regions a framework for sustainable development.
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Rural–Urban Features of Social Innovation: An Exploratory Study of Work Integration Social Enterprises in Ireland
Work Integration Social Enterprises in Ireland show similar organizational structures across rural and urban settings, but deliver different socioeconomic impacts based on location. Urban enterprises generate significantly more employment and income than rural ones, despite comparable governance models and funding diversification. The study demonstrates that spatial context shapes how social innovations create sustainable opportunities and contribute to local economies.
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Research on Design Education Enabling Rural Revitalization and Digital Innovation Path of Non-Heritage
Design education drives rural revitalization and digital innovation in non-heritage cultural artifacts across Chinese provinces. Analysis of 31 provinces from 2013 to 2022 shows economic growth and improved living standards fuel rural development, with Beijing and Guangdong leading digital advancement. Rural and digital non-heritage sectors achieved moderate coordination by 2022. The authors recommend establishing online education platforms to spread design knowledge and support this integrated development.
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Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspaces: assembling community economies in Austria and Greece
Rural collaborative workspaces in Austria and Greece demonstrate transformative potential through social innovation processes. Community-led workspaces strengthen rural actors' capacities, shift individual perspectives toward collective action, and reshape economic relationships. The study finds these spaces can foster community economies by changing social relations and economic subjectivities. However, workspaces need greater institutional support and resources to progress beyond early transformation stages and achieve lasting societal impact.
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Can Social Innovation and Agriculture Serve as a Turning Point in Rural Areas? Insights from a Bibliometric Literature Review
This bibliometric review of 178 publications examines how social innovation and agriculture address rural challenges. The analysis identifies agriculture, digitalization, and forestry as key research areas, alongside emerging organizational models like rural hubs, living labs, and community cooperatives. These initiatives aim to revitalize rural social fabric and improve quality of life in rural populations.
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Innovaciones pedagógicas en entornos rurales para el fomento de la Inclusividad [Pedagogical innovations in rural environments for the promotion of inclusivity]
Rural schools in vulnerable contexts achieve educational inclusion through flexible teaching methods adapted to local socioeconomic and cultural conditions. Teacher training and decolonial approaches that value local knowledge strengthen student identity and belonging. Digital technologies combined with contextualised teacher preparation enable equitable access to education in rural communities.
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A three-pronged approach to the digitalization–innovation–sustainable rural development nexus among Italian farms
Italian farms show highly uneven adoption of digital innovations and their links to sustainable development. Using census data and cluster analysis, the study identifies distinct geographic patterns across Italian regions, revealing that farms differ significantly in how they combine digitalization, innovation, and sustainability practices. These scattered adoption patterns create varied rural development outcomes across territories.
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Rural social innovation in practices of solidarity economy in the Cooptar collective in Southern Brazil
A Brazilian agricultural cooperative demonstrates rural social innovation through solidarity economy practices. Over 33 years, Cooptar has sustained itself by combining ongoing member training with collective ownership, self-management, and production diversification. The cooperative actively confronts individualism and gender inequality while building transformative social change that addresses rural workers' struggles for dignified livelihoods and social inclusion.
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Co-creation of social innovations for healthy ageing in rural Europe – a process evaluation of a volunteer-led guided conversation toolkit using Normalisation Process Theory (NPT)
Researchers evaluated a volunteer-led toolkit for healthy ageing in rural European communities using Normalisation Process Theory. They interviewed 25 project partners and volunteers across Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The study found that effective toolkits must address ageing holistically by considering person-centred and place-based factors. Normalisation Process Theory proved valuable for understanding how context shapes implementation of social innovations.
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The Impact of Dissonance? A Valuation Perspective on Rural Social Innovation Processes
Social innovation in rural areas produces impacts that are constructed iteratively through the innovation process itself, not predetermined outcomes. The authors introduce 'dissonance'—tensions and conflicts at key moments like impulses, turning points, and lock-ins—as a critical mechanism shaping how value emerges and gets assigned. Using case studies from Northern Germany, they show that understanding rural social innovation requires examining how stakeholders experience and negotiate value throughout the process, rather than measuring fixed results.
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Research on Financial Product Innovation in Rural Commercial Banks under the Digital Transformation Context: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province
Rural commercial banks in Jiangsu Province struggle to innovate financial products despite digital transformation opportunities. Farmers and small businesses face unmet financing needs because banks lack comprehensive, user-friendly systems built on big data. This study examines supply and demand-side barriers to financial product innovation and proposes solutions to better serve rural communities through digital tools.
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Local Community Participation in Social Innovation Initiatives for Enhancing the Quality of Life: A Case Study in Rural Egypt
A study of two rural Egyptian villages examined what factors influence community participation in a long-running grassroots social innovation initiative. Researchers surveyed 221 households and found that participation increased with positive attitudes toward the initiative, sense of community, and perceived benefits. Participation decreased when people's needs were already satisfied or when social loafing occurred. Age, mobility, attitude, and community feeling together explained 61% of participation variation.
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Local Particularities in Regional Social Innovation: A Case Study of Rural Stay Program in Mungyeong, South Korea
South Korea's Youth Village program aims to revitalize rural areas and reduce youth unemployment by attracting young people to establish businesses in declining towns. A case study of Mungyeong's rural stay program identifies its strengths, weaknesses, and success factors through cultural and regional analysis. The research reveals how local cultural differences shape social innovation outcomes and provides lessons applicable to other regional revitalization efforts.
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Social Innovation in Rural Areas: Evidence from Italian Community Cooperatives
Community cooperatives in rural Italy generate social innovation that addresses depopulation and economic decline. These organizations create positive community impacts through sustainable development initiatives, though their effects remain limited in many cases. The study finds that supportive policies and dedicated resources are essential to strengthen these cooperatives' capacity to drive rural growth.
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Stories from the margins: Entrepreneurial self-efficacy and social innovation among rural women entrepreneurs in Oman
Rural women entrepreneurs in Oman develop entrepreneurial self-efficacy through psychological resilience, informal social networks, digital tools, and cultural positioning despite institutional exclusion and resource constraints. The study shows these women leverage family connections, traditional skills, and mobile technology to build confidence and sustain ventures. The research challenges top-down development models and demonstrates how micro-level adaptation and relational strategies enable inclusive entrepreneurship in gendered rural contexts.
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Fostering CraftsDesign-Based Social Innovation in Rural Communities through Participatory Workshops
This paper presents a participatory workshop method designed to foster social innovation in rural communities through crafts and design. Researchers conducted three pilot workshops across Spain and Portugal with designers and experts, testing a toolkit featuring a canvas and card deck to help participants co-create sustainable solutions. The method leverages local cultural heritage and resources to address rural challenges, training participants to develop context-specific innovations that engage local crafts, skills, and community agents.
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Relevant drivers and barriers for transforming Heritage Communities into stakeholders of social innovations in rural an marginal areas: a vademecum
Heritage Communities in rural and marginal areas can drive social innovation by collectively organizing preservation of local natural, cultural, and social resources. This vademecum identifies drivers and barriers for integrating Heritage Communities into public policy to support territorial resilience. It examines legal, economic, and organizational mechanisms these communities can use, emphasizing tourism's role in sustainability and economic benefit, while documenting structural obstacles to implementing heritage principles and commons approaches.
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Life trajectories and territorial change: the social innovation of Proyecto Utopia in rural Colombia
Proyecto Utopía in rural Colombia combines free agricultural engineering education, housing, psychosocial support, and hands-on learning with philanthropic funding to address rural marginalization amid conflict. A mixed-methods study of 251 graduates found 78% gained formal employment, 47% started businesses, and 74% joined associations. Alumni returned to their territories as leaders practicing agroecology, demonstrating that sustainable rural peace requires hybrid alliances beyond state action.
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Can social innovation strengthen rural bank Indonesia’s organizational culture in improving financial sustainability?
Rural banks in Indonesia face intense competition from commercial banks and fintech firms. This study examines 131 rural banks in Bali and finds that strong organizational culture directly improves financial sustainability. Social innovation—through collaboration and strategic partnerships—strengthens this relationship further. Rural banks can enhance long-term financial performance by combining internal cultural foundations with externally oriented social innovation practices.
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Social and Solidarity Economy and Social Innovation in the Agri-Food Sector: A Conceptual Synthesis of Contributions to Sustainable Local and Rural Development
Social and solidarity economy initiatives drive transformation in agri-food systems by reconfiguring governance, deepening producer-consumer relationships through proximity and transparency, and redistributing value more equitably across territories. The paper synthesizes evidence that these place-based models address biodiversity loss, rural inequality, and farm livelihoods while advancing sustainable local development. Policy coordination among public, private, and social stakeholders can scale these innovations effectively.
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Innovation Mechanisms of Rural Tourism Under the Digital Economy: Platform–Scenario Synergy and County-Level Governance Resilience an Empirical Study in the Policy Context of China’s “Digital Commerce Empowering Agriculture” Initiative
Digital platforms transform rural tourism in China by reducing transaction costs and enabling long-tail demand, while scenario-based innovation converts fragmented resources into immersive lifestyle experiences. County-level governance resilience acts as an institutional anchor, mediating multi-actor interests and preventing digital erosion. Development outcomes depend on positive coupling between platforms, scenario innovation, and governance—without this alignment, regions face traffic booms followed by homogenization and disorder.
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Advancing Equitable Rural Transformation: How Digital Innovation Affects Urban–Rural Income Inequality
Digital innovation reshapes urban-rural income inequality through three mechanisms: digital technology affects earnings differently for skilled and unskilled workers via productivity gains, job displacement, and industrial change; digital infrastructure narrows information gaps and builds rural human capital; digital financial services extend formal banking to excluded rural populations. The paper reviews how these factors influence income distribution and offers policy recommendations for using digital economy benefits to reduce disparities.
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Reverse innovation and digital sustainability in rural destinations: evidence from Iran's Hawraman
This study examines how entrepreneurs in two rural Iranian heritage villages adopt digital technologies despite infrastructural constraints. Through interviews with 21 entrepreneurs, researchers identified five interconnected dimensions of digital entrepreneurship: infrastructural liminality, identity-functional duality, collective-relational agency, re-adaptive cycles, and contextual spirituality. Infrastructure limitations actually spark reverse innovation and collective resilience, enabling culturally embedded technological adaptation that supports sustainable heritage preservation.
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Innovation of Marketing Model and the Path of Increasing Consumer Satisfaction of Rural Tourism in Chongqing Driven by Digital Economy
Chongqing's rural tourism sector attracts hundreds of millions of visitors annually but faces digital transformation challenges including outdated marketing and skill gaps. The paper proposes digital economy solutions: precision marketing using big data, social media content strategies, and intelligent systems to improve service efficiency and visitor engagement. Case studies of two rural tourism sites demonstrate that targeted digital marketing combined with service upgrades significantly increase visitor satisfaction.
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Digital Innovation and Educational Equity in History Education: A Study of Rural–Urban Disparities and AI Integration in Sabah
This study examines how digital innovation and AI integration can reduce educational inequality in history education across rural and urban areas of Sabah. The research identifies barriers including inadequate digital infrastructure, teacher readiness gaps, and socio-economic constraints. It proposes solutions through community-based learning, culturally responsive content, and adaptive technologies. The findings show that strategically implemented digital tools, when aligned with local contexts and supported by equitable policies, can improve history education outcomes and reduce rural-urban disparities.
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Empowering Rural Communities on Rural Pact Implementation: A Human–Ecological Perspective on Social Innovation and Rural Young Entrepreneurship
This study examines how rural communities can implement the European Rural Pact through social innovation and youth entrepreneurship. Using human ecology principles, the researchers analyzed interviews to identify six key dimensions for reducing rural-urban disparities. They found that local experimentation, higher education partnerships, national-level monitoring, and youth engagement—particularly among young people and women—drive transformative change in rural areas.
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Enhancing financial sustainability of rural banks in Bali through social capital, service innovation, and organizational culture
Rural banks in Bali achieve financial sustainability primarily through service innovation, which has the strongest positive effect. Organizational culture also directly supports sustainability and drives service innovation. Social capital plays a complex role: it strengthens the link between culture and innovation, but paradoxically reduces both innovation and sustainability when measured directly. The research emphasizes that rural banks must build strong internal culture and innovate services to overcome resource constraints.
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Narratives of Change or Changing the Narrative? An Exploration of Narratives in Rural Social Innovation
Rural social innovation initiatives in Portugal and Austria construct narratives that challenge dominant stories about rural decline, decision-making divides, and competition. The paper identifies how these initiatives frame change through narratives of bringing rural communities back into focus, promoting experimentation, and pursuing opportunity-led development. These counter-narratives represent attempts to reshape how rural social innovation is understood and valued.
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Social Innovation in Rural Development Policy: Strengthening Participation, Representation and Accountability
European rural development policies increasingly use community-led approaches like LEADER to build on local strengths, but these programs face criticism for being overly technical and constrained by national priorities. This paper examines two methods for improving participation and accountability in place-based rural innovation: Northern Ireland's Community-led Local Development program and the Social Value Engine tool. Both approaches aim to strengthen community inclusion, accountability, and representation in rural development processes.
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A Failed Social Innovation Experiment in Rural China
A participatory action research project in rural China attempted to extend the impact of short-term design interventions through a toolkit approach. Despite three iterations, the experiment failed to achieve its goals of fostering sustainable village development. The researchers found that rigid tools and linear problem-solving approaches don't work in village settings. They conclude that lasting rural innovation requires flexibility, adaptability, and attention to both tangible and intangible legacies rather than predetermined frameworks.
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A Study on the Theoretical Evolution, Practical Dilemmas, and Policy Innovations in Enhancing Rural Social Welfare
China's rural social welfare system lags significantly behind urban provision, creating institutional gaps in social security and public services. This paper examines theoretical foundations and policy pathways for reform under the Rural Revitalization Strategy. It identifies three core problems: low overall welfare levels, homogeneous provider structures focused on relief, and narrow economic subsidies lacking comprehensive support. The study compares two reform approaches—rural-to-urban integration versus strengthening local rural welfare—and recommends targeted policies to achieve urban-rural welfare equality and common prosperity.
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Social Innovation and Sustainability in Rural Organizations in Southern Sonora
Rural organizations in southern Sonora show limited social innovation implementation due to small size and low technological capacity. A survey of 200 members reveals that social innovation dimensions—particularly social impact, innovation type, economic viability, and replicability—positively influence organizational sustainability. Intersectoral collaboration showed no significant effect. The findings demonstrate how social innovation strengthens rural organizations and inform policy design for local development.
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Economic Development through Social Entrepreneurship: Case Study of Rural Innovation Hubs in Balikpapan
Rural innovation hubs in Balikpapan, Indonesia boost household incomes by over 50 percent through training, networking, and market access for local entrepreneurs. Digital services showed strongest growth. Women and young entrepreneurs participated heavily, advancing gender equity and youth empowerment. Hubs successfully build community resilience and create social value, though limited access to affordable capital remains a barrier requiring stronger policy support and financial partnerships.
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Innovación Social en Áreas Rurales: El proyecto ESIRA (Social innovation in rural areas. The ESIRA Project)
ESIRA is a four-year European project (2024–2027) funded by Horizon Europe that promotes social innovation in rural areas across eight countries. It establishes community-led Innovation Spaces where local actors conduct self-diagnosis and identify opportunities in social economy, entrepreneurship, culture, digitalization, and green transition. Through participatory multi-actor platforms, rural communities lead initiatives to build resilient, prosperous regions with inclusive policies and collaborative social returns.
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Social Innovation for Rural Bioeconomies
The SCALE-UP project identifies how social innovation strengthens rural bioeconomies by building multi-actor partnerships among companies, governments, civil society, and researchers. Analysis of regional bioeconomy projects reveals that inclusive approaches—where local communities shape and benefit from bio-based value chains—drive sustainable development. Cross-sector collaboration proves essential for scaling these practices, offering rural stakeholders a framework for integrating social dimensions into bioeconomy initiatives.
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Community-driven food networks as vehicles of rural social innovation
Two community-driven food networks in rural Cape Breton, Canada—one Indigenous-led and one non-Indigenous—demonstrate how integrated programming combining food access, wellness, and employment initiatives builds social cohesion, local capacity, and community dignity. These networks function as rural social innovation infrastructure rather than charity, addressing food insecurity, isolation, and economic marginalization while fostering inclusion and resilience.
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Impact of Digital Innovation on Rural Development and Inclusive Urbanization in Baringo County
Digital innovation significantly influences rural development and inclusive urbanization in Baringo County, Kenya. The study surveyed 44 county assembly members and found that digital innovation statistically impacts rural development outcomes. The research recommends adopting digital innovation to address urbanization challenges sustainably and implementing digital literacy programs for youth and adults to enable participation in a digital economy.
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Effect of Digital Innovation on Rural Development and Inclusive Urbanization in Baringo County
Digital innovation significantly influences rural development and inclusive urbanization in Baringo County, Kenya. The study surveyed 44 county assembly members and found that digital innovation has a statistically significant effect on rural development outcomes. The research recommends adopting digital innovation as a tool for achieving sustainable development goals and implementing comprehensive digital literacy programs for youth and adults to enable participation in a digital economy.
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Village Digital Spaces and Generational Politics: The Challenge of Inclusive Innovation in Rural Indonesia
Village Digital Community Spaces in rural Indonesia provide youth with basic digital skills training in graphic design and video editing, boosting confidence. However, structural barriers including top-down governance, social hierarchies, and poor infrastructure prevent young people from developing advanced skills and implementing their ideas. The study argues that sustainable rural innovation requires not just technology but also mentoring, cross-sector collaboration, and policies that support participatory, intergenerational planning.
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Public-Sector Innovation To Narrow The Urban–Rural Digital Divide For Inclusive Smart Tourism In Indonesia: A Systematic Review
Indonesia's government-led digital innovations—including smart-tourism apps, cashless payment systems, and broadband expansion programs—improve rural tourism access and market reach for small businesses. These initiatives help narrow the urban-rural digital divide and attract younger travelers. However, connectivity gaps, low digital literacy, and limited local capacity continue to hinder progress. The review recommends policy priorities focused on digital inclusion and regional equity.
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Innovation and knowledge-based inclusive transformation of rural areas in Algeria: examining the PPDRI programme
Algeria's PPDRI rural development programme successfully implemented innovation-driven knowledge-based economy policy in agriculture through training, capability building, and ICT adoption across five prefectures. The study finds that farmer participation and bottom-up governance approaches were essential to programme effectiveness, offering new insights for rural and agricultural policy implementation in developing contexts.
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ICTs for Climate Resilience and Rural Development in Pakistan: Bridging Digital Divides for Inclusive Innovation
ICTs like satellite telemetry and flood early warning systems can help rural communities in Pakistan's glacier regions adapt to climate risks, but their success depends on local trust, gender-sensitive design, and community-based training. Top-down technology deployment fails; instead, ICTs must be co-designed with local actors, translated into local languages, and supported through inclusive capacity-building to bridge digital divides rather than widen them.
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Co-creating rural digital policy across borders: A Living Lab-based double diamond approach
Researchers used Living Lab methodology and design thinking to co-create rural digital policy with communities in Sweden and Finland. They engaged diverse stakeholders through workshops, interviews, and design activities to develop a draft policy prototype and action plan aligned with sustainable development goals. The approach demonstrates how participatory methods can produce context-sensitive policies for underrepresented rural regions.
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Co-designing and implementing biomass circularity at the territorial level through rural living labs: Insights from a transdisciplinary and participatory approach in Madagascar
Rural living labs in Madagascar's Central Highlands enable communities to co-design and implement biomass circularity strategies tailored to local conditions. The transdisciplinary and participatory approach helps rural stakeholders identify biomass potential, design circular systems, and assess environmental and economic impacts. This addresses a critical gap in tools available to Global South communities for reducing import dependence and achieving sustainable rural development.
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Living labs para o desenvolvimento rural: co-construção participativa no município de Altônia, Paraná
Researchers in Altônia, Brazil established a living lab—a participatory innovation space—to strengthen local agricultural systems through co-creation with farmers, municipal officials, and university staff. Through workshops, participatory mapping, and facilitated dialogue, the team developed practical actions for rural development. The work shows that living labs shift development from top-down technology transfer to collaborative problem-solving that values local knowledge, offering a replicable model for rural innovation in agricultural regions.
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Research on Digital Integration Dilemma, Innovation Model and Feasible Path of Endogenous Rural Book House—Based on the Practice and Thinking of Nantong Zhangwugao Rural Book House
Rural book houses in China struggle to integrate digital services due to institutional, resource, cognitive, and authority gaps. This study examines Nantong's Zhangwugao Rural Book House and proposes a "driving-embedding-efficiency" innovation model to overcome these barriers. The approach combines embeddedness and network governance theory to advance digital integration, supporting both cultural digitalization and rural revitalization strategies.
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Rural E-commerce Development Based on Legitimacy and Local Wisdom: An Integrative Review of Platform Innovation, Credit Risk Analysis, and Digital Empowerment Strategies in Indonesia
Rural e-commerce in Indonesia grows when platforms combine technological innovation with local wisdom and values. The paper integrates research on platform legitimacy, game-theory-based credit risk analysis, and rural development strategies. It finds that synergies between trust-building, risk management, and local cultural adaptation drive consumer confidence and platform growth. Success requires technology responsive to local conditions and proactive risk management.
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Innovation in Business and Trade Services under the Digital Background Practice and Exploration of Promoting Rural Revitalization
Digital innovation in business and trade services drives rural revitalization by upgrading e-commerce, developing smart logistics, and creating new digital industry models. These approaches boost rural industrial growth and improve farmers' living standards. However, inadequate infrastructure, weak digital capabilities, and incomplete branding limit progress. The paper proposes targeted strategies for digital transformation of rural commerce to achieve sustainable development.
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Integrating Digital Innovation and Sustainability to Build Resilient NGOs and NPOs in Global Rural Contexts: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Digital innovation and sustainability frameworks together strengthen NGOs and NPOs in rural areas by improving operational efficiency, transparency, and organizational resilience. The study across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America shows that digital tools like blockchain and cloud systems, combined with sustainability goals, enhance governance and community trust. However, digital illiteracy, infrastructure gaps, and data privacy concerns remain significant barriers that require culturally adapted solutions.
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Transforming Rural Development with Village-Centered Digital Innovation
Digital transformation offers rural development opportunities but widens the digital divide. The Banyuwangi Regency Government implemented a Smart Village program to address technology access disparities. The paper examines how village-centered digital innovation strategies can reduce inequality and improve rural development outcomes through targeted technology deployment and community engagement.
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Comparing digital public service innovation in urban and rural space: evidence from Indonesia public service innovation competition 2014-2023
Indonesian local and district governments show distinct patterns in digital public service innovation from 2014 to 2023. Local governments emphasize interactive services over static ones, while district governments gradually shift toward interactive solutions. Most innovations are externally focused and independently developed rather than collaborative. The findings reveal weak cross-sector collaboration and internal digital capacity, highlighting the need for balanced approaches integrating interactivity with accessibility and encouraging collaborative innovation.
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Internet of Things innovation in rural water supply in sub-Saharan Africa: a critical assessment of emerging ICT
IoT and ICT technologies are emerging in rural water supply across sub-Saharan Africa, but their sustainability and integration into existing systems remain poorly understood. This paper frames rural water supply as a complex problem, assesses specific challenges in Tanzania through expert interviews, and evaluates existing IoT innovations. The authors argue that moving toward a service delivery approach—supported by better data collection and integrated information systems—can improve sustainability and outcomes for rural communities.
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New cash cropping in the Black Volta river valley: Banana production, rural innovation, and social entrepreneurship in the <scp>Ghana–Burkina</scp> Faso border region
A banana irrigation farming innovation that began in Burkina Faso spread to Ghana's Black Volta river valley in the 1990s, driven by returning emigrants and local university lecturers. The paper shows that local entrepreneurs, not foreign corporations, drove this agricultural intensification through imported banana varieties, entrepreneurial effort, and cross-border trade networks strengthened by regional highway infrastructure connecting farms to urban markets.
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Exploring the Nexus of Corporate Social Responsibility, Innovation Capability, and Organizational Performance: Evidence from Rural Commercial Banks in China
Corporate social responsibility positively influences innovation capability and organizational performance in China's rural commercial banks. Innovation capability partially mediates the CSR-performance relationship. An organizational innovation atmosphere—including colleague support, supervisor support, and organizational support—strengthens how innovation capability drives performance. The study demonstrates that CSR dimensions (economic, legal, moral, and charitable) matter for rural banking success.
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Development Strategy of Rural Revitalization from the Perspective of Social Innovation: A Case Study of “Jiyingweigong” in Xiamen
A social innovation design project called "Jiyingweigong" in Xiamen, China demonstrates how blending public welfare with business activities revitalizes rural communities. The project activated Gangtou Village's overall development by creating a micro-ecosystem balancing social and economic goals. The study shows that social innovation design thinking systematically addresses rural economic, cultural, and ecological challenges while building sustainable local capacity.
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Path and Model Innovation of Social Work Driving Effective Rural Social Governance in the Internet Era
Social work drives effective rural governance by strengthening villagers' participation capacity, self-governance awareness, and village autonomy. The study identifies eight key factors—including performance expectations, role consistency, village identity, and government support—that influence how social work improves rural social governance. Strengthening party leadership, village self-governance systems, and cultural quality of villagers enhances overall rural governance effectiveness.
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Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspace assemblages as a means of prefiguring community economies
Rural collaborative workspaces in Austria and Greece function as sites of social innovation that transform community economies. These community-led spaces shift individual perspectives toward collective action and build local capacities. The study finds they hold transformative potential by changing social relations and economic subjectivities, though they need stronger institutional support to move beyond early developmental stages.
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The Social Economy Network in Rural Areas Functioning as a Community Field and a Locus of Social Innovation
Social economy networks in rural South Korea function as coordination mechanisms that mediate resources across market, public, and informal sectors. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis of networks in three regions, the study shows these networks create community spaces where residents set shared agendas and enable social innovation. Networks with dedicated solidarity organizations at their center operate more effectively and can integrate diverse policy resources to address rural development challenges.
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INTEGRATING UNIVERSITY SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INTO HIGHER EDUCATION: A DESIGN THINKING APPROACH TO RURAL COMMUNITY INNOVATION
A university course at National Chiayi University used design thinking to engage 54 students in developing tourism innovations for a remote Taiwanese village. Students created videos, digital maps, and social media campaigns with local stakeholders. While projects succeeded initially, the study found that long-term adoption failed due to limited community technological capacity and logistical challenges. The research shows university-community partnerships can drive rural innovation but require sustained engagement beyond single semesters and solutions tailored to community capabilities.
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Rural Social Innovation: An Exploratory Study in Rural Brazil
Rural social innovations in Brazil emerge from families collectively addressing socio-environmental challenges over time, rather than simply adopting new techniques. Ethnographic research in a Pantanal settlement reveals that social innovation strengthens rural development and tackles problems affecting farming communities. Understanding these innovations requires deep fieldwork to capture how they actually develop through shared problem-solving.
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Demo: Ara Pawr Wireless Living Lab for Smart and Connected Rural Communities
ARA is a wireless research platform designed for rural communities, featuring the first real-world implementation of long-distance wireless systems spanning over 30 km. It integrates software-defined radios and commercial equipment to enable experiments across user devices, base stations, edge computing, and cloud infrastructure. The platform supports advanced wireless research including MIMO in TV white space bands, long-range backhaul communications, and open-source 5G protocols, advancing next-generation wireless innovation for rural regions.
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Research on the Assessment of the Driving Effect of Digital Technological Innovation on the Income Increasing Efficiency Of Urban and Rural Residents in the Yellow River Basin
Digital technological innovation has not yet effectively increased incomes for urban and rural residents across the Yellow River Basin. The study of nine provinces from 2012–2022 reveals regional disparities: areas with better geography, higher per capita income, and larger populations see greater income gains from digital innovation. The paper recommends strengthening infrastructure, supporting industrial upgrading, expanding digital technology adoption in traditional industries, and tailoring policies to regional conditions.
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Summary of Research on Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Digital Rural Construction in the Yellow River Basin
This paper examines how artificial intelligence innovation supports digital rural construction in China's Yellow River Basin. The author reviews existing research and identifies the relationship between AI development and rural digitalization efforts. The paper argues that future work must focus on how AI innovation and digital rural construction can be better coordinated and coupled together in the basin.
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Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural Europe. A Morphological Box to Support the Innovation of Collaborative Business Models for Rural Digital Services
Rural European areas lack viable business models for digital services due to insufficient broadband infrastructure investment, unreliable service delivery, and low demand from digital illiteracy and sparse populations. The paper presents a morphological box framework to support innovation of collaborative business models that can overcome these barriers and make rural digital services economically sustainable.
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IMPACT OF FINTECH INNOVATION TO TRANSFORM REGIONAL RURAL BANKS (RRBS) IN INDIA-A STUDY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KARNATAKA.
Fintech innovations are transforming Rural Regional Banks (RRBs) in India, particularly in Karnataka, by integrating digital payment systems like UPI and AePS. The study examines how these technological advances improve financial inclusion and banking services in rural areas, analyzing their impact on RRB operations and performance through primary and secondary data using statistical analysis.
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Strengthen Connection between Family and Community: Social Protection of Covert Unattended Children in Context of Rural Governance Innovation
This paper examines social protection systems for unattended children in rural areas, including both visible cases like abandoned infants and hidden cases where living parents cannot provide care due to family breakdown or migration for work. The authors analyze rural governance innovations that strengthen family and community connections to support these vulnerable children.
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THE ROLE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL AND INNOVATIONS FOR TRANSFORMATION OF RURAL AREAS IN BULGARIA
Social capital—built through trust, cooperation, and civic engagement—drives rural transformation in Bulgaria. The paper examines how social networks and collective voluntary action revive depopulated settlements and restore community identity after economic transition. Local action groups and social innovations enable community-led development by strengthening social bonds and fostering cooperation among rural residents, particularly during crises.
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'Mode 3' and 'Quadruple Helix': toward a 21st century fractal innovation ecosystem
This paper argues that successful innovation systems in the 21st century must combine multiple knowledge and innovation paradigms simultaneously through co-evolution and co-specialization. The authors introduce the 'Quadruple Helix' model, which extends traditional triple-helix frameworks by adding media and culture as essential components. They contend that adaptive capacity to integrate diverse knowledge modes creates competitive advantage in knowledge economies.
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Regional Innovation Systems, Clusters, and the Knowledge Economy
This paper defines regional innovation systems and establishes criteria for identifying them in practice. It argues that Europe lags behind the United States in innovation because European governments over-rely on public intervention, indicating market failure. The paper calls for European public innovation support systems to evolve while private sector institutions strengthen their organizational capacity.
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Innovation in Innovation: The Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government Relations
Universities, industry, and government increasingly collaborate in a 'Triple Helix' model that drives innovation. Universities now actively commercialize knowledge and incubate technology firms. Companies invest in research and training as they advance technologically. Government functions as both entrepreneur and venture capitalist alongside its regulatory role. This interactive approach replaces linear innovation models, with institutions adopting each other's practices to create hybrid innovation ecosystems.
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National Innovation Systems—Analytical Concept and Development Tool
This paper develops the national innovation systems concept as a framework for understanding how knowledge and learning drive innovation within specific national contexts. The author argues that innovation systems perform better when their core institutions align with their wider economic and social settings. The framework requires understanding both individual actor behavior and systemic conditions, and the author emphasizes that developing countries need stronger institutions supporting learning, more equitable power distribution, and more open innovation systems.
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The Process of Innovation Assimilation by Firms in Different Countries: A Technology Diffusion Perspective on E-Business
This study examines how firms across 10 countries assimilate e-business innovations through three stages: initiation, adoption, and routinization. Competition drives early adoption but hinders effective implementation. Large firms gain advantages initially but face structural barriers later. Regulatory environments matter more in developing countries, while technology readiness dominates there and technology integration dominates in developed economies, showing how innovation assimilation shifts with economic context.
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Absorptive Capacity, Environmental Turbulence, and the Complementarity of Organizational Learning Processes
This study examines how organizations learn from external knowledge through three complementary processes: exploration, transformation, and exploitation. Using data from 175 industrial firms, the research shows that technological and market knowledge together form the foundation for absorptive capacity. The findings reveal that firms balancing all three learning types achieve better innovation and performance outcomes, particularly when facing rapid technological and market changes.
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Triple Helix Systems: An Analytical Framework for Innovation Policy and Practice in the Knowledge Society
This paper develops the Triple Helix framework—university, industry, and government interactions—into a formal systems model for analyzing innovation. It identifies key components including R&D and non-R&D innovators, hybrid institutions, and individual actors. Five relationship types (technology transfer, collaboration, leadership, substitution, networking) connect these components across knowledge, innovation, and consensus spaces. The framework reveals how knowledge and resources circulate within regional innovation systems and identifies blockages that impede innovation.
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Research and Development, Spillovers, Innovation Systems, and the Genesis of Regional Growth in Europe
This paper combines three approaches to understanding regional innovation in Europe: R&D investment analysis, regional innovation systems, and knowledge spillovers. Using regression analysis across EU-25 regions, the authors show that regional economic growth depends on complex interactions between local and external research combined with local and external socio-economic and institutional conditions. Knowledge spillovers are strongest over short distances, indicating that geographic proximity matters significantly for transmitting economically productive knowledge.
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Innovation diffusion in global contexts: determinants of post-adoption digital transformation of European companies
This study examines why European companies adopt and use digital transformation technologies at different rates. The researchers found that compatibility with existing systems drives adoption most strongly, while security concerns matter more than cost. Technology competence, partner readiness, and competitive pressure accelerate usage. Large firms move slower due to structural inertia. Economic and regulatory differences across European countries create uneven adoption patterns even among developed nations.
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Regional Innovation Systems: Theory, Empirics and Policy
This paper synthesizes theory and evidence on regional innovation systems, examining how regions develop competitive advantage through innovation networks. The authors identify three core questions: the nature of regional systems themselves, the boundaries between industrial clusters and knowledge transfer mechanisms, and the role of labor markets in facilitating learning. The work reveals gaps in current understanding and proposes directions for future research on how regions can address inequality through innovation policy.
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Absorptive Capacity and Productivity Spillovers from FDI: A Threshold Regression Analysis*
Foreign direct investment boosts productivity growth, but only when local firms have sufficient absorptive capacity. Manufacturing sectors show nonlinear effects: productivity gains increase with absorptive capacity up to a threshold, then decline. Below a minimum capacity level, FDI spillovers become negligible or harmful. Technology-sourcing FDI produces no productivity spillovers.
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Innovation ecosystems and the pace of substitution: Re‐examining technology S‐curves
This paper explains why some new technologies rapidly replace older ones while others take decades to gain traction. The authors develop a framework examining both competing technologies and their surrounding ecosystems. They identify four distinct patterns based on how easily new technology ecosystems can emerge and how much old technology ecosystems can extend. Analysis of ten technology transitions in semiconductor lithography equipment from 1972 to 2009 confirms their predictions about substitution speed.
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Frugal Innovation in Emerging Markets
Western multinational corporations struggle to develop frugal innovations—affordable, good-enough products for resource-constrained consumers—because their business models target affluent markets. Local R&D subsidiaries in emerging countries prove more effective at creating these innovations. Granting these subsidiaries substantial autonomy, including control over product portfolios, enables Western firms to successfully compete in frugal innovation markets alongside local corporations.
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Heterogeneity and Specificity of Inter‐Firm Knowledge Flows in Innovation Networks
This study examines how firms in Rome's aerospace cluster exchange different types of knowledge through innovation networks. Using social network analysis, the researchers found that technological, market, and managerial knowledge flow unevenly among collaborating partners. Most successful collaborations combine all three knowledge types, revealing that innovation requires diverse knowledge recombination. This pattern holds for both large companies and small-to-medium enterprises.
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The role of absorptive capacity and innovation strategy in the design of industry 4.0 business Models - A comparison between SMEs and large enterprises
This study examines how German industrial companies redesign their business models in response to Industry 4.0 by analyzing absorptive capacity and innovation strategy. Using data from 221 enterprises, the research shows that companies' ability to acquire, assimilate, transform, and exploit external knowledge enables both exploratory and exploitative innovation strategies, which then drive either efficiency-centered or novelty-centered business model changes. SMEs and large enterprises exhibit distinct patterns in this process.
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FDI spillovers in an emerging market: the role of foreign firms' country origin diversity and domestic firms' absorptive capacity
Foreign direct investment from diverse countries boosts productivity of domestic firms in emerging markets by exposing them to varied technologies and management practices. This spillover effect strengthens when domestic firms have greater absorptive capacity—particularly larger firms and those with intermediate technology gaps to foreign investors. Analysis of Chinese manufacturing firms from 1998–2003 confirms these relationships.
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The ecosystem as helix: an exploratory theory‐building study of regional co‐opetitive entrepreneurial ecosystems as Quadruple/Quintuple Helix Innovation Models
This paper develops a theoretical framework for understanding regional innovation ecosystems using the Quadruple/Quintuple Helix model, which integrates government, universities, industry, civil society, and environmental actors. The authors argue that regions function as complex, multi-level systems where organizations pursue both competitive and cooperative goals through entrepreneurial activities. They conceptualize these ecosystems as fractal structures with dynamic assets and propose that innovation systems can be organized by geographical and research-based properties.
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Does social capital matter for supply chain resilience? The role of absorptive capacity and marketing-supply chain management alignment
Social capital from business relationships improves supply chain resilience, but only when firms can absorb and apply external knowledge effectively. The study of 265 Turkish companies shows that strong alignment between marketing and supply chain management strengthens these relationships. Resilient supply chains directly boost organizational performance, making social capital valuable only when paired with absorptive capacity and internal coordination.
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Local Nodes in Global Networks: The Geography of Knowledge Flows in Biotechnology Innovation
This study examines how biotechnology firms in Canada innovate by analyzing knowledge flows from both local and global sources. The research finds that successful innovation depends on firms' internal technological capabilities and their ability to absorb external knowledge. While global networks matter significantly for innovation, local relationships prove especially critical for raising capital. The findings challenge the assumption that local networks alone drive innovation, showing instead that dynamic regions combine dense local interaction with strong international connections.
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Surmountable Chasms: Networks and Social Innovation for Resilient Systems
Networks facilitate social innovation by enabling cross-scale interactions that help communities escape rigid social structures and address complex problems. The paper argues that successful networks require institutional entrepreneurs with specific skills: pattern generation, relationship building, brokering knowledge and resources, and network recharging. These capabilities allow networks to increase resilience and improve human capacity to respond to systemic challenges.
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Explaining Diffusion Patterns for Complex Health Care Innovations
Healthcare innovations spread unevenly regardless of scientific evidence quality. This study examines four cases to show that adoption depends on how benefits and risks align with the interests, values, and power structures of the healthcare system adopting them, not on the strength of scientific support alone.
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Global production networks and the changing geography of innovation systems. Implications for developing countries
Globalization reshapes where innovation happens, creating opportunities for developing countries to access international knowledge through global production networks. The paper argues that developing nations can strengthen weak innovation systems by combining diverse knowledge sources and participating in global networks. This participation enables reverse knowledge outsourcing and industrial upgrading, but requires supportive public policies and institutions to capture these benefits effectively.
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An evolutionary integrated view of Regional Systems of Innovation: Concepts, measures and historical perspectives
Regional innovation systems have been studied with a national bias that overlooks sub-national dynamics and historical evolution. This paper integrates top-down and bottom-up perspectives to develop a more complete framework for understanding regional innovation systems, emphasizing how history and regional culture shape development opportunities. Italy's case demonstrates that historical regional contexts are essential for assessing future regional innovation potential.
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Incubation of incubators: innovation as a triple helix of university-industry-government networks
University business incubators have evolved from isolated entities into networked innovation hubs where universities, industry, and government collaborate. These incubators transform research into new products and firms by combining R&D resources across sectors. Government funding and regulatory changes enable this triple-helix model, shifting innovation from linear knowledge transfer to interactive, collaborative development.
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Open innovation in SMEs: Exploring inter-organizational relationships in an ecosystem
Small and medium-sized enterprises struggle to manage open innovation because they lack resources to coordinate with external partners, despite needing them. This case study of a regional business ecosystem reveals that SMEs face challenges when their business models misalign with ecosystem partners' models. The research shows that innovation type and how organizations understand innovation shape whether open innovation succeeds, and that managing it requires attention across three levels: individual SMEs, inter-organizational relationships, and the broader ecosystem.
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Innovation, entrepreneurial, knowledge, and business ecosystems: Old wine in new bottles?
This theoretical paper reviews 104 sources to examine four types of ecosystems—business, innovation, entrepreneurial, and knowledge—and connects them to established territorial approaches. The authors identify common invariants across these diverging streams and propose a unified research framework that integrates ecosystem and territorial perspectives under complex evolutionary systems theory, providing foundations for future empirical research.
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R&D and Absorptive Capacity: Theory and Empirical Evidence*
This paper develops a unified framework connecting endogenous growth theory with empirical R&D research. It shows that R&D drives both innovation and absorptive capacity—the ability to adopt others' discoveries. The model explains long-run productivity differences between countries and reveals that previous studies underestimated R&D's social returns by ignoring absorptive capacity effects.
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Foreign Direct Investment, Absorptive Capacity and Regional Innovation Capabilities: Evidence from China
Foreign direct investment significantly boosts regional innovation capacity in China, but the effect depends critically on local absorptive capacity and complementary assets. FDI intensity improves innovation efficiency, and these gains drive economic growth in coastal regions. Inland regions show weaker results, indicating that FDI quality and local institutional strength determine whether foreign investment translates into knowledge-based development.
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Innovative clusters: drivers of national innovation systems
Industrial clusters function as localized innovation systems that drive national economic growth by creating, diffusing, and using knowledge. The paper argues that both market-based and informal knowledge flows concentrate within these clusters. Policymakers and researchers demonstrate how national and local innovation policies can leverage and strengthen cluster dynamics across different countries.
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‘Spatializing’ knowledge communities: towards a conceptualization of transnational innovation networks
This paper argues that innovation systems research should shift focus from discrete geographic scales to network relationships operating across scales. The authors propose that innovation networks extend beyond firms to include knowledge communities and the movement of knowledgeable individuals. They develop a conceptual framework identifying three domains of transnational innovation networks: corporate-institutional, social network, and hegemonic-discursive, showing how these domains interact across different localities.
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Absorptive Capacity and the Growth and Investment Effects of Regional Transfers: A Regression Discontinuity Design with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects
EU regional transfer programs only benefit regions with sufficient human capital and strong institutions. The study finds that just 30 percent of recipient regions convert transfers into faster income growth, and 21 percent into increased investment. A region's absorptive capacity—its ability to effectively use funds—matters far more than the average program effect, with treatment outcomes varying dramatically across regions.
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DIFFERENTIATED KNOWLEDGE BASES AND VARIETIES OF REGIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS
This paper develops a theoretical framework for understanding regional development through regional innovation systems, moving beyond the simple codified-versus-tacit knowledge distinction. It introduces a differentiated knowledge base approach that applies across economic sectors and presents different types of regional innovation systems within various capitalist contexts. The author examines whether regional innovation systems can actually exist as functional entities.
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LOOKING AT NATIONAL SYSTEMS OF INNOVATION FROM THE SOUTH
The paper applies national innovation systems theory to El Salvador's agro-food industry, a low-technology sector in a middle-low income country. The authors argue that El Salvador's emerging sectoral innovation system can effectively contribute to sustainable development goals, but only with sustained public support and proper use of available policy instruments.
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Social Networks: Effects of Social Capital on Firm Innovation
Social capital within industrial districts drives firm innovation. The study compared 220 manufacturing firms in Valencia, Spain, finding that firms embedded in districts with strong social interactions, trust, shared vision, and active local institutions innovate more in both processes and products than non-district firms. District membership and social capital directly correlate with innovation outcomes.
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Environmental Innovations, Local Networks and Internationalization
This study examines what drives environmental innovations in firms across the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Cooperation with local suppliers and universities, combined with workforce training and digital technology adoption, most strongly encourages firms to adopt environmental innovations. Agglomeration economies show mixed effects—they boost environmental innovation in established industrial clusters but can hinder it elsewhere. Local networks and agglomeration together strongly promote environmental innovation adoption by multinational firms, demonstrating the importance of linking local and global business relationships.
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National Innovation System
This paper traces the intellectual origins of the National Innovation System framework, showing that the OECD's work in the 1960s fundamentally shaped the systems approach to innovation that later researchers like Freeman, Nelson, and Lundvall developed. The author argues the OECD's emphasis on interconnected sectors—government, university, and industry—and their relationships as drivers of innovation performance directly influenced the framework that became central to innovation studies.
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Micro- and Macro-Dynamics of Open Innovation with a Quadruple-Helix Model
Open innovation drives sustainability in the fourth industrial revolution through a quadruple-helix model involving industry, government, universities, and society. Industry builds innovation ecosystems on open platforms, government shifts from regulation to facilitation, universities engage in technology transfer and knowledge co-creation, and society participates in shared economy models. The paper proposes a framework addressing social, environmental, economic, cultural, policy, and knowledge sustainability across manufacturing and service sectors.
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Cluster Absorptive Capacity
Industrial clusters grow when firms can absorb external knowledge and share it within the cluster. This paper argues that cluster success depends on absorptive capacity—the ability of member firms to learn from outside sources and distribute that knowledge internally. The diversity of firms' knowledge bases shapes how well clusters connect to external information and strengthen their internal learning systems.
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Disentangling Diffusion: The Effects of Social Learning and Economic Competition on State Policy Innovation and Expansion
This paper examines how states adopt and expand Indian gaming policies, distinguishing between two diffusion mechanisms: social learning and economic competition. The authors find that social learning drives initial policy adoption while economic competition influences both adoption and subsequent policy expansion. They develop new statistical methods to track policy extent over time rather than just first adoption timing, demonstrating that different diffusion processes operate differently across policy areas.
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THE CREATION AND DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
This systematic literature review examines how innovation is created and adopted in developing countries' private sectors. The authors identify barriers to innovation and trace how new ideas and technologies spread within and across developing economies. They find that innovation capacity depends on interactions between geographical, socio-economic, political, and legal systems. Institutional contexts in developing countries significantly shape how innovations diffuse.
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Determinants of the Efficiency of Regional Innovation Systems
Regional innovation systems perform better when private and public research institutions interact intensively and share knowledge spillovers. Regions with smaller average establishment sizes generate more efficient innovation than those dominated by large firms. The study measures efficiency using knowledge production functions and patent data to compare how well regions convert research inputs into innovative outputs.
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From Cost to Frugal and Reverse Innovation: Mapping the Field and Implications for Global Competitiveness
This paper distinguishes between four types of innovation targeting resource-constrained customers in emerging markets: cost, good-enough, frugal, and reverse innovation. The authors clarify conceptual differences between these approaches and explain how each requires different strategic and operational implications. The framework helps managers systematically analyze their resource-constrained innovation strategies and develop appropriate processes.
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Business, Innovation, and Knowledge Ecosystems: How They Differ and How to Survive and Thrive within Them
This paper examines how business, innovation, and knowledge ecosystems function and differ from one another. It applies ecological ecosystem concepts to understand how organizations and knowledge systems interact, survive, and develop within complex environments. The work helps explain the structural and operational differences between these three types of ecosystems and provides insights for thriving within them.
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Leveraging complexity for ecosystemic innovation
This paper analyzes innovation ecosystems through complexity science, treating them as open non-linear networks where multiple actors collaborate and adapt to uncertainty. The authors distinguish innovation ecosystems from other business networks by their internal interaction complexity, review four research streams studying them, and apply complex adaptive systems theory to understand how innovation clusters function. They argue that ecosystem-based thinking better supports innovation-led economic growth than traditional industrial-era approaches.
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Triple Helix twins: innovation and sustainability
The paper proposes adding a Sustainability Triple Helix model alongside the existing Innovation Triple Helix to address environmental and social dimensions. Rather than introducing a fourth helix that could weaken the model's creative dynamics, the authors suggest a complementary framework where universities, public institutions, and government collaborate on sustainability issues, while universities, industry, and government continue driving innovation.
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Measuring the Quality of Regional Innovation Systems: A Knowledge Production Function Approach
This paper measures the quality of regional innovation systems across eleven European regions using a knowledge production function approach. The author finds significant differences in R&D productivity between regions, with firms in well-functioning innovation systems showing higher innovation propensity. Results support a center-periphery pattern, demonstrating that agglomeration economies substantially benefit R&D activities.
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Network Capital, Social Capital and Knowledge Flow: How the Nature of Inter-organizational Networks Impacts on Innovation
Inter-organizational networks drive innovation through network capital and strategic knowledge alliances. The study examined firms across three regions and found that innovation performance correlates strongly with how firms invest in dynamically configured networks. Firms with higher network capital—built through deliberate, strategic partnerships—innovate more effectively. The findings suggest policymakers should actively support and orchestrate networks with clear strategic purpose when developing clusters and innovation systems.
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Innovation Networks and Regional Development—Evidence from the European Regional Innovation Survey (ERIS): Theoretical Concepts, Methodological Approach, Empirical Basis and Introduction to the Theme Issue
This paper introduces the European Regional Innovation Survey, a large-scale empirical study examining how cooperation networks between firms and research institutions affect regional economic performance. Researchers surveyed over 8,600 firms across 11 European regions between 1995 and 1999 to measure and quantify innovation linkages. The study tests theoretical concepts like regional innovation systems and network theory against real data, filling a gap in comparative empirical research on innovation networks across different region types.
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Universities and innovation ecosystems: a dynamic capabilities perspective
Universities drive innovation ecosystems by developing talent, advancing technology, and partnering with industry and government. The paper applies dynamic capabilities theory to explain how universities can flexibly manage these ecosystem roles. Three case studies show universities successfully launching new industries, fostering entrepreneurship, and revitalizing local economies through strategic partner engagement.
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Open Innovation 4.0 as an Enhancer of Sustainable Innovation Ecosystems
Open innovation frameworks strengthen sustainable innovation ecosystems by connecting universities, industry, government, and communities through knowledge flows and collaborative networks. The study demonstrates that public policy supporting open innovation environments—including legal frameworks, innovation procurement, and shared R&D risk—drives regional digitalization, startup emergence, and digital transition. Universities play a central role in promoting smart, responsible innovation cycles that benefit entire ecosystems.
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Making the Most of Where You Are: Geography, Networks, and Innovation in Organizations
Geographic proximity to industry peers boosts innovation performance, but this effect depends on a firm's internal network structure. Companies far from competitors benefit from inefficient, diverse internal networks that generate knowledge internally. Companies near competitors perform better with cohesive networks that efficiently process information. The study analyzed nanotechnology firms in the US from 1990 to 2004.
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The Evolution of Technologies in Time and Space: From National and Regional to Spatial Innovation Systems
This paper proposes spatial innovation systems (SISs) as a framework that extends beyond national and regional innovation systems. SISs track how specific technologies evolve across locations over time, showing how technological development depends on path-dependent histories and how specialized regions collaborate across national borders. The approach emphasizes external relationships between actors as crucial connectors that link different innovation systems together.
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Towards a collaboration framework for circular economy: The role of dynamic capabilities and open innovation
This paper develops a framework for cross-sectoral collaboration in circular economy transitions by combining relational view, open innovation, and dynamic capabilities theories. Studying the Circle-House-Project in Danish construction, the authors find that successful circular economy scaling depends on knowledge-sharing routines and ecocentric dynamic capabilities built through collaborative networks. The framework shows how diverse sectors working together can advance circular production practices.
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The smart city: A nexus for open innovation?
European smart city initiatives increasingly adopt open innovation approaches that connect technology, people, urban spaces, and other cities to design services and policies. The analysis of EU programmes and international projects shows this integrated method is effective and sustainable, but success requires consistent frameworks, principles, and strategic alignment across initiatives.
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Community energy storage: A responsible innovation towards a sustainable energy system?
Community energy storage systems can help transition to sustainable energy by storing power locally and meeting citizen needs. However, integrating these systems into centralized energy infrastructure requires coordinating multiple actors and technologies. The authors argue that responsible research and innovation frameworks should guide the design and implementation of community energy storage to ensure the transition is sustainable, reliable, inclusive, and affordable.
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Examining the Complementary Effect of Political Networking Capability With Absorptive Capacity on the Innovative Performance of Emerging-Market Firms
In emerging-market firms, political networking capability with government officials complements absorptive capacity to boost innovation. A survey of 108 Chinese executives shows this combination helps firms overcome resource constraints and organizational disadvantages. The effect is stronger for radical innovation than incremental innovation, and intensifies when firms face intense competition.
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Market Formation in Technological Innovation Systems—Diffusion of Photovoltaic Applications in Germany
This paper develops a framework for analyzing how technological innovation systems create and mature end-user markets, using photovoltaic applications in Germany as a case study. The authors argue that existing innovation systems research neglects market formation structures, which become critical as technologies mature. They propose a conceptual approach to examine market-related substructures and demonstrate how different photovoltaic market segments developed in Germany.
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Mandate Versus Championship: Vertical government intervention and diffusion of innovation in public services in authoritarian China
In authoritarian China, vertical government intervention drives public service innovation through two distinct mechanisms. Administrative mandates create rapid, uniform policy diffusion across regions, while competition in performance-based personnel systems encourages local governments to diverge and customize policies. The study challenges conventional theories about how geography, competition, and hierarchical control shape innovation spread.
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What influences the diffusion of grassroots innovations for sustainability? Investigating community currency niches
Community currencies like Local Exchange Trading Schemes and time banks represent grassroots innovations for sustainability. This study of 12 community currency niches across multiple countries tests whether strategic niche management theory predicts their diffusion success. The researchers find that niche-level activity does correlate with diffusion, but identify additional factors that existing theory misses. They develop an adapted model specifically for grassroots innovations and offer recommendations for practitioners and policymakers supporting these civil society initiatives.
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Innovation as an interactive process: From user-producer interaction to national systems of innovation
Innovation emerges from interaction between producers and users responding to technological opportunities and market needs. The paper develops a framework of national innovation systems that emphasizes interactive learning processes across firms, institutions, and policies. This approach moves beyond neoclassical economics to explain how economic structure and institutional arrangements shape innovation outcomes.
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Effects of Technology Absorptive Capacity and Technology Proactivity on Organizational Learning, Innovation and Performance: An Empirical Examination
This study examines how Spanish technology firms absorb and proactively adopt technology to drive organizational learning and innovation. Using data from 246 firms, the researchers found that absorptive capacity and technology proactivity both strengthen organizational learning, which then boosts innovation and overall performance. The results show technology adoption directly influences how firms learn and innovate, with important implications for technology-driven businesses.
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Regional Innovation Systems in Canada: A Comparative Study
This study examines how small and medium enterprises in two Canadian regions—Ottawa and Beauce—engage in innovation activities and interact with other organizations. Despite their different industrial structures and institutional environments, firms in both regions show similar innovation patterns and draw on regional, national, and global knowledge sources. Geography matters less than expected; firms do not rely primarily on regional support for innovation.
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Managing Drivers of Innovation in Construction Networks
The paper identifies four categories of innovation drivers in construction networks: environmental pressure, technological capability, knowledge exchange, and boundary spanning. Operating across organizational levels in the Dutch construction industry, these drivers enable managers in authorities, clients, architecture, consulting, and contracting firms to stimulate innovation. Managing these drivers helps organizations improve market position, project quality, and industry-wide cooperation.
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Knowledge transfer in university quadruple helix ecosystems: an absorptive capacity perspective
Universities transfer knowledge to regional innovation ecosystems through interactions with multiple stakeholders. This study identifies five key factors—human elements, organizational structures, knowledge types, power dynamics, and network characteristics—that determine how effectively stakeholders engage in knowledge transfer and apply it. The findings show that policymakers and practitioners need targeted interventions to strengthen knowledge exchange within regional innovation networks.
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Building Regional Innovation Systems: Is Endogenous Industrial Development Possible in the Global Economy?
Economic globalization concentrates power in transnational corporations that coordinate production networks across regions through direct investment and subcontracting. This shift threatens regional autonomy as firms become integrated into global commodity chains controlled by corporate headquarters, raising questions about whether regions can still pursue independent industrial development strategies in an increasingly interconnected world economy.
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Measuring the Efficiency of China's Regional Innovation Systems: Application of Network Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)
This study evaluates the efficiency of China's regional innovation systems by analyzing technological development and commercialization as connected processes. Only one-fifth of China's regional innovation systems operate at best-practice efficiency across the full innovation cycle. Most regions show significant gaps between their technological development and commercialization capabilities, with commercialization capacity proving more critical to overall innovation performance.
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An absorptive capacity model for green innovation and performance in the construction industry
Swedish construction companies can improve their capacity to adopt green innovations and boost business performance by focusing on three key processes: acquiring new environmental knowledge, assimilating it into operations, and transforming it into practice. The study applies absorptive capacity theory to construction and develops a revised framework called green ACAP that identifies specific mechanisms driving environmental innovation and performance improvements.
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Mission impossible? Entrepreneurial universities and peripheral regional innovation systems
Universities are expected to drive regional innovation and entrepreneurship as part of their third mission, but this paper finds their actual economic spillovers are overstated, particularly in peripheral regions. The disconnect between universities and local entrepreneurial ecosystems explains their weak performance. Policy entrepreneurs reinforce universities' dominant role through institutional capture and policy lock-in, despite marginal economic contribution. The paper challenges this policy emphasis and outlines implications for public policy reform.
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Investigating the structure of regional innovation system research through keyword co-occurrence and social network analysis
This paper analyzes 432 research papers on regional innovation systems from 36 countries using social network analysis and bibliometrics. The authors map keyword co-occurrence and author networks to visualize how RIS research has evolved and identify publication trends. The analysis reveals knowledge development patterns across countries, institutions, and researchers, providing insights into how the RIS framework has developed as a foundation for innovation policy.
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Comparing knowledge bases: on the geography and organization of knowledge sourcing in the regional innovation system of Scania, Sweden
This study examines how firms in three different industry clusters in southern Sweden source and exchange knowledge. The researchers found that industries relying on symbolic or synthetic knowledge bases benefit significantly from geographical proximity because their knowledge is context-dependent and locally interpreted. In contrast, analytical industries drawing on codified scientific knowledge are less dependent on proximity, suggesting that clustering in these sectors serves purposes beyond knowledge sourcing.
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Exploring innovation ecosystems across science, technology, and business: A case of 3D printing in China
This paper examines China's 3D printing innovation ecosystem by analyzing how science, technology, and business layers interact. The researchers developed a framework assessing innovation capacity across integrated value chains and interactive networks. They found that China's 3D printing sector performs strongly in science and technology, with potential development pathways emerging from basic research and technological innovation rather than technology duplication and cost-cutting strategies.
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How do we conquer the growth limits of capitalism? Schumpeterian Dynamics of Open Innovation
This paper proposes a dynamic model of an open innovation economy system to address capitalism's growth limits. The model integrates open innovation, closed innovation, and social innovation economies in a circular dynamic process. The author validates the framework through lifecycle simulations and comparative analysis with Schumpeter's economic theory and socialist democracy, establishing theoretical and practical characteristics of how these three economy types interact to sustain economic growth.
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A Strategy for the Analysis of Idea Innovation Networks and Institutions
This paper argues that radical innovations in science-based industries emerge from idea innovation networks spanning six research arenas: basic research, applied research, product development, production, quality control, and commercialization. The authors find that innovation success depends on diversity of knowledge and frequent communication within arenas, plus intense cross-arena communication to transfer tacit knowledge. Institutional environments shape arena size and connectivity, with patterns suggesting either national innovation systems or globalization effects.
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Frugal innovation: aligning theory, practice, and public policy
Frugal innovation comprises three distinct components: mindset, process, and outcome, each driven by different conditions. Three types of innovators practice frugal innovation—grassroots, domestic enterprises, and multinational subsidiaries—each with unique incentives. Resource scarcity, weak institutions, and uncertainty tolerance encourage frugal mindsets, while poor property rights and lead markets shape frugal processes and outcomes.
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The Role of Open Innovation and Value Co-creation in the Challenging Transition from Industry 4.0 to Society 5.0: Toward a Theoretical Framework
This paper develops a theoretical framework connecting Industry 4.0 technologies—advanced manufacturing, augmented reality, cloud computing, and big data—to Society 5.0, a vision prioritizing social and global well-being. The authors argue that open innovation and value co-creation are critical mechanisms enabling this transition. The framework helps managers design strategies to capitalize on opportunities and address challenges as firms navigate from technology-focused industrial advancement toward society-wide benefits.
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How does FDI inflow affect productivity of domestic firms? The role of horizontal and vertical spillovers, absorptive capacity and competition
Foreign direct investment in Poland generates productivity gains for domestic firms through horizontal spillovers (same industry) and vertical spillovers (upstream and downstream industries). Domestic firms' ability to absorb knowledge matters significantly: R&D-intensive firms benefit most from vertical spillovers, while firms investing in intangibles gain more from horizontal spillovers. Competition strengthens backward spillovers, while market power increases forward spillovers. Effects vary by sector, with services showing strong horizontal spillovers and manufacturing driving other results.
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Universities as key knowledge infrastructures in regional innovation systems
Universities drive regional innovation through multiple mechanisms: transferring commodified knowledge, developing human capital, and building social capital. The paper examines how national higher education systems and regional innovation programs shape university engagement differently across Europe. It argues that policymakers must integrate and coordinate regional-scale policies to maximize universities' role as knowledge infrastructure.
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Knowledge transfer for frugal innovation: where do entrepreneurial universities stand?
Entrepreneurial universities drive frugal innovation in emerging economies through strategic knowledge transfer and university-industry partnerships. The study of Brazil's University of Campinas reveals that universities foster frugal innovations by leveraging internal capabilities, connecting innovations to markets, and embedding themselves within broader innovation ecosystems and institutional frameworks. Universities can advance sustainable development and meet societal challenges by adopting inclusive, frugal innovation practices.
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Innovation performance: The effect of knowledge-based dynamic capabilities in cross-country innovation ecosystems
Knowledge-based dynamic capabilities drive innovation performance across different economies. The study identifies four key capabilities: knowledge creation, knowledge diffusion, knowledge absorption, and knowledge impact. Knowledge creation is the strongest driver of innovation performance in developed and developing economies, while knowledge absorption matters most in transition economies. The research proposes a framework showing how these capabilities create competitive advantage within innovation ecosystems.
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The Geographies of Social Networks and Innovation in Tourism
Tourism firms depend on innovation to survive, yet little research examines how they innovate. This study combines network theory with geography to understand how tourism firms access information through local and non-local social networks. Research in Malaga, Spain reveals that local networks are loose and dense while non-local networks are strong and sparse. This mixed geography of connections provides firms with diverse information that sustains innovation.
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Global Diffusion of Technological Innovations: A Coupled-Hazard Approach
This paper develops a coupled-hazard methodology to analyze how technological innovations spread globally across countries. The approach distinguishes between when a country first introduces a technology and when it achieves full adoption. Applied to digital telecommunications switches across 160+ countries, the method captures discontinuous diffusion patterns and reveals the separate dynamics of implementation and confirmation stages in technology adoption.
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The limits to open innovation and its impact on innovation performance
This study examines how open innovation affects UK firm performance across sectors and regions. Using data from nearly 20,000 firm observations, the researchers find that limits to open knowledge collaboration vary significantly by industry and geography. Creative sectors face the greatest barriers to collaborating on knowledge both domestically and internationally. The findings reveal that transaction costs and knowledge protection concerns constrain open innovation differently depending on sector type and location.
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Strategic agency and institutional change: investigating the role of universities in regional innovation systems (RISs)
Universities shape regional innovation systems through strategic leadership and institutional entrepreneurship. The paper argues that understanding how regional innovation develops requires examining not just organizational actors but their internal dynamics and competing interests. Place-based leadership—how actors intentionally drive regional change—remains undertheorized without accounting for these organizational complexities.
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Smart specialisation, innovation policy and regional innovation systems: what about new path development in less innovative regions?
Smart specialisation strategies work best when grounded in regional innovation systems that support learning and competitiveness. The paper argues that less innovative regions should pursue transformative new path development through unrelated knowledge combinations and radical path creation, not just incremental diversification. These high-risk strategies can generate structural transformation opportunities and should be included in policy design, even though they carry greater uncertainty than safer alternatives.
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Frontier Technology and Absorptive Capacity: Evidence from OECD Manufacturing Industries*
This paper examines why productivity differs across OECD countries by analyzing how well manufacturing industries absorb frontier technology. Using data from 12 OECD countries between 1973 and 1991, the authors find that countries with higher human capital absorb new technology more effectively and achieve better productivity. R&D investment shows weaker evidence of improving technology absorption.
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Technology gaps, absorptive capacity and the impact of inward investments on productivity of European firms *
Using firm-level data from France, Italy, and Spain (1993-1997), this paper examines how foreign direct investment affects domestic firm productivity. The researchers find that positive effects depend on technology gaps and absorptive capacity. In most sectors, larger technology gaps between foreign and domestic firms enable stronger productivity gains. However, in science-based industries, domestic firms benefit more when they have higher absorptive capacity and smaller technology gaps from foreign competitors.
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The innovative performance of firms in heterogeneous environments: The interplay between external knowledge and internal absorptive capacities
Firms in knowledge-rich environments innovate more effectively when they develop both potential and realized absorptive capacities—the ability to recognize and integrate external knowledge. Using English firm data combined with patent records, the study shows that organizational ambidexterity enables companies to leverage clustering of knowledgeable workers and external knowledge sources to boost innovation performance.
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Advanced Introduction to Regional Innovation Systems
This advanced introduction examines regional innovation systems as a framework for understanding how innovation develops and spreads across geographic areas. The work synthesizes key concepts and theories that explain how regions build competitive advantage through interconnected networks of firms, institutions, and knowledge flows.
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How innovation drivers, networking and leadership shape public sector innovation capacity
Leadership quality has a stronger impact on public sector innovation capacity than innovation drivers or external networking, according to a survey of senior administrators in Barcelona, Copenhagen, and Rotterdam. The study found that transformational and network governance leadership styles most effectively boost innovation in Barcelona and Copenhagen, while entrepreneurial leadership proved most effective in Rotterdam. Organizational structures, processes, and external contacts matter less than strong leadership for building innovation capacity.
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Is regional innovation system development possible in peripheral regions? Some evidence from the case of La Pocatière, Canada
This paper examines whether peripheral regions can develop functional innovation systems by studying La Pocatière, Canada. The authors identify the key actors and structural elements of the region's innovation system, then analyze the factors and dynamics that drive innovation activity and enable the system to transform and grow. They draw on historical documents, statistical data, and interviews with leaders from private and public organizations.
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Business-to-business open innovation: COVID-19 lessons for small and medium-sized enterprises from emerging markets
SMEs in emerging markets adopted open innovation strategies during COVID-19, forming new collaborations with customers and competitors despite resource constraints. Research in Bosnia and Herzegovina shows these firms shifted from traditional competitive practices toward collaborative partnerships to develop innovations during crisis. The paper provides recommendations for managers on managing openness in emerging market SMEs.
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Knowledge Networks in an Uncompetitive Region: SME Innovation and Growth
SMEs in Yorkshire and Humberside rely heavily on knowledge networks outside their region, but the most innovative firms balance both local and external connections. While networking activity sometimes correlates negatively with growth—suggesting struggling firms seek public support—the research shows regional innovation systems approaches work better than cluster policies. Policymakers should help SMEs build and maintain diverse knowledge networks spanning both regional and global scales.
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Triple helix circulation: the heart of innovation and development
The triple helix model—involving universities, industry, and government—drives innovation and development through the movement of people and knowledge across these sectors. Universities now function as key socio-economic actors beyond their traditional role as knowledge providers. The paper argues that removing barriers to circulation and strengthening cooperation among these development actors is essential for achieving sustainable, knowledge-based development in resource-constrained societies.
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Frugal innovation: Conception, development, diffusion, and outcome
Frugal innovation enables resource-constrained entrepreneurs in low-income countries to develop and commercialize products for underserved markets. This study examines how grassroots innovators conceptualize, develop, and diffuse frugal innovations, identifying the motivations, processes, and challenges from inception to commercial success. The research reveals that frugal innovations create new markets, drive sustainability, and require dual-business models to serve low-income customers effectively in emerging economies.
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Grassroots Innovation for Urban Sustainability: Comparing the Diffusion Pathways of Three Ecovillage Projects
Three ecovillage projects successfully spread sustainable practices through education and outreach activities. One project achieved broader impact by partnering with municipal planners to create a new zoning category, enabling mainstream developers to adopt ecovillage concepts. The research shows that grassroots innovation projects bridge niche and mainstream sectors most effectively when they operate simultaneously in two distinct action domains.
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A comprehensive concept of social innovation and its implications for the local context – on the growing importance of social innovation ecosystems and infrastructures
This paper develops a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding social innovation and its role in addressing twenty-first-century challenges. The authors ground social innovation in social theory, examine its relationship to social change, and introduce social innovation ecosystems as a model for understanding local-level initiatives. Drawing on global mapping data from the SI-DRIVE research project, they demonstrate the diversity of social innovation efforts across multiple sectors and contexts.
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Triple Helix or Quadruple Helix: Which Model of Innovation to Choose for Empirical Studies?
This paper compares the Triple Helix and Quadruple Helix models of innovation to clarify which researchers should use in empirical studies. The authors review how these models appear in existing literature and find three different views on how they relate to each other, ranging from treating them as separate to fully integrated. They identify strengths and weaknesses of each model and conclude the models are largely complementary, offering potential for combined use in analyzing modern innovation processes.
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Regional Innovation Systems: How to Assess Performance
This paper uses Data Envelopment Analysis to evaluate regional innovation system performance across European regions using 2002-2003 data. High-technology regions rank differently under DEA than traditional scorecards, revealing that advanced regions need stronger system coordination to maintain efficiency. The authors propose combining quantitative and qualitative analysis to improve policy decisions for regional innovation systems.
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Universities’ contributions to social innovation: reflections in theory & practice
Universities contribute to knowledge-based urban development through social innovation by gaining tacit knowledge, material resources, and symbolic legitimacy. The paper argues that universities must modify internal processes to enable diverse actors to benefit from participation. Policy-makers should avoid creating disincentives through teaching and research activities that prevent universities from making substantive contributions to urban development.
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Connecting local entrepreneurial ecosystems to global innovation networks: open innovation, double networks and knowledge integration
Large and small firms increasingly tap dispersed knowledge from universities, research institutes, and SMEs through open innovation and global networks. This paper argues that regional innovative ecosystems play a crucial role in attracting R&D activity and enabling knowledge integration. Success requires firms to simultaneously integrate knowledge locally and globally, internally and externally, within double network structures that connect entrepreneurial ecosystems to worldwide innovation networks.
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Green absorptive capacity: A mediation‐moderation model of knowledge for innovation
This study examines how environmental and organizational factors drive green innovation in Brazil's electric power industry. The research finds that organizational factors mediate the relationship between environmental pressures and green innovation performance. Green absorptive capacity—a firm's ability to recognize, assimilate, and apply environmental knowledge—strengthens this entire process. The findings demonstrate that firms better equipped to absorb green knowledge achieve superior innovation outcomes.
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A Quadruple and Quintuple Helix Approach to Regional Innovation Systems in the Transformation to a Forestry-Based Bioeconomy
This study examines how a Swedish forestry region can transform its innovation system by including more actors—particularly civil society—to develop a sustainable bioeconomy. Researchers interviewed stakeholders and found that a quintuple helix model, which adds environmental and civil society perspectives to traditional innovation systems, could drive broader societal change in consumer behavior, production, technology, and values. However, civil society involvement remains largely aspirational in current regional policy.
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From innovation to commercialization through networks and agglomerations: analysis of sources of innovation, innovation capabilities and performance of Dutch SMEs
Dutch SMEs succeed in innovation when they balance exploration and exploitation networks. This study of 243 Dutch firms shows that exploring technology opportunities through partnerships with universities and research institutions significantly improves innovation success. The findings suggest policymakers should support external collaboration networks, not just internal R&D, to help SMEs commercialize innovations effectively.
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The Local Innovation System as a Source of 'Variety': Openness and Adaptability in New York City's Garment District
New York City's Garment District sustains innovation in women's wear by drawing on design ideas from emerging clusters like the Lower East Side. The District's institutional infrastructure enables designers to access and exploit this variety of innovations. This diversity, combined with economic coherence, allows the District to adapt successfully to changing competitive pressures.
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Looking for Regional Systems of Innovation: Evidence from the Italian Innovation Survey
This study examines regional innovation patterns across Italy using the Community Innovation Survey. The authors find that Italy's regions display diverse innovation characteristics beyond the typical north-south divide, shaped by firm strategies, technological performance, and systemic interactions. However, only a few regions possess genuine innovation systems; most lack sufficient connections and knowledge flows between actors to constitute functioning systems of innovation.
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VALUES-BASED NETWORK AND BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION
Innovation management must harness networks and shared values to solve societal problems. This paper argues that values-based network and business model innovation can address complex challenges like unsustainable energy systems. The authors present a theoretical framework and facilitation methods, tested through a workshop on regional energy networks in Germany, demonstrating that values-based networks and business models create starting points for systemic sustainability innovations.
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Knowledge absorptive capacity and innovation performance in KIBS
Knowledge input, spillover, and absorptive capacity all boost innovation performance in Taiwan's IC design industry. The study shows that absorptive capacity—defined as the interaction between knowledge input and spillover—directly strengthens how firms innovate. The research distinguishes four types of knowledge spillover and absorptive capacity sources, providing empirical evidence that firms leveraging multiple knowledge sources achieve better innovation outcomes.
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Power in Firm Networks: What it Means for Regional Innovation Systems
Transnational corporations dominate regional firm networks and use their power to monopolize critical innovation resources like university research and skilled labor, undermining small and medium-sized firms' capacity to innovate. The paper argues that network functioning is inherently conflictual, with powerful firms advancing their competitive advantage while creating uneven resource distribution across regions, with significant consequences for regional policy.
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IP Models to Orchestrate Innovation Ecosystems: IMEC, a Public Research Institute in Nano-Electronics
Public research institutes can orchestrate innovation ecosystems through intellectual property governance models. IMEC, a nano-electronics research institute, demonstrates how IP policies determine how ecosystem partners capture value from collaborative research. The institute's multi-party model involving public and private firms shows that IP governance directly influences ecosystem success and partner participation.
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Linking Digital Capacity to Innovation Performance: the Mediating Role of Absorptive Capacity
Digital technologies boost firm innovation, but their effectiveness depends on absorptive capacity—a firm's ability to acquire and use external knowledge. A survey of 1,014 Greek manufacturing firms shows digital capacity directly improves innovation performance, but this effect strengthens significantly when firms possess strong absorptive capacity. The findings suggest digital investment alone is insufficient; firms must also invest in R&D, training, and knowledge networks to maximize innovation gains.
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To Construct Regional Advantage from Innovation Systems First Build Policy Platforms
Regional economic development requires building endogenous advantage by integrating economic strengths, knowledge assets, governance, and creativity. The paper argues that policy platforms mixing diverse instruments can promote related variety among industries, enabling innovations to diffuse across technology platforms where absorptive capacity is high. This approach addresses regional imbalances more effectively than relying on regional learning alone.
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Political Mobility and Dynamic Diffusion of Innovation: The Spread of Municipal Pro-Business Administrative Reform in China
Local officials' career ambitions drive innovation adoption in Chinese cities more than economic logic or geographic proximity. When central government mandated administrative reform, officials adopted pro-business licensing reforms to advance their political careers. Before this mandate, cities copied neighboring regions' reforms based on economic conditions. The study reveals how political mobility of officials fundamentally shapes how innovations spread across decentralized authoritarian systems.
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Regional Innovation Systems in Hungary: The Failing Synergy at the National Level
This paper measures synergies in Hungary's regional innovation systems using entropy statistics across firm categories, sub-regions, industrial sectors, and firm sizes. The analysis reveals three distinct regimes: Budapest functions as a knowledge-based innovation hub, northwestern regions show foreign company influence on knowledge organization, and southeastern regions depend on government spending patterns. The results demonstrate failing national-level synergy despite these regional dynamics.
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Biotechnology Clusters as Regional, Sectoral Innovation Systems
Biotechnology firms cluster near universities and knowledge sources, forming regional innovation systems that depend on complex interactions between scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, and lawyers. The paper analyzes how these regional sectoral innovation systems function by examining cases in Germany, Cambridge Massachusetts, and Cambridge UK, showing that proximity to research institutions, clinical trial facilities, and specialized services enables the transfer of scientific knowledge into commercial biotechnology products.
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“Open innovation” and “triple helix” models of innovation: can synergy in innovation systems be measured?
This paper compares open innovation and triple helix models as frameworks for generating innovation value. While open innovation centers on firms, the triple helix distributes leadership across firms, universities, and regional governments. The authors argue that measuring redundancy—the variety of perspectives from different coordination mechanisms—indicates an innovation system's capacity to generate new options and self-organize. Higher redundancy reduces uncertainty and increases system synergy and innovativeness.
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The generative and developmental roles of universities in regional innovation systems
Universities play multiple roles in developing regional innovation systems beyond technology transfer. This paper proposes an analytical framework to understand how universities contribute to regional innovation and why their roles vary across different regions. The framework moves beyond narrow institutional analysis to capture universities' broader developmental contributions to regional systems.
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The roles of universities in fostering knowledge-intensive clusters in Chinese regional innovation systems
Chinese universities play distinct roles in regional innovation systems compared to Western models. This study examines Shanghai's Tongji Creative Cluster, a knowledge-intensive services hub, and finds that successful innovation development combines bottom-up grassroots initiatives with top-down government coordination. This hybrid approach proves more effective than purely state-directed models for overcoming challenges in China's regional innovation systems.
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Open innovation modes and the role of internal R&D
European companies adopt open innovation strategies at varying levels, with 30% highly open and 39% semi-open to external collaboration. Inbound open innovation—acquiring external knowledge—is more prevalent than outbound approaches. The study reveals that companies can reduce internal R&D spending through inbound open innovation, while the choice between vertically integrated, inbound, outbound, or mixed innovation strategies directly correlates with R&D investment intensity.
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Open innovation actions and innovation performance
This systematic review of European empirical studies reveals that open innovation practices significantly boost innovation performance. Coupled open innovation activities—combining internal and external knowledge—consistently improve both product and process innovation. However, outbound open innovation receives little research attention. The paper identifies measurement inconsistencies in how scholars assess innovation performance and provides managers with strategic guidance for leveraging open innovation to enhance organizational outcomes.
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How Early Implementations Influence Later Adoptions of Innovation: Social Positioning and Skill Reproduction in the Diffusion of Robotic Surgery
This study tracks robotic surgery adoption across Italian hospitals from 1999 to 2010. Early adopters at peripheral hospitals used persuasion and skill-sharing to position themselves as exemplary users, which then drove other hospitals to adopt the technology through social pressure rather than proven technical or economic benefits. Early implementation experiences shaped the entire diffusion pattern.
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DEVELOPING CROSS‐BORDER REGIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS: KEY FACTORS AND CHALLENGES
Cross-border regions face distinct challenges in developing integrated innovation systems compared to regions within single nations. Geographical proximity and local institutions matter for knowledge creation, but cross-border areas show vastly different capacities to build unified innovation spaces. The paper identifies critical conditions necessary for transfrontier innovation systems to emerge, revealing that the regional innovation systems framework applies differently across borders.
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Who Are the Knowledge Brokers in Regional Systems of Innovation? A Multi-Actor Network Analysis
Universities and public research organizations serve as central knowledge brokers in German regional innovation networks, occupying more influential positions than private firms. This gatekeeper function proves especially critical in lagging regions lacking large companies. Private firms without inter-regional research partnerships absorb most of the transferred knowledge, demonstrating how public institutions bridge local and global innovation linkages.
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Quadruple helix as a network of relationships: creating value within a Swedish regional innovation system
This study examines a Swedish regional innovation initiative through the quadruple helix framework, which includes industry, government, academia, and users/civil society. The research reveals that the fourth helix is not a separate actor but a complex arena where the other three helices take on different roles to create value for society, such as new jobs or improved elderly care services. Users within this framework vary by context and can include businesses, organizations, and citizens.
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The effects of geographic and network ties on exploitative and exploratory product innovation
Industrial clusters boost firms' exploitative innovation but reduce exploratory innovation. Network ties with suppliers and buyers within clusters strengthen the positive effect on exploitative innovation. Buyer ties specifically help mitigate the negative cluster effect on exploratory innovation, while supplier ties do not.
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Innovation in Europe: A Tale of Networks, Knowledge and Trade in Five Cities
This paper analyzes innovation patterns across five European cities—Amsterdam, London, Milan, Paris, and Stuttgart—using firm surveys. Regional cities like Stuttgart and Milan show innovation more tightly linked to regional and national economies, while world cities like Paris and London engage more internationally. The research demonstrates that international trading systems between firms, crucial for knowledge acquisition and innovation inputs, are key features of innovation geography, challenging overgeneralized network theories.
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Technological innovation to achieve sustainable development—Renewable energy technologies diffusion in developing countries
Renewable energy technologies spread slowly in developing countries due to economic barriers and market failures. This paper examines diffusion obstacles through innovation systems theory, showing how socioeconomic factors affect renewable energy adoption. Governments can strengthen infant renewable markets by understanding these barriers and building robust innovation ecosystems that address poverty and inequality while creating competitive advantages.
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Information technology innovation diffusion: an information requirements paradigm
This paper explains why some manufacturing industries adopt internet-based innovations faster than others. The authors argue that information processing requirements—driven by process complexity, operational speed, and supply chain complexity—determine IT adoption rates. Analysis of US wood products and beverage manufacturing shows industries with higher information processing needs adopt IT innovations more extensively, with downstream supply chain structure playing a key role in adoption decisions.
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Universities and open innovation: the determinants of network centrality
Universities with central positions in university-industry networks show higher involvement in spin-off generation and externally funded research. Patenting activity correlates negatively with network centrality. Geographic location has minimal impact on a university's network position. The study reveals that specific institutional characteristics either enable or constrain universities' open innovation engagement.
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Network, knowledge and relationship impacts on innovation in tourism destinations
Tourism destinations innovate more when firms collaborate with trusted partners who share knowledge, and when they occupy central positions in local business networks. The study shows that relationship qualities like trust and shared knowledge drive innovation partnerships, while network position identifies the most successful innovators. Destination managers should encourage knowledge-sharing collaborations and position broker firms to bring in new ideas.
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Exploring the Relationships between Strategy, Innovation, and Management Control Systems: The Roles of Social Networking, Organic Innovative Culture, and Formal Controls
Product differentiation strategy drives innovation in enterprises through three management control mechanisms: social networking, organic innovative culture, and formal controls. A survey of Russian enterprises confirms that differentiation strategies increase innovation activity. Organic culture and formal controls directly boost innovation, while social networking indirectly supports innovation by strengthening innovative culture. These control systems act as the pathway linking strategic choices to innovation outcomes.
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The evolution of Norway's national innovation system
This paper examines how Norway's science, technology, and innovation policies evolved alongside its industrial structure over time. It develops a historical approach to studying innovation policy development and focuses on resource-based industries rather than high-tech sectors. The analysis reveals how institutions and politics shaped Norway's national innovation system, offering insights often missing from snapshot studies of innovation systems.
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Constructing Regional Advantage: Towards State-of-the-Art Regional Innovation System Policies in Europe?
This paper examines how regional innovation system policies work across Europe, analyzing the challenges of applying national-level cluster concepts to regional contexts. The authors use ideal types as a conceptual framework to understand how regional advantage develops, showing that while individual elements of these ideal types exist in reality, the complete configurations themselves do not naturally occur.
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New developments in innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems
This special section examines innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems through multi-level analysis of agents, institutions, and regions. The authors synthesize research across the section, identifying key questions, theories, and methods used to study how ecosystems shape innovation and entrepreneurship. They propose a research agenda addressing context, process, and impact of these ecosystems.
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Harvesting reflective knowledge exchange for inbound open innovation in complex collaborative networks: an empirical verification in Europe
Open innovation collaboration modes significantly boost innovation performance by stimulating reflective knowledge exchange among firms in complex networks. Analysis of European Union firms from 2014–2019 shows that external knowledge sourcing, knowledge transfer, and big data analytics strengthen patent applications. Reflective knowledge exchange emerges as a critical mechanism enabling firms to maximize returns from innovation within inter-organizational networks.
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Frugal and reverse innovation - Literature overview and case study insights from a German MNC in India and China
Western multinational corporations operating in India and China develop affordable products with essential features through frugal and reverse innovation, then introduce these solutions to developed markets. A German MNC case study shows that success in emerging markets requires complete localization, identifying core customer values, and balancing both innovation types in the product portfolio.
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Managing research and innovation networks: Evidence from a government sponsored cross-industry program
This paper examines how a Swedish government program called ProcessIT Innovations managed cross-industry collaboration between traditional process industries and emerging IT firms. The researchers identified specific challenges in configuring the network, orchestrating partnerships, and facilitating innovation projects. They developed a model for managing research and innovation networks that bring together different industries and connect firms with research institutions.
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Relationships between knowledge acquisition, absorptive capacity and innovation capability: an empirical study on Taiwan’s financial and manufacturing industries
This study examines how knowledge acquisition drives innovation in Taiwan's financial and manufacturing sectors. Using structural equation modeling on 362 companies, the research finds that absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between knowledge acquisition and innovation capability. Knowledge acquisition directly strengthens absorptive capacity, and industry type moderates how knowledge acquisition translates into innovation. The findings reveal distinct patterns across financial and manufacturing firms.
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The Role of Green Innovation between Green Market Orientation and Business Performance: Its Implication for Open Innovation
Green market orientation directly improves business performance in Indonesian manufacturing small and medium enterprises, and this effect is strengthened when companies adopt green innovation practices. The study of 175 MSME owners in East Java shows that balancing economic, environmental, and social concerns through green strategies enhances business outcomes, supporting sustainability theory in the Indonesian context.
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Innovation, Networking and Proximity: Lessons from Small High Technology Firms in the UK
Small high-tech electronics and software firms in South East England innovate more effectively when they network with suppliers and service providers who offer complementary capabilities. Geographical proximity matters for these relationships. The regional science base successfully nurtured new ventures, but science parks did not. Policy efforts to build regional networks among similar firms and close customers showed no innovation benefit.
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Influence of Technological Assets on Organizational Performance through Absorptive Capacity, Organizational Innovation and Internal Labour Flexibility
Technological assets drive organizational performance in European technology companies through two mechanisms: absorptive capacity and internal labor flexibility. The study finds that technological skills and competencies strengthen both potential and realized absorptive capacity, which then enhance labor flexibility and organizational innovation. Internal labor flexibility further boosts performance by enabling innovation. These relationships prove especially valuable in dynamic, turbulent technological environments.
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Linking properties of knowledge with innovation performance: the moderate role of absorptive capacity
This study examines how knowledge characteristics affect innovation performance in Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises, finding that most knowledge properties boost innovation. The research shows that absorptive capacity—a firm's ability to recognize, assimilate, and apply new knowledge—strengthens the relationship between knowledge properties and innovation outcomes. Companies with higher absorptive capacity gain more innovation benefit from their knowledge assets.
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Innovation in food firms: contribution of regional networks within the international business context
Food firms in Belgium that participate in regional networks develop stronger innovation capabilities, especially when operating internationally. The study shows that regional networking and global market orientation reinforce each other rather than conflict. Firms gain competitive advantage by accessing external knowledge across multiple geographic scales. Regional network support emerges as an effective policy tool for enhancing firm innovation.
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Networks of Innovation: Science, Technology and Development in the Triple Helix Era
Universities, industry, and government must collaborate through triple helix networks to drive knowledge-based development. Universities expand their missions beyond research to include economic and social development, shifting from individual to organizational focus. This networked approach fills technology and social capital gaps. Examples from the European Union, Canada, and Brazil demonstrate how triple helix models support firm formation and innovation incubation.
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Determinants of Firm’s open innovation performance and the role of R & D department: an empirical evidence from Malaysian SME’s
Malaysian SMEs struggle with open innovation adoption and performance. This study identifies external knowledge, internal innovation, and R&D departments as key determinants of open innovation success in these firms. The R&D department acts as a mediator between innovation inputs and performance outcomes. The findings provide SMEs with actionable insights to strengthen their open innovation systems and boost overall business performance.
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Innovation Ecosystems vs. Innovation Systems in Terms of Collaboration and Co-creation of Value
This paper distinguishes innovation ecosystems from traditional innovation systems, emphasizing how collaborative networks create value together. The authors survey ecosystem research to identify key features and show how regional clusters, global value chains, and platforms operate as innovation ecosystems. They provide policy recommendations for governments seeking to foster innovation-conducive environments through ecosystem approaches.
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From Regional Systems of Innovation to Regions as Innovation Policy Spaces
Regional innovation systems have become widely used in policy-making, but this approach overstates some regional roles while underemphasizing others. The authors argue that treating regions primarily as innovation systems obscures their actual function as spaces where innovation policy gets made and implemented. They illustrate these problems using England's North West region.
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Coopetition in business Ecosystems: The key role of absorptive capacity and supply chain agility
Firms in tech-city business ecosystems benefit from coopetition—simultaneous cooperation and competition—but not directly. Instead, coopetition enhances absorptive capacity, which improves supply chain agility and ultimately firm performance. The study surveyed 214 firms and found these indirect effects matter more than direct relationships, establishing a validated measurement scale for coopetition.
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The adoption of 4D BIM in the UK construction industry: an innovation diffusion approach
The UK construction industry faces project delays, prompting government targets to reduce timeframes by 50 percent through 4D Building Information Modelling (BIM). This study surveyed 97 construction planning practitioners to measure 4D BIM adoption using Rogers' Innovation Diffusion theory. Results show increasing adoption rates with a characteristic time lag between awareness and first use. The research identifies system compatibility and safe trialling as critical factors for facilitating adoption across the UK construction industry.
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The intervention of organizational sustainability in the effect of organizational culture on open innovation performance: A case of thai and chinese SMEs
This study examines 300 SMEs in Thailand and China to understand how organizational culture drives open innovation performance. The research finds that organizational sustainability acts as a critical mediator between culture and innovation outcomes. Companies with strong cultural foundations in leadership, teamwork, and climate that invest in sustainability practices across marketing, operations, and customer orientation achieve better open innovation results.
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Advancing regional innovation systems: What does evolutionary economic geography bring to the policy table?
Evolutionary economic geography offers valuable insights for regional innovation policy by explaining how firms' knowledge bases and co-location drive long-term regional development. The authors argue this approach strengthens regional innovation system frameworks, particularly for designing policies that support new economic paths and regional resilience. However, they caution that evolutionary frameworks risk downplaying institutions and agency without explicit attention to social factors.
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Frontier Technology, Absorptive Capacity and Distance*
This study examines how foreign technology affects productivity in OECD manufacturing industries, finding that a country's ability to absorb and use new technology matters more than physical distance. Distance had stronger effects early in the study period and in high-tech industries with localized trade. Absorptive capacity emerged as the dominant factor explaining productivity differences across countries.
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A Tale of Open Data Innovations in Five Smart Cities
This study examines 18 open data initiatives across five smart cities—Barcelona, Chicago, Manchester, Amsterdam, and Helsinki—to understand how open data shapes urban innovation. The research reveals how open data initiatives adapt to different city contexts and what innovations they enable across various urban domains, governance structures, and datasets within each city's open data ecosystem.
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The Identification and Characterization of Open Innovation Profiles in Italian Small and Medium‐sized Enterprises
Italian small and medium-sized manufacturers adopt three distinct open innovation approaches: selective low open, unselective open upstream, and mid-partners integrated open. The study surveyed 105 firms and found that these profiles differ significantly in their collaboration breadth, motivations, barriers, and performance outcomes. Companies vary in how openly they source external innovation across different phases of their innovation processes.
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Unravelling appropriability mechanisms and openness depth effects on firm performance across stages in the innovation process
This study examines how intellectual property protection mechanisms and collaborative openness affect innovation performance across different stages of the innovation process. Using data from 340 European manufacturing firms, the research finds that semi-formal protections like contracts boost efficiency in early stages, while formal patents actually hinder it due to imitation risks. Informal mechanisms support novelty throughout. University partnerships consistently drive novelty, while supplier and competitor collaborations show stage-dependent effects on performance.
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The Scientific Trajectory of the French School of Proximity: Interaction- and Institution-based Approaches to Regional Innovation Systems
French regional scientists developed the concept of proximity in the early 1990s to study industrial and spatial dynamics. They organized collectively through the research group 'Proximity Dynamics,' which expanded the concept's theoretical scope and institutional reach. This paper traces how the group's structured approach enabled investigation of regional innovation systems through interaction- and institution-based frameworks.
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Innovation networks and capability building in the Australian high‐technology SMEs
Australian high-technology SMEs in biotechnology and ICT sectors build innovation capabilities by participating in knowledge networks. The study examined firms in Sydney and Melbourne, finding that small businesses use network linkages to overcome resource constraints, learn, adapt to technological change, and innovate. Network analysis reveals critical success factors that can help policymakers and managers improve innovation processes and competitive capabilities.
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Frugal innovation-past, present, and future
Frugal innovation has evolved from targeting low-income customers in emerging markets to a global approach addressing environmental and demographic challenges. The concept now emphasizes resourceful, sustainable solutions with strong value propositions rather than simply cheap products. Advanced economies increasingly adopt frugal principles driven by resource constraints and changing consumption patterns, positioning frugal innovation as a worldwide phenomenon with significant socio-economic impact.
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Regional innovation systems: development opportunities from the ‘green turn’
Regional innovation systems effectively drive cross-industry knowledge flows and innovation by leveraging Triple Helix interactions. The paper demonstrates this through renewable energy adoption, showing that regions with innovative development agencies benefit from horizontal knowledge spillovers across clusters. These regions create low-cost opportunities for cross-fertilization that can become international knowledge hubs.
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Co-operation in Regional Innovation Systems
This paper examines cooperative relationships among manufacturing firms across three German regions using statistical modeling. The analysis reveals how spatial proximity influences cooperation patterns and identifies differences in cooperative behavior between regions and between smaller and larger firms.
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Higher Education in Innovation Ecosystems
Universities drive innovation and sustainability through their participation in innovation ecosystems. This editorial synthesizes 16 articles to establish a framework showing how higher education institutions function within these ecosystems. The authors define innovation ecosystems and identify three distinct roles universities play in fostering innovation and sustainable development across various contexts.
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Why Do Incumbents Respond Heterogeneously to Disruptive Innovations? The Interplay of Domain Identity and Role Identity
German publishing houses responded differently to digital disruption based on two identity factors: domain identity (what business they're in) and role identity (their market position). When digitalization threatened one identity while strengthening the other, companies experienced internal conflict and slower, less innovative responses. Companies with aligned identities adapted faster and more creatively.
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Urban Regeneration and Sustainable Communities: The Role of Networks, Innovation, and Creativity in Building Successful Partnerships
This paper critiques market-led urban regeneration partnerships and proposes plan-led alternatives grounded in place-based community knowledge. The authors argue that networks, innovation, and creative partnerships—built on social capital and consensus—enable sustainable urban communities by fostering ecological integrity, equity, democratic renewal, and socially inclusive decision-making in villages and neighborhoods.
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Reverse innovation: a global growth strategy that could pre‐empt disruption at home
Western companies typically innovate in wealthy markets then adapt products for emerging economies. Reverse innovation flips this approach: companies develop low-cost solutions for emerging markets that later find profitable applications in wealthy countries. GE's portable ultrasound machine exemplifies this—created for China, it generated a $250 million global business with new uses in the USA and other advanced economies.
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How network competence and network location influence innovation performance
Firms in innovation clusters perform better when they develop strong network competence and occupy central positions within their networks. The study analyzed cluster companies and found that while overall innovation performance was below expectations, those with higher network competence and centrality significantly outperformed peers. Success in clusters requires companies to actively enhance their ability to manage network relationships and secure more central positions within their networks.
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Managing diversity in a system of multi-level governance: the open method of co-ordination in innovation policy
Open method of coordination has made limited progress in innovation policy because multi-level governance structures and diverse national innovation systems create barriers to vertical coordination and horizontal learning across countries. The authors argue that effective application requires acknowledging national and regional differences, involving actors at all territorial levels, and developing qualitative benchmarks that account for system diversity rather than imposing uniform standards.
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The critical factors for technology absorptive capacity
This study identifies critical factors that determine how well firms absorb and apply external technology. Research shows that technology diffusion channels, interaction mechanisms, and R&D resources significantly influence absorptive capacity, which in turn affects technology transfer performance. Organizational culture shapes these mechanisms and resources. The findings apply particularly to firms implementing technology transfer in developing countries.
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Re‐storying the Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Concepts: The Model‐Narrative Review Method
This paper introduces a model-narrative review method to systematically analyze how business, innovation, and entrepreneurial ecosystem concepts are constructed and communicated in academic literature. The authors examine seminal works through thematic, enstoried, and rhetorical reading to reveal dominant narratives, hidden assumptions, and underlying meanings. The method exposes how researchers construct plots, characters, and moral lessons around ecosystems, enhancing conceptual clarity and enabling critical comparison across related concepts.
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External knowledge sourcing from innovation cooperation and the role of absorptive capacity: empirical evidence from Norway and Sweden
Firms cannot freely access external knowledge for innovation. Using data from Norway and Sweden, this study shows that companies with strong absorptive capacity—measured by internal R&D spending, employee training, and educated workforces—successfully engage in innovation cooperation with external partners. Firms lacking these internal investments struggle to adopt open innovation approaches, revealing that sourcing external knowledge requires substantial upfront costs.
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The impact of regional absorptive capacity on spatial knowledge spillovers: the Cohen and Levinthal model revisited
Regional absorptive capacity—the cognitive skills and knowledge infrastructure available in a region—determines how effectively regions adopt and benefit from new knowledge. Using European regional data from 1999-2006, the authors find that regions with lower absorptive capacity experience greater knowledge spillovers to neighboring areas, losing the ability to decode and exploit both locally produced and external knowledge efficiently.
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Regional Innovation Systems in the Lisbon strategy
Regional innovation systems matter for economic development, but they are not one-dimensional. The authors analyze how European policy frames regional innovation within the Lisbon strategy and find that national contexts ultimately drive economic development more than regional innovative capabilities alone.
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The rise of a triple helix culture: Innovation in Brazilian economic and social development
Brazil is shifting from top-down government-controlled innovation to a collaborative triple helix model involving universities, industry, and government. Local and regional initiatives drive national policy while national frameworks support regional development. This interactive, non-linear approach is reshaping Brazil's sectoral and national innovation systems.
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Tourism Specialization, Absorptive Capacity, and Economic Growth
Tourism specialization boosts economic growth, but only when countries have sufficient financial system development to absorb tourism revenues effectively. The study of 129 countries from 1995–2011 shows that excessive tourism dependence eventually harms growth, even in developed economies. Financial capacity and economic development level determine whether tourism specialization benefits or damages long-term growth.
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How do Latecomer Firms Capture Value From Disruptive Technologies? A Secondary Business-Model Innovation Perspective
Latecomer firms in emerging economies successfully adopt disruptive technologies from advanced countries through secondary business-model innovation. They create cheaper, simpler products suited to local customers' needs and budgets, leveraging partnerships and local knowledge to build unique value networks. This approach lets them compete against multinational incumbents by targeting mass markets and nonconsumers previously underserved.
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Understanding the influence of absorptive capacity and ambidexterity on the process of business model change – the case of on‐premise and cloud‐computing software
This study examines how six incumbent enterprise software firms adapted their business models when cloud-based Software as a Service disrupted the traditional on-premise software market. The research identifies absorptive capacity and organizational ambidexterity as key factors enabling firms to change business models in response to disruptive innovation. The findings reveal technological and organizational factors that determine the pace and path of business model adaptation in the software industry.
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Regional innovation systems and the foundation of knowledge intensive business services. A comparative study in Bremen, Munich, and Stuttgart, Germany
Knowledge-intensive business services drive innovation and economic growth. This study examines how new KIBS firms in three German cities—Bremen, Munich, and Stuttgart—rely on regional resources and networks during their early development. The research shows that proximity between local actors in regional innovation systems significantly influences KIBS firm formation and success.
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Emerging needs of social innovators and social innovation ecosystems
Social innovators tackle major societal challenges but receive little research attention compared to profit-oriented entrepreneurs. This study interviewed 28 social innovators to identify their distinct needs and developed a social innovation ecosystem model based on Isenberg's entrepreneurial ecosystem framework. The findings reveal both similarities and differences between social and entrepreneurial ecosystems, showing that social innovators require tailored support structures beyond traditional business models.
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TOWARD A DYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON OPEN INNOVATION: A LONGITUDINAL ASSESSMENT OF THE ADOPTION OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL INNOVATION STRATEGIES IN THE NETHERLANDS
This longitudinal study tracks Dutch companies across 1996, 2004, and 2004 to document how firms shifted from closed to open innovation strategies. The research reveals this transition occurred in sudden shifts rather than gradually, with timing varying by industry. Internal and external innovation approaches complement each other rather than compete, providing the first large-scale evidence of a fundamental change in how companies innovate.
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Open innovation in SMEs: A process view towards business model innovation
Small and medium-sized enterprises transform their business models through open innovation by collaborating with external partners. This study examines European SMEs undergoing business model transformation, identifying key triggers including market turbulence, competition, and production scaling. The research reveals how SMEs navigate challenges in adopting open business models to overcome their size disadvantages and remain competitive.
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Kindred spirits or intergovernmental competition? The innovation and diffusion of energy policies in the American states (1990–2008)
States adopt energy and climate policies primarily through learning within peer groups sharing similar political cultures, rather than through geographic proximity. Using event history analysis of U.S. state policies from 1990–2008, the authors find that political ideology and culture drive policy adoption far more than environmental conditions or economic resources. Geographic diffusion models that ignore political culture produce biased results.
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Embedding environmental innovation in local production systems: SME strategies, networking and industrial relations: evidence on innovation drivers in industrial districts
Environmental innovation in Italian manufacturing firms depends more on strategic choices than firm size. The study finds that R&D investment, industrial relations focused on innovation, and networking activities drive environmental performance improvements. Policy pressure and environmental auditing also encourage adoption. Networking effectively replaces the innovation advantages that larger firms typically enjoy, making local collaboration critical for small and medium enterprises.
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The Spatial Organization of Innovation: Open Innovation, External Knowledge Relations and Urban Structure
Firms increasingly use external knowledge to complement internal research and development, shaping how they organize innovation. This paper demonstrates that innovation organization and external knowledge use depend on physical, socio-economic, and cultural environments. The analysis confirms that innovation is spatially organized. Surprisingly, innovative firms in less urbanized areas show greater openness to external knowledge relations than those in urban centers.
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R&D Cooperation in Innovation Systems—Some Lessons from the European Regional Innovation Survey (ERIS)
This paper analyzes data from nearly 86,000 surveys across 11 European regions to understand what drives regional innovation. The research finds that national innovation systems influence regional firms as strongly as regional systems do. Innovative partnerships vary in geographic scope depending on firm size, industry technology intensity, R&D spending, and partner type. High-tech industries rely more on local knowledge networks. Regional policy should build firm networks and connect them to national and international knowledge sources.
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Identifying and describing constituents of innovation ecosystems
This paper systematically reviews 30 publications on innovation ecosystems to clarify how scholars define and study them. The authors identify different approaches across industries and organizational levels, examining how value is created and captured, the role of orchestrators, and success factors. They find European and American scholars emphasize different aspects, and note that most research focuses on European contexts. The review provides practitioners with management guidance for establishing and managing innovation ecosystems.
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Making Smart Regions Smarter: Smart Specialization and the Role of Universities in Regional Innovation Ecosystems
Universities play a critical role in developing smart regions through smart specialization strategies. The paper examines how digital technologies enhance regional innovation ecosystems and addresses the gap between the popular rhetoric of 'smart regions' and the actual challenges of building genuine smartness in communities and governance.
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IS Integration and Business Performance: The Mediation Effect of Organizational Absorptive Capacity in SMEs
This study examines how organizational absorptive capacity—the ability to learn and integrate new knowledge—mediates the relationship between IT system integration and business performance in small and medium enterprises. Using data from 466 Italian export-focused SMEs, the researchers found that absorptive capacity significantly mediates this relationship, meaning IT investments improve performance primarily when companies develop stronger learning and integration capabilities.
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Are regional systems greening the economy? Local spillovers, green innovations and firms’ economic performances
Environmental innovations spread through local geographic spillovers within manufacturing districts in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. When many firms in the same municipality adopt green innovations, nearby firms follow suit. Companies that adopt environmental innovations experience improved productivity and economic performance, suggesting that greening the economy and achieving business gains are compatible goals.
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Absorptive capacity and localized spillovers: focal firms as technological gatekeepers in industrial districts
In Italy's automatic packaging machinery cluster, large focal firms act as technological gatekeepers, absorbing external knowledge and redistributing it locally. The study of 720 patents shows district firms prefer local knowledge, focal firms access external sources more than others, and non-focal firms disproportionately build on focal firms' innovations. Geography and firm size shape how knowledge flows through industrial districts.
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Knowledge co-creation in Open Innovation Digital Platforms: processes, tools and services
Open Innovation Digital Platforms facilitate knowledge co-creation by acting as intermediaries that connect firms and support collaborative innovation processes. The study of Regione Lombardia's platform shows how these platforms evolved from simple partner-matching tools into engagement platforms offering dedicated processes, tools, and services that help firms explore, acquire, integrate, and develop valuable knowledge through open innovation approaches.
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Innovation, networking and the new industrial clusters: the characteristics of networks and local innovation capabilities in the Turkish industrial clusters
Innovation and networking drive competitive capacity in industrial clusters during globalization. This study examined three Turkish industrial clusters through firm interviews, finding that local and national networking correlates positively with innovativeness. Firms embedded in global networks produce more innovations than those relying primarily on local linkages, demonstrating the importance of both local connections and international engagement.
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Towards innovation in Living Labs networks
Living Labs are open, user-centered environments that enable networked innovation through collaboration between organizations, users, and other participants. This study examines a regional Living Labs initiative to identify key participants, their roles, motivations, and outcomes. The research finds that Living Labs successfully facilitate open innovation by integrating users as co-producers in product development, which uncovers hidden user needs and generates unexpected results.
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The Emergence of China and India as New Competitors in MNCs' Innovation Networks
Multinational corporations increasingly locate research and development operations in China and India, moving beyond traditional innovation hubs in North America, Western Europe, and Japan. However, this shift remains limited in scope, with China attracting market-seeking investment and India attracting resource-seeking investment. Knowledge control stays concentrated in developed countries despite local learning and upgrading. While concerns about Western innovation decline are overstated, these trends signal a potential long-term redistribution of global innovation capacity and economic power.
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Bridging Scales in Innovation Policies: How to Link Regional, National and International Innovation Systems
This paper examines how innovation systems operating at different geographic scales—international, national, and regional—can be effectively linked and coordinated through policy. The author identifies which innovation system functions work best at each scale and proposes a policy framework that integrates support across all three levels to strengthen technology-based economic development.
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Digital innovation ecosystems in agri-food: design principles and organizational framework
Digital innovation in agri-food requires complex ecosystem approaches involving multiple stakeholders. This paper analyzes 73 million euros of European public-private projects from 2011-2021 to develop a framework for designing viable digital innovation ecosystems. The framework identifies six key concepts and 21 design principles, emphasizing multi-actor collaboration, shared technical infrastructure, value stream identification, and strategic partner engagement. Success requires substantial investment and time; isolated actor analysis fails.
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Spatial mobility of knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity: analysis and measurement of the impact within the geoeconomic space
Knowledge and technology transfer effectiveness declines as distance from research sources increases, following a damped pattern. Small businesses in industrial districts successfully acquire external scientific knowledge through interactions with public research institutions and collective learning mechanisms, rather than conducting their own research. Industrial proximity and collaborative networks enable knowledge absorption without requiring in-house research capacity.
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Alliances, Networks and Competitive Strategy: Rethinking Clusters of Innovation
This paper examines how networks of firms drive innovation and competitiveness through alliances and knowledge sharing. The authors argue that successful innovation requires flexible network structures that adapt over time, and that geography plays a crucial role in how these networks form and operate. They contend that effective innovation networks are increasingly international rather than locally confined.
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Regional innovation systems in an era of grand societal challenges: reorientation versus transformation
Regional innovation systems must adapt to address major societal challenges through either reorientation or transformation strategies. Reorientation leverages existing regional assets and institutions to tackle challenge-related problems. Transformation goes further, requiring new actors, institutional changes, and disrupted network linkages to create entirely new regional innovation elements. The choice between strategies depends on regional conditions and specific challenges.
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Triple Helix Twins: A Framework for Achieving Innovation and UN Sustainable Development Goals
This paper proposes a 'Triple Helix Twins' framework combining two models: one linking university-industry-government for innovation, and another linking university-public-government for sustainable development. The framework addresses environmental protection, resource management, and social equality by enabling cross-border collaborations. The authors suggest solar photovoltaics development as an example of how this integrated approach can help achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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Favourable social innovation ecosystem(s)? – An explorative approach
Social innovation ecosystems differ fundamentally from business-focused innovation systems. This research identifies three key requirements for effective social innovation ecosystems: integrated governance involving civil society and multiple sectors, intermediary institutions like hubs and labs that accelerate activities, and strategies combining different innovation modes. The study finds no single best model exists due to the diversity and local nature of social innovation work across Europe.
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Enhancing innovation in livestock value chains through networks: Lessons from fodder innovation case studies in developing countries
Fodder scarcity limits smallholder livestock farmers in developing countries. This paper examines how fodder technologies spread through farmer networks in Ethiopia, Syria, and Vietnam. Fodder innovation succeeds when integrated with other innovations and market activities, and when farmers organize collectively to access markets. The authors argue that combining innovation systems and value chain approaches strengthens smallholder productivity and market outcomes.
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The structure of an innovation ecosystem: foundations for future research
This systematic review examines how innovation ecosystems are structured by analyzing 26 years of peer-reviewed research. The authors identify three main structural classifications: ecosystem life cycles (birth through self-renewal), hierarchical levels (macroscopic to microscopic), and layered architectures including core-periphery and triple-layer models. The review reveals that ecosystem structure research remains concentrated among few authors and proposes the triple-layer core-periphery framework and 6C framework as benchmarks for future studies.
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Triple Helix Clusters: Boundary Permeability at University—Industry—Government Interfaces as a Regional Innovation Strategy
Successful regional innovation requires permeable boundaries between universities, industry, and government. The paper examines MIT-Boston, Stanford-Silicon Valley, Research Triangle-North Carolina, and Newcastle-Northeast UK to show that entrepreneurial universities drive innovation regions. While no single best-practice model exists, boundary permeability and other common innovation characteristics can be strengthened through targeted policy initiatives.
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The Role of Innovation Ecosystems and Social Capital in Startup Survival
Startups that actively collaborate with universities, industries, and government organizations significantly survive longer than those that don't, according to analysis of the Kauffman Firm Survey. However, the amount of social capital available in innovation ecosystems doesn't predict whether startups actually use it or live longer. The effect varies between high-tech and other startups. Active engagement with ecosystem partners matters more than ecosystem density alone.
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Network structure and regional innovation: A study of university–industry ties
University-industry knowledge networks shape regional innovation outcomes. Analysis of UK regions reveals that the most innovative and economically developed areas contain actors occupying central, influential positions within these networks. Network structure and the resulting stocks of structural network capital directly influence patterns of regional innovation and economic development.
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National innovation systems: the emergence of a new approach
This paper traces the emergence of national innovation systems as a research concept in the late 1980s. The authors identify the three most influential contributions to this literature and analyze citation patterns in scholarly journals to understand how the concept developed within innovation studies. They characterize national innovation systems research relative to other research areas.
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Exploring the Multiple Roles of Lund University in Strengthening Scania's Regional Innovation System: Towards Institutional Learning?
Lund University strengthens Scania's regional innovation system through multiple engagement mechanisms that facilitate technological learning across sectors. The university acts as a knowledge conduit, importing global science and technology into the region while building structural innovation capacity. The study examines three sectoral engagement efforts and demonstrates how universities can actively contribute to regional innovative capacity beyond passive knowledge transfer.
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Building regional innovation networks: The definition of an age business core process in a regional innovation system
Regional innovation networks drive competitive advantage. This study presents the Regional Development Platform Method and core process thinking as tools for developing regional innovation systems. Using Finland's Lahti region and its age business sector as a case study, the authors demonstrate that successful core processes depend fundamentally on collective learning and knowledge creation among multiple actors in the innovation network.
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How entrepreneurship ecosystem influences the development of frugal innovation and informal entrepreneurship
This study examines how entrepreneurial ecosystems shape frugal innovation and informal business development in Nigeria. Through interviews with 20 business owners and focus groups with association leaders, the researchers identified key determinants: formal and informal rules, market access, and family networks. These elements enable knowledge sharing, networking, and resource distribution among informal entrepreneurs operating under institutional constraints.
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Open innovation and firm performance: Evidence from the Chinese mechanical manufacturing industry
Open innovation's effect on firm profitability follows an inverted U-shape curve in Chinese mechanical manufacturing. Employee education amplifies open innovation's benefits in technology-oriented firms but not production-oriented ones. Higher ratios of technical to production staff improve financial performance from open innovation in tech-oriented firms, while the opposite occurs in production-oriented firms.
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Orchestrating Innovation Ecosystems: A Qualitative Analysis of Ecosystem Positioning Strategies
This paper analyzes how organizations position themselves within innovation ecosystems through inter-organizational relationships and networks. The authors examine ecosystem positioning strategies and value co-creation through boundary-spanning activities, revealing how collaborative innovation practices vary across different organizational contexts and ecosystem structures.
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How open innovation processes vary between urban and remote environments: slow innovators, market-sourced information and frequency of interaction
The paper challenges the assumption that innovation happens mainly in cities. It shows that remote areas do produce first-to-market innovations, but through different mechanisms. Slow innovators in isolated locations rely on non-market information and infrequent contact with others, while fast innovators cluster near cities using market-sourced information and frequent interactions. This difference explains why innovation occurs in both settings.
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Triple Helix and the evolution of ecosystems of innovation: the case of Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley's innovation ecosystem has transformed over the past decade. The study tracks how the Triple Helix agents—universities, industry, and government—have shifted their roles and interactions. Key changes include the emergence of accelerator programs, corporations engaging startups earlier, geographic expansion into San Francisco, universities investing in capital funds, and the rise of micro-multinationals responding to talent competition.
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The Role of Natural and Human Resources on Economic Growth and Regional Development: With Discussion of Open Innovation Dynamics
Natural resources alone do not drive economic growth in Bulukumba Regency, Indonesia. The study finds that combining natural resource optimization with human resource development significantly boosts regional economic growth, accounting for 47.2% of variation. Community culture and regulation also matter. The authors recommend strengthening human capacity through technology adoption and cultural change to accelerate economic development.
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Building University-Industry Co-Innovation Networks in Transnational Innovation Ecosystems: Towards a Transdisciplinary Approach of Integrating Social Sciences and Artificial Intelligence
This paper addresses weak connections between transnational industry and university cooperation in innovation ecosystems. The authors propose matching industrial firms across countries through shared university partnerships, combining social science theory with machine learning techniques. Using EU-China science and technology cooperation as a case study, they demonstrate how integrating innovation studies and social network analysis with artificial intelligence can strengthen synergies between industry and university actors in transnational innovation networks.
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Creating and capturing value in a regional innovation ecosystem: a study of how manufacturing SMEs develop collaborative solutions
Danish manufacturing SMEs collaborating on an automation project reveal how small firms create and capture value within regional innovation ecosystems. Common goals and financial support enable value creation, but companies must balance their own operations with ecosystem commitments. Success depends on managing knowledge flows across organizations and aligning business models with ecosystem structures. The study shows that value capture occurs at the inter-organizational level, not just individually.
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Open Innovation Implementation to Sustain Indonesian SMEs
Indonesian small and medium enterprises face challenges in marketing, technology, capital access, and human resources despite their economic importance. Open innovation offers a solution by leveraging SMEs' existing agility and adaptability. The authors apply an innovation value chain framework to demonstrate how open innovation methodology can help Indonesian SMEs compete with larger firms and sustain economic growth.
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Gatekeepers of Knowledge versus Platforms of Knowledge: From Potential to Realized Absorptive Capacity
Knowledge gatekeepers in the Sophia Antipolis technology cluster can create potential absorptive capacity, but realizing that capacity requires deliberate knowledge transfer efforts. The authors propose a 'knowledge platform' concept—a codified knowledge project that generates positive externalities by creating new opportunities for combining and absorbing knowledge within the cluster.
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP, PROXIMITY AND REGIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS
Regional innovation systems rely heavily on intraregional networks, but this focus creates lock-in risks. The paper argues that extraregional relationships matter equally, with entrepreneurial migrants serving as crucial connectors. Geographical proximity alone is less important than cognitive and institutional proximity for fostering innovation across international boundaries.
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Collaborative entrepreneurship:how communities of networked firms use continuous innovation to create economic wealth
This book review examines how communities of networked firms drive economic growth through collaborative entrepreneurship and continuous innovation. The work explores how interconnected businesses working together create wealth by fostering ongoing innovation practices. The review synthesizes insights from Miles, Miles, and Snow's framework on collaborative business networks and their role in generating economic value.
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Universities as orchestrators of the development of regional innovation ecosystems in emerging economies
Universities in Porto Alegre, Brazil orchestrate regional innovation ecosystems by coordinating multiple stakeholders beyond traditional teaching and research roles. Three competing universities jointly foster knowledge mobility, manage innovation appropriability, and stabilize networks to support entrepreneurship. Unlike firm-based networks, university-led ecosystems distribute benefits across the broader region, not just participating organizations. Universities drive collective action by assuming leadership positions and delegating power to other actors.
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The Impact of Higher Education on Entrepreneurship and the Innovation Ecosystem: A Case Study in Mexico
A Master's program in technology commercialization at the University of Texas trained Mexican students in business creation methodologies. Survey data from 109 graduates shows the program successfully generated technology-based startups and built entrepreneurial skills. The research demonstrates that higher education can strengthen innovation ecosystems by connecting students, businesses, and technology transfer, offering a model other Latin American countries could adopt.
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Financialized Corporations in a National Innovation System: The U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry
U.S. pharmaceutical companies face a productivity crisis despite favorable institutional conditions for drug development. The paper argues that financialization—prioritizing shareholder returns through stock buybacks and dividends over R&D investment—explains this paradox. Driven by stock-based executive compensation, major U.S. firms extract value for shareholders at innovation's expense, while less-financialized European competitors successfully exploit the U.S. innovation system. The authors contend that corporate governance prioritizing innovation could unlock greater pharmaceutical productivity.
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Smart specialization in regional innovation systems: a quadruple helix perspective
Robotdalen, a Swedish robotics initiative, demonstrates how smart specialization strategies work within regional innovation systems. The study tracked the program over ten years, examining interactions between industry, universities, government, and civil society. Three strategic practices emerged that evolved over time. The research shows how the fourth helix—civil society and users—integrates into traditional triple helix models, revealing the complexity of multi-stakeholder innovation governance.
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Exploring supplier–supplier innovations within the Toyota supply network: A supply network perspective
This study examines how supplier firms within Toyota's supply network develop joint innovations through co-patenting. The research finds that a supplier's ability to innovate with other network members depends on the number and direction of its connections. Firms with more direct ties generate more co-innovations, but being embedded in tight clusters or having high closeness centrality actually reduces innovation output. Operating multiple manufacturing plants in Japan strengthens the innovation effect.
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Open innovation in universities
Spanish universities show that social networks are the strongest driver of researcher engagement in knowledge transfer activities. Personal background, institutional support, and professional factors also matter significantly, though recognition does not. The study surveyed 382 senior researchers leading research groups and found that strengthening connections between researchers, businesses, administrators, and technology transfer offices increases participation in open innovation knowledge exchanges.
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DEA PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT OF THE NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM IN ASIA AND EUROPE
This study measures the efficiency of national innovation systems across 33 Asian and European countries using data envelopment analysis. Korea and Taiwan rank highest in Asia, while Romania leads Europe. Asian countries generally outperform European countries in innovation production. Technical inefficiencies stem primarily from pure technical factors rather than scale issues. The analysis identifies key inputs and outputs driving each country's innovation system performance.
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The Role and Meaning of the Digital Transformation As a Disruptive Innovation on Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprises
Digital transformation acts as disruptive innovation in manufacturing SMEs, reshaping product development, production methods, and organizational structures. A Delphi study of 49 experts across eleven EU countries identified three key drivers: technological changes, innovative business models, and organizational culture. Success requires clear understanding of disruptive innovation, internal and external enablers, and mitigation strategies for obstacles. SMEs that fail to adopt disruptive innovations will not survive within 5-10 years.
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Employee-level open innovation in emerging markets: linking internal, external, and managerial resources
This study examines how individual employees in Vietnamese telecommunications companies use internal and external knowledge sources to drive innovation. The research finds that employees who access both internal organizational knowledge and external sources produce more innovative work, and that managers' characteristics influence this relationship. The findings emphasize that open innovation operates at the employee level in emerging markets, not just at the firm level, and requires distributed organizational engagement.
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OPEN FOR BUSINESS: UNIVERSITIES, ENTREPRENEURIAL ACADEMICS AND OPEN INNOVATION
Universities are adopting open innovation models to engage academics with industry and society, but research shows these new collaboration activities fail to motivate entrepreneurial academics to participate. The study reveals a gap between policy intentions for open innovation and what actually drives academics to engage in knowledge transfer, suggesting universities may struggle to become truly open institutions without better understanding what motivates their researchers.
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Barriers to Open Innovation: Case China
This paper examines why Chinese firms hesitate to adopt open innovation practices. The researchers identify three main barriers: internal company factors, institutional weaknesses (particularly intellectual property protection), and cultural differences. They find that economic systems and IPR protection significantly influence whether firms engage in open innovation, that knowledge-buying and knowledge-selling face different appropriability challenges, and that national cultural traits shape which open innovation elements companies actually adopt.
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Research on the evolution of China's photovoltaic technology innovation network from the perspective of patents
China holds the world's largest number of photovoltaic technology patents, but lacks core technologies limiting further innovation. This study analyzes 20 years of PV patent data using social network analysis to map China's innovation structure. Leading enterprises have formed stable collaborations, with innovation concentrated in eastern coastal provinces. Cross-regional collaboration has grown significantly, centered on three major hubs: the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
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Species in the wild: a typology of innovation ecosystems
This paper develops a comprehensive typology of innovation ecosystems by analyzing systematic literature reviews and identifying 50 distinct varieties. The authors extract 14 typology criteria from existing research and consolidate them into five organizing dimensions: life cycle stage, structural characteristics, innovation focus, scope of activities, and performance outcomes. This framework enables systematic classification and comparison of different innovation ecosystem types.
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The Influence of Local Economic Conditions on Start-Ups and Local Open Innovation System
Local economic conditions significantly influence startup creation in urban areas. Research across 287 Polish cities reveals that human capital and financial resources are the dominant factors enabling new ventures. Business incubators and technology parks have smaller but meaningful effects on startup formation. Direct municipal support and involvement in entrepreneurship development produces positive outcomes, suggesting cities should prioritize resource allocation to foster startup ecosystems.
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The importance of vocational education institutions in manufacturing regions: adding content to a broad definition of regional innovation systems
Vocational education institutions play a critical role in regional innovation systems by developing skilled workers who implement new manufacturing technologies. This study of two Norwegian manufacturing regions shows how vocational schools and industry collaborate to create tailored education programs that enhance manufacturer competitiveness. The research demonstrates that skilled workers and engineering technicians are essential for adopting emerging technologies, and that vocational institutions co-evolve with industries as technology demands shift.
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Developing National Systems of Innovation: University-Industry Interactions in the Global South
This paper examines how universities and industries interact to build innovation systems in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia and the Global South. The authors analyze university-industry partnerships as critical mechanisms for strengthening national innovation capacity and economic development in regions with emerging economies.
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Network Structures in Regional Innovation Systems
This paper bridges regional innovation systems theory with social network analysis to clarify how knowledge networks actually function in regions. The authors connect network-theoretical concepts to established RIS typologies, demonstrating that applying precise network analysis methods reveals interaction patterns obscured by the RIS literature's metaphorical use of 'network'. The work shows how both fields strengthen each other through cross-disciplinary insights.
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Promoting cooperation in innovation ecosystems: evidence from European traditional manufacturing SMEs
Public innovation support programmes in European traditional manufacturing SMEs do not encourage cooperation with competitors, but marginally increase cooperation with customers and suppliers, and strongly boost cooperation with knowledge providers. The research shows that policy works within existing innovation ecosystems rather than creating new ones. Support programmes help SMEs extend their networks by connecting them with both private and public sector knowledge providers.
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Evolution of strategic interactions from the triple to quad helix innovation models for sustainable development in the era of globalization
The paper argues that sustainable economic development requires strategic interaction between government, universities, and industry—the triple helix model. As globalization and the service sector expanded, civil society emerged as a necessary fourth actor, creating the quad helix model. The author contends that developing and middle-income countries must adopt global best practices in science park creation within this quad helix framework to strengthen technological innovation and build competitive economic capacity.
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Science, business, and innovation: understanding networks in technology‐based incubators
This study examines how networks form within a Canadian technology-based incubator. The research reveals that incubators generate multiple distinct types of networks rather than a single uniform phenomenon. The authors identify specific factors that enable or constrain network formation among high-tech firms and other organizations. The findings emphasize that inter-organizational interactions in incubators are more complex and varied than previously understood.
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Economic Development and National System of Innovation Approach
This paper examines how national systems of innovation drive economic development. The authors analyze the institutional frameworks, policies, and networks that enable countries to generate and adopt innovations. They argue that understanding innovation systems is essential for developing effective economic strategies, particularly for nations seeking to improve competitiveness and prosperity through technological advancement and knowledge creation.
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Growing Innovation Ecosystems: University-Industry Knowledge Transfer and Regional Economic Development in Canada
This paper examines how university-industry knowledge transfer drives regional economic development in Canada. The authors analyze the mechanisms through which universities contribute to innovation ecosystems and regional growth, focusing on the role of knowledge exchange partnerships between academic institutions and industry in fostering innovation capacity and economic competitiveness across Canadian regions.
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Network cooperation and economic performance of SMEs: Direct and mediating impacts of innovation and internationalisation
Network cooperation drives SME economic performance through two pathways: innovation and internationalization. Studying 117 Indian exporting firms, the research shows that customer and R&D organization networks boost performance primarily via innovation, while government agencies, customers, and R&D organizations influence performance through internationalization. Both innovation and internationalization act as critical mediators between network relationships and firm economic outcomes.
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Variety of national innovation systems (NIS) and alternative pathways to growth beyond the middle-income stage: Balanced, imbalanced, catching-up, and trapped NIS
This study analyzes national innovation systems across 32–35 economies using patent data to identify pathways for growth beyond middle-income status. The research identifies five distinct innovation system clusters and confirms two successful catching-up pathways: balanced systems (Ireland, Spain, Hong Kong, Singapore) and imbalanced systems (Korea, Taiwan, China). Other economies remain trapped in middle-income status due to opposite characteristics in technology cycle time, originality, localization, and diversification.
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Innovation network, technological learning and innovation performance of high-tech cluster enterprises
High-tech cluster enterprises in China improve their innovation performance through strong innovation networks and technological learning. Network position and relationship strength directly boost technology acquisition, digestion, and exploitation. These technological learning stages build sequentially, with each stage enhancing the next, ultimately driving innovation performance. Enterprises should strengthen both their innovation networks and technological learning capabilities.
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The innovation ecosystem as booster for the innovative entrepreneurship in the smart specialisation strategy
Innovation ecosystems drive regional growth by creating environments where knowledge flows among multiple stakeholders, fostering innovative entrepreneurship. The paper argues that these dynamic, multi-actor systems support knowledge creation, diffusion, and absorption, enabling regions to achieve intelligent growth and competitive positioning. The authors recommend that policymakers and researchers prioritize innovation ecosystems as central to knowledge-based regional development strategies.
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Industrial Symbiosis, Networking and Innovation: The Potential Role of Innovation Poles
Industrial symbiosis—where companies exchange waste and byproducts—succeeds better when supported by innovation poles, which are government-backed regional networks that promote innovation across industries. The authors argue that innovation poles can accelerate industrial symbiosis by facilitating knowledge sharing and networking among organizations, addressing a gap in existing research that has focused mainly on technical and economic factors rather than innovation and collaboration.
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How controversial innovation succeeds in the periphery? A network perspective of BASF Argentina
BASF's Argentine subsidiary, despite being geographically and organizationally peripheral, successfully developed and implemented controversial innovations. Through interviews and network analysis of employee knowledge sharing, the study identifies contextual and network conditions that enable peripheral subsidiaries of multinational corporations to create and enforce innovations, challenging assumptions that innovation concentrates at corporate headquarters.
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Open innovation management: challenges and prospects
South Korean companies practice open innovation differently than Western firms studied in existing literature. A survey of 85 South Korean companies found significant variations in open innovation activities based on industry type, company size, market type, and R&D intensity. The research identifies gaps between South Korean open innovation practices and established theoretical trends, revealing that context-specific factors shape how companies adopt open innovation strategies.
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Knowledge management in regional innovation networks: The case of Lahti, Finland
This paper designs a knowledge management system for regional innovation networks, incorporating explicit, tacit, and self-transcending knowledge alongside knowledge vision and futures studies methods. Using Finland's Lahti regional innovation system as a case study, the authors demonstrate that effective regional innovation networks require both loose network development and systematic, deliberate approaches to managing knowledge-related activities.
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Determinants of frugal innovation for firms in emerging markets: the roles of leadership, knowledge sharing and collaborative culture
Transformational leadership and knowledge sharing drive frugal innovation in emerging market firms. The study of 381 participants across 116 manufacturing and service firms found that transformational leadership directly boosts frugal innovation and indirectly strengthens it through knowledge sharing. Collaborative culture amplifies how knowledge sharing translates into frugal innovation capability. Leaders practicing transformational styles and fostering organizational collaboration significantly enhance firms' ability to innovate frugally.
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RETRACTED ARTICLE: Startups and the innovation ecosystem in Industry 4.0
Startups incubated at a Brazilian innovation center drive digital manufacturing through open innovation partnerships with companies, universities, and government agencies. These collaborations operate informally and remain at early maturity stages, yet the complex ecosystem of knowledge sources functions as a strategic asset. The study reveals how startup partnerships advance Industry 4.0 adoption while exposing significant implementation challenges in Brazil.
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Knowledge Diffusion, Trade, and Innovation across Countries and Sectors
This paper develops a framework showing how trade, innovation, and knowledge diffusion interact across countries and sectors. Using an economic model calibrated to real-world data, the authors find that reducing trade costs shifts research and development investment between sectors and changes comparative advantage. Knowledge diffusion varies across sectors and amplifies these specialization effects, creating significant welfare gains.
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Understanding the diffusion and adoption of digital finance innovation in emerging economies: M-Pesa money mobile transfer service in Kenya
M-Pesa's rapid adoption in Kenya demonstrates how digital financial innovations succeed in emerging economies. The study applies technological innovation systems theory to explain M-Pesa's growth, finding that local adaptation, coordination, learning, and localized capabilities drive diffusion. The research reveals that standard innovation frameworks miss critical factors specific to emerging markets, and recommends policies to stimulate digital financial innovation across Africa.
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Diffusion of Marketization Innovation with Administrative Centralization in a Multilevel System: Evidence from China
This study examines how China's hierarchical government structure affects local adoption of marketization reforms. The researchers find that while central and provincial government policies each independently encourage cities to adopt pro-business innovations, their combined effect creates competition rather than cooperation. Analysis of administrative licensing centers across Chinese cities from 1997 to 2012 confirms this pattern, showing that vertical power structures shape how innovations diffuse through multilevel governance systems.
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Applying social innovation theory to examine how community co-designed health services develop: using a case study approach and mixed methods
Community co-designed health services in rural Australia emerge when local participants combine contextual knowledge with external facilitation, but require manager and policymaker support to sustain. Social innovation theory effectively explains how grassroots innovations develop through three stages: growth, development, and diffusion. Political relationships and compatibility with existing health systems determine whether innovations survive beyond pilot phases.
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Not too close, not too far: testing the Goldilocks principle of ‘optimal’ distance in innovation networks
This paper tests whether firms innovate best when collaborating with partners at moderate distances across non-geographical dimensions like cognitive and organizational proximity. Analyzing 542 Norwegian firms, the researchers find that the most innovative companies partner with others at medium proximity levels, not too close and not too far. Geographical distance can be offset by proximity in other dimensions, enabling innovation despite physical separation.
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Absorptive capacity and knowledge management in small and medium enterprises
Small and medium enterprises need to access external knowledge through relationships, but research has not adequately examined how these relationships support knowledge management. This paper develops a framework using absorptive capacity to explain how SMEs manage external knowledge. It applies this framework to understand how new ventures build capabilities during startup and how knowledge flows within geographical clusters.
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Big data analytics capabilities and MSME innovation and performance: A double mediation model of digital platform and network capabilities
Big data analytics capabilities directly improve financial performance in small and medium manufacturing enterprises by strengthening their digital platform and network capabilities. Network capabilities mediate the relationship between analytics and both supply chain innovation and financial performance, while digital platforms specifically enhance supply chain innovation. These findings demonstrate how data analytics drives MSME performance through interconnected digital and networking infrastructure.
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Aligning firm's value system and open innovation: a new framework of business process management beyond the business model innovation
This paper develops a framework integrating open innovation principles with business process management to improve how firms create and capture value. The authors connect strategic value systems with operational processes, showing how firms can align their internal value creation with external innovation ecosystems. The framework bridges the gap between strategy and operations literature, offering a comprehensive approach to managing value co-creation beyond traditional business model innovation.
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Business Model for the University-industry Collaboration in Open Innovation
Universities and industrial companies can collaborate effectively through a business model framework that leverages each partner's strengths. Companies lack certain competencies for developing competitive products, while universities provide research capabilities to solve complex problems. The study identifies how Romanian universities and industries currently collaborate and demonstrates significant potential for implementing open innovation practices to create added value.
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How venture capital became a component of the US National System of Innovation
Venture capital emerged as a key institution within the US national innovation system through a combination of government policies, technological trajectories in information and biomedical industries, and regional concentration. The paper traces how VC became integrated into the broader innovation ecosystem, showing that neither government action alone nor market forces alone explain its rise, but rather their interaction shaped this institutional development.
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Research Networks and Inventors' Mobility as Drivers of Innovation: Evidence from Europe
This paper examines how inventor mobility and research collaboration networks drive regional innovation across Europe. Using spatial econometric methods, the authors find that when inventors move within regions, innovation increases significantly. However, the relationship between research network characteristics and innovation is less straightforward. The study accounts for geographic spillovers and spatial dependencies in innovation patterns.
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Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) manufacturing strategy for network innovation agility: the case of Taiwanese manufacturing networks
Taiwanese original equipment manufacturers can pursue two distinct strategies—dedicated OEM service or own-brand products—both enabling innovation agility in global networks. Dedicated OEM suppliers should prioritize manufacturing flexibility and modular product design, while own-brand manufacturers need strong cross-functional integration. Market orientation proves essential for both approaches to succeed in collaborative innovation networks.
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From Technopoles to Regional Innovation Systems: The Evolution of Localised Technology Development Policy
This paper traces how governments worldwide adopted policies to build high-technology industry clusters, inspired by Silicon Valley's success in the 1970s-80s. It examines the shift from early technopole initiatives—modeled on Stanford's science park—toward regional innovation systems approaches. The work documents how Stanford's model, pioneered by Frederick Terman, spawned semiconductor companies like Intel and Fairchild, then influenced subsequent government strategies for promoting localized technology development.
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Business Model, Open Innovation, and Sustainability in Car Sharing Industry—Comparing Three Economies
Car-sharing companies Uber, DiDi Chuxing, and KakaoT adopt different business models shaped by open innovation strategies and interactions with government, taxi industries, public transit, and automakers. The study finds business models are dynamic rather than fixed, and open innovation approaches directly determine how these firms structure revenue, responsibility, and system operations across the United States, China, and South Korea.
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Smart City 4.0 from the Perspective of Open Innovation
Smart cities can solve urban problems and improve quality of life by leveraging Industry 4.0 technologies and open innovation platforms. The paper argues that cities function as platforms where connectivity and innovation drive economic value creation. Through digital twins, cloud computing, and citizen participation via mobile devices, cities self-organize like complex adaptive systems. The authors propose a self-organizing city model based on a Smart City Tech-Socio framework to guide implementation strategies.
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Political Entrepreneurialism: Reflections of a Civil Servant on the Role of Political Institutions in Technology Innovation and Diffusion in Kenya
Kenya's ICT sector achieved global prominence through political institutions that tolerated risk and partnered with private companies. A senior civil servant applied leadership theory to drive innovation and technology diffusion across education, health, agriculture, and financial services. The paper explains why Kenya outpaced neighboring countries and identifies political stability and corruption control as critical to sustaining this success.
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Insights for orchestrating innovation ecosystems: the case of EIT ICT Labs and data-driven network visualisations
This paper demonstrates how data-driven network visualization and social network analysis can help orchestrate innovation ecosystems. Using EIT ICT Labs as a case study, the authors reveal key actors, connections, and characteristics within Europe's ICT innovation ecosystem. Their framework enables decision-makers to develop shared vision and strategically guide ecosystem transformation through continuous visual and quantitative analysis.
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The ‘KIBS Engine’ of Regional Innovation Systems: Empirical Evidence from European Regions
Knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) drive regional innovation across Europe. The study maps how KIBS and manufacturing co-evolve in European regions, revealing that KIBS presence defines high-performing innovation systems, while their absence marks weak performers. Some core manufacturing regions follow a distinct path, transforming into knowledge-oriented service-manufacturing complexes rather than adopting traditional KIBS-dependent models.
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The evolution and performance of biotechnology regional systems of innovation
Biotechnology regions develop as complex systems beginning with university research and knowledge spillovers, then progressing toward regional technology markets. Universities establish intellectual property and technology transfer offices to sell knowledge, while venture capital firms add biotechnology portfolios. The study of 90 Canadian biotechnology companies finds that firms in regional agglomerations grow faster than isolated ones, and university spin-offs outperform independent start-ups.
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The role of research in regional innovation systems: new models meeting knowledge economy demands
Regional innovation systems are expanding across national economies, with over 100 empirical studies and 100 EU regional strategies implemented in the past decade. However, globalization pressures favor metropolitan areas over peripheral regions. New ground-up approaches emerging in Europe reveal how science, research, and innovation interconnect to build genuine competitiveness and address innovation deficits in lagging regions.
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A Holistic Model of Building Innovation Ecosystems
This paper systematizes the lifecycle processes required to build innovation ecosystems. The authors review existing knowledge and identify key factors that influence how these ecosystems evolve over time. They highlight open questions and suggest future research directions for understanding ecosystem development.
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Disruptive Innovation … in Reverse: Adding a Geographical Dimension to Disruptive Innovation Theory
This paper integrates disruptive innovation theory with reverse innovation to explain how emerging economies generate new products and technological solutions. The authors propose a geographical framework for categorizing disruptive innovation, showing that innovations originating in developing regions can challenge established markets globally. The work expands innovation theory by recognizing emerging economies as legitimate sources of disruption rather than mere adopters.
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On the nexus of innovation, trade openness, financial development and economic growth in European countries: New perspective from a GMM panel VAR approach
This study analyzes relationships between innovation, trade openness, financial development, and economic growth across 11 European countries from 2001 to 2016. The research finds that economic growth drives financial development, and trade drives growth, but innovation and trade both show negative relationships with growth. The authors recommend stronger financial regulation, country-specific innovation policies, improved institutional quality, and targeted incentives for local companies to maximize benefits from trade openness.
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Cross-national knowledge transfer, absorptive capacity, and total factor productivity: the intermediary effect test of international technology spillover
Cross-national knowledge transfer improves total factor productivity across China's provinces by strengthening absorptive capacity through foreign direct investment, trade, and technology spillovers. Domestic infrastructure, R&D investment, human capital, and economic openness enhance a region's ability to absorb and use international knowledge. Import trade generates the strongest spillover effects linking knowledge transfer to productivity gains.
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Regional innovation systems: what can we learn from 25 years of scientific achievements?
This paper reviews 25 years of research on regional innovation systems, identifying four main clusters in the literature: regional knowledge systems, institutional systems, research and development systems, and network systems. The authors map different theoretical approaches to regional innovation systems using bibliometric analysis, providing a foundation for policymakers and researchers to design new territorial innovation policies and guide future research directions.
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The Influence of Entrepreneurship and Social Networks on Economic Growth—From a Sustainable Innovation Perspective
Entrepreneurship and social networks both significantly drive regional economic growth in China, with effects varying by geography. Eastern regions benefit most from entrepreneurship, while central regions gain more from social networking. The study analyzed 31 Chinese provinces from 2007–2016 using dynamic panel methods, finding that entrepreneurship's impact strengthens when combined with social networks. Policymakers should tailor entrepreneurship support to regional conditions and leverage social networks to maximize economic efficiency.
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Evolution, roots and influence of the literature on National Systems of Innovation: a bibliometric account
This bibliometric analysis traces the National Systems of Innovation literature from its roots in innovation economics and science policy research through its evolution over 20 years. The field shows irregular publication patterns and lacks a unified analytical framework. While NSI research concentrates in the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the United States, its influence spreads globally across economics, geography, environmental studies, and business disciplines, with citations from scholars worldwide particularly in Latin America and Asia.
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The Importance of Public Research Institutes in Innovative Networks-Empirical Results from the Metropolitan Innovation Systems Barcelona, Stockholm and Vienna
Public research institutes play a smaller role in supporting business innovation than regional innovation theory suggests. Analysis of three European metropolitan areas—Barcelona, Stockholm, and Vienna—using the Regional Innovation Survey reveals that while research institutes are considered important for innovation networks, firms actually rely on them less than conceptual models predict.
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Local governance innovation in China: experimentation, diffusion, and defiance
This paper examines how local governments in China innovate through experimentation, adoption, and resistance to new governance approaches. The author analyzes the mechanisms by which innovative governance practices emerge at the local level, spread to other regions, and sometimes challenge or circumvent higher-level policies. The research reveals patterns in how Chinese localities develop and implement governance innovations.
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Organising for reverse innovation in Western MNCs: the role of frugal product innovation capabilities
Western multinational companies in healthcare and electronics develop reverse innovations—products first adopted in developing countries—by locating design and development in resource-constrained subsidiaries. The study of four companies shows that frugal product innovation capabilities, not headquarters location, determine success in reverse innovation. Building these capabilities in subsidiaries operating under resource constraints proves critical for generating innovations that work in developing markets.
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Knowledge Ecologies and Ecosystems? An Empirically Grounded Reflection on Recent Developments in Innovation Systems Theory
This paper critiques the shift from innovation systems theory toward knowledge ecology and ecosystem frameworks. Using Cambridge's biotech sector as evidence, the authors argue these biological metaphors create conceptual problems including reductionism and functionalism. They contend that understanding innovation requires grounding analysis in historical socioeconomic development and the social division of labor, rather than applying abstract ecological concepts.
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"The Golden Thread of Innovation' and Northern Ireland's Evolving Regional Innovation System
Northern Ireland's innovation performance improved with rising business R&D spending, but many firms remain underperformers. Three categories of innovative firms developed strong systemic interactions with a venture capital-led support infrastructure that flexibly meets growth needs of local innovators. This private sector model sets a standard that public agencies should adopt in their regional innovation strategies.
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Public support for innovation and the openness of firms’ innovation activities
Public support for innovation increases firms' openness to external collaboration and open innovation practices across 5,000+ European firms. However, this effect weakens for already-innovative firms, suggesting potential crowding-out. Non-financial support—institutions and policies—proves more effective than monetary subsidies at fostering open innovation, offering budget-constrained policymakers a cost-effective alternative.
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Efficiency and effectiveness between open and closed innovation: empirical evidence in South Korean manufacturers
This study compares open and closed innovation approaches in South Korean manufacturers, introducing new performance measures called efficiency and effectiveness. The research finds that firms using open innovation—acquiring technology and knowledge from external sources—demonstrate significantly higher efficiency and effectiveness than closed innovation firms. The findings demonstrate that external knowledge acquisition positively impacts firm performance.
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Towards regional responsible research and innovation? Integrating RRI and RIS3 in European innovation policy
This paper proposes integrating two European Union innovation policy frameworks—Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3)—at the regional level. The authors identify tensions between the approaches: RIS3 emphasizes place-based strategies but lacks RRI's attention to diverse stakeholder values, while RRI lacks geographical specificity. The paper argues that combining both frameworks' strengths is necessary to address Europe's innovation challenges.
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Fostering Scaleup Ecosystems for Regional Economic Growth (<i>Innovations Case Narrative</i>: Manizales-Mas and Scale Up Milwaukee)
This paper examines how regions can build scaleup ecosystems to drive economic growth. Using case studies from Manizales, Colombia and Milwaukee, USA, the authors analyze strategies for fostering entrepreneurship and scaling businesses as alternatives to traditional economic development approaches like direct investment attraction and cluster development. The work demonstrates practical methods for creating regional conditions that support growing ventures.
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Improving technology transfer through national systems of innovation: climate relevant innovation-system builders (CRIBs)
National systems of innovation can more effectively transfer climate technologies to developing countries than existing UNFCCC mechanisms. The authors propose establishing Climate Relevant Innovation-System Builders (CRIBs)—institutions that nurture climate-relevant innovation systems and build technological capabilities in developing nations. This approach, grounded in innovation studies and socio-technical transition literature, offers a transformative policy mechanism for climate-compatible technological change and development.
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Charting the Innovation Ecosystem
Innovation ecosystems represent a fundamental shift in how we understand innovation, moving beyond simpler network and cluster models. Unlike networks with predictable relationships, ecosystems are complex adaptive systems where the same inputs produce different outputs and behavior emerges unpredictably. Strong innovation ecosystems combine dynamic collaboration, trust, and co-creation of value around shared technologies, translating knowledge into increased value while resisting disruption.
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Diffusion of Innovations as a Theoretical Framework for Telecenters
This paper applies diffusion of innovations theory to understand how rural telecenters—information and communication centers in developing countries—spread and are adopted by local communities. The author examines three key aspects: how people perceive telecenter innovations, how communication drives their adoption, and what consequences result from using them. The framework provides researchers and practitioners with a theoretical foundation for studying telecenter diffusion in rural areas.
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The Triple Helix Model and the Future of Innovation: A Reflection on the Triple Helix Research Agenda
The Triple Helix model explains how academia, industry, and government interact to drive innovation and economic growth in knowledge-based economies. This paper reflects on the model's core concepts and boundary conditions, asking whether it applies universally or only under specific circumstances. The authors examine the model's usefulness for understanding innovation dynamics in changing societies and identify key concepts embedded within Triple Helix research.
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Evaluating the Determinants of EU Funds Absorption across Old and New Member States – the Role of Administrative Capacity and Political Governance
This study examines how administrative capacity and political governance affect EU structural and cohesion fund absorption across member states from 2007 to 2015. Government effectiveness and corruption control significantly boosted fund absorption, particularly in newer member states that faced lower absorption rates than older EU members. The financial crisis reduced absorption capacity. The authors recommend strengthening administrative systems and combating corruption in new member states and lagging regions to improve fund utilization.
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The virtues of variety in regional innovation systems and entrepreneurial ecosystems
Regional innovation systems and entrepreneurial ecosystems drive growth through diverse, interconnected approaches rather than linear models. The paper examines how cooperative policy frameworks in South Korea, Scandinavia, Germany, and France foster regional innovation better than market-driven approaches. Variety in ecosystem design generates sustainable economic growth and entrepreneurial success at the regional level, outperforming individualistic growth theories.
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R&D EFFICIENCY AND THE NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM: AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON USING THE DISTANCE FUNCTION APPROACH
This study measures research and development efficiency across 24 countries from 1998 to 2005 using advanced statistical methods. The analysis shows that R&D spending and workforce generate patents, publications, and licensing revenues at different rates across nations. Countries with stronger intellectual property protections, better business-to-business cooperation, stronger university-industry links, concentrated R&D facilities, and active government R&D involvement achieve significantly higher R&D efficiency.
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Knowledge Sourcing and Innovation in “Thick” and “Thin” Regional Innovation Systems—Comparing ICT Firms in Two Austrian Regions
ICT firms in Vienna's dense metropolitan innovation system rely heavily on local knowledge sources from universities and research organizations, while firms in Salzburg's smaller regional system depend more on distant knowledge links with diverse partners. The study shows that regional innovation system characteristics—density and institutional setting—fundamentally shape how companies source knowledge for innovation.
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National innovation systems and the achievement of sustainable development goals: Effect of knowledge-based dynamic capability
Knowledge-based dynamic capabilities in national innovation systems positively impact sustainable development goal achievement across 130 countries. The effect varies by economic development stage, with both direct and indirect pathways. A country's development level moderates the relationship between these capabilities and SDG outcomes, revealing that innovation capacity translates differently into sustainable progress depending on economic context.
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Beyond Education: The Role of Research Universities in Innovation Ecosystems
Research universities drive innovation ecosystems in Brazil's São Paulo state, generating patents, software, and knowledge-intensive startups. The study finds universities' effects are geographically localized to cities rather than broader regions. While human capital formation matters, research excellence at major institutions proves more influential. Policymakers face challenges: peripheral areas gain little from proximity to successful hubs, and building innovation ecosystems requires long-term investment in high-quality universities rather than short-term interventions.
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The influences of knowledge loss and knowledge retention mechanisms on the absorptive capacity and performance of a MIS department
Knowledge loss damages MIS department performance by reducing absorptive capacity. The study surveyed 191 Taiwanese IT personnel and found that information systems and human resource management practices effectively mitigate knowledge loss. Organizations must invest in knowledge management mechanisms to retain competitive advantages, especially given high employee turnover and rapid technological change.
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An international comparison of R&D efficiency of multiple innovative outputs: The role of the national innovation system
This paper compares R&D efficiency across nations using data envelopment analysis, measuring outputs in patents, royalties, and journal publications. Countries show similar efficiency in patents and royalties but differ significantly in publications. The study finds that R&D intensity, intellectual property protection, knowledge stock, and human capital all boost efficiency. Private sector R&D drives patent and royalty performance, while higher education R&D strengthens publication outcomes.
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Paradoxical tensions in open innovation networks
Open innovation networks in Finland exhibit paradoxical tensions that managers must actively navigate. The study found that these networks—involving companies, universities, and government agencies—face internal and external complexities beyond those seen in single-organization innovation efforts. Managers who employ diverse behavioral approaches to handle these tensions achieve greater innovation outcomes. The research reveals that paradox management deserves explicit attention in open innovation strategy.
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Knowledge Spillovers, Absorptive Capacities and the Impact of FDI on Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Transition Economies
Foreign direct investment boosts economic growth in transition economies primarily through knowledge spillovers rather than capital alone. The study finds that countries with higher government and business R&D spending capture greater growth benefits from FDI. The research demonstrates that FDI targeting manufacturing sectors and focused on knowledge and efficiency gains produces stronger economic outcomes than other investment types.
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The Driving Forces of Subsidiary Absorptive Capacity
This study examines how multinational corporations strengthen their subsidiaries' ability to absorb and implement marketing strategies. The research shows that subsidiaries operate within two competing environments—the MNC network and their local host country market. MNCs can enhance subsidiary competitiveness by creating organizational mechanisms that build absorptive capacity. Analysis of 213 subsidiaries reveals specific structures that enable effective strategy adoption in dynamic markets.
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Catching up in the global wine industry: innovation systems, cluster knowledge networks and firm-level capabilities in Italy and Chile
Wine producers in Italian and Chilean clusters learn technology differently based on their knowledge resources and network positions. Strong geographic proximity alone doesn't create effective knowledge networks. Knowledge transfer from research institutions to firms succeeds only when firms occupy gatekeeper and broker roles within their clusters. Policy should strengthen these internal network connections rather than assuming proximity automatically generates innovation.
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Role of Absorptive Capacity, Digital Capability, Agility, and Resilience in Supply Chain Innovation Performance
This study examines how absorptive capacity drives supply chain innovation performance in Saudi Arabian firms through digital capability, agility, and resilience. Using structural equation modeling on 116 companies, the researchers found that absorptive capacity significantly strengthens digital capability, agility, and resilience, which in turn improve innovation performance. The findings show that agility and resilience partially mediate the relationship between absorptive capacity and supply chain innovation outcomes.
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What are the most promising conduits for foreign knowledge inflows? innovation networks in the Chinese pharmaceutical industry
This study examines how Chinese pharmaceutical companies access foreign knowledge through innovation networks. The research finds that while multinational enterprises facilitate some knowledge transfer, research institutions like universities and research centers from advanced economies play a more critical role. Individual researchers from these institutions create networks that connect China to global knowledge sources more effectively than organizational MNE channels.
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Distance to Customers, Absorptive Capacity, and Innovation in High‐Tech Firms: The Dark Face of Geographical Proximity
This study of 158 high-tech firms in Italy finds that geographical proximity to customers does not drive innovation as commonly assumed. Instead, relational proximity to key customers works together with a firm's absorptive capacity to boost innovation. The research challenges the prevailing view that being physically close to customers automatically enhances innovative performance.
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An empirical investigation of the National Innovation System (NIS) using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the TOBIT model
This paper measures national innovation system efficiency across 20 emerging and developed countries using DEA Bootstrap analysis. The study identifies which countries perform as innovation leaders by converting inputs into outputs efficiently. For underperforming countries, the research identifies three key factors that could improve innovation efficiency: secondary school enrollment, working-age labor force participation, and business sector credit expansion.
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Imports and TFP at the firm level: the role of absorptive capacity
This paper examines how importing intermediate goods and capital equipment affects firm productivity in Spain between 1991 and 2002. The researchers find that importing boosts total factor productivity, but only for firms with sufficient absorptive capacity—measured by their proportion of skilled workers. Firms lacking skilled labor see minimal productivity gains from imports.
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Regional Innovation Systems and Knowledge-Sourcing Activities in Traditional Industries—Evidence from the Vienna Food Sector
This study examines how food companies in Vienna source knowledge for innovation, combining formal scientific learning with practical experience-based learning. The research finds that innovative food firms selectively integrate into the regional innovation system, drawing on both local scientific knowledge and knowledge networks outside the region. The spatial pattern of knowledge links reflects the relative importance of these two learning modes in traditional industries.
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Intermediaries in Regional Innovation Systems: High-Technology Enterprise Survey from Northern Finland
Intermediaries in Finland's northern innovation system provide critical support to high-technology firms, with funding services emerging as their most valuable function. A survey of 168 companies shows that TEKES, the national technology funding agency, ranks as the most important public organization for private sector product development. Growth-focused companies investing heavily in R&D and product innovation benefit most from intermediary support.
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State Building through Reputation Building: Coalitions of Esteem and Program Innovation in the National Postal System, 1883–1913
The Post Office Department shaped American state development from 1883 to 1913 by building institutional reputation through coalitions of support. As the largest employer in peacetime America, the POD extended federal reach across the nation, enabling newspaper distribution and political communication. The department drove administrative reform by addressing patronage, corruption, and monopolies while expanding services including banking, roads, air transport, and telegraph management.
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The Triple Helix model for innovation: a holistic exploration of barriers and enablers
The Triple Helix model brings together academia, industry, and government to drive innovation and economic development. This paper identifies the key barriers and enablers that affect whether this collaborative approach actually works in practice. The authors examine what factors help or hinder the model's implementation across different economies, emphasizing that successful collaboration requires all three actors to work toward shared long-term goals.
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Understanding absorptive capacity in Malaysian small and medium sized (SME) construction companies
Malaysian construction SMEs in rural areas struggle to absorb and implement new knowledge and technology. This study identifies nine key factors influencing their absorptive capacity: cost, supply availability, demand, infrastructure, policies, labour readiness, workforce motivation, communication channels, and organizational culture. The findings apply broadly to SMEs in other developing countries facing similar innovation barriers.
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Network centrality and innovation performance: the role of formal and informal institutions in emerging economies
Network centrality affects innovation performance differently depending on institutional context. In Chinese entrepreneurial firms, strong market institutions boost the positive effect of network centrality on innovation, while strong social cohesion weakens it. The combination matters most: firms gain maximum innovation benefits from central networks when markets are competitive and social ties are loose.
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Knowledge exchanges in innovation networks: evidences from an Italian aerospace cluster
This study examines how firms, universities, and research centers in an Italian aerospace cluster exchange different types of knowledge to drive innovation. The researchers found that technological knowledge flows openly among all cluster actors, while market and managerial knowledge exchanges are more selective. Different organizations play distinct roles in these knowledge networks, suggesting that innovation emerges from combining multiple knowledge types through heterogeneous collaborations.
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Smart Development of Innovation Ecosystem
This paper applies complexity theory to innovation ecosystem development, treating ecosystems as complex adaptive systems. The authors argue that smart ecosystem development requires combining top-down and bottom-up management approaches, using mechanisms like pattern formation, sense-making, simple rule-setting, attractor modification, and niche mobilization to maintain productive disequilibrium.
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The<scp>S</scp>wedish system of innovation: Regional synergies in a knowledge‐based economy
Sweden's innovation system is highly centralized, with three metropolitan regions—Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö/Lund—generating nearly half of all regional synergy. Using firm-level data and a triple helix framework, the authors measure how geographical, technological, and organizational dimensions interact to create knowledge synergies. The analysis reveals Sweden operates as a hierarchically organized system rather than a distributed regional network.
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Firm R&D, Absorptive Capacity and Learning by Exporting: Firm‐level Evidence from China
Chinese manufacturing firms that invested in R&D before exporting gained significant and sustained productivity improvements from exporting, while firms without prior R&D saw minimal gains. The productivity boost from exporting grew stronger with more years of pre-export R&D investment. This demonstrates that absorptive capacity built through R&D enables firms to learn effectively from international trade.
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Absorptive capacity from foreign direct investment in Spanish manufacturing firms
This paper examines what determines a firm's ability to absorb knowledge from foreign direct investment in Spanish manufacturing. The researchers find that firm behavior, capabilities, and structure—including R&D activities, innovation organization, external partnerships, human capital quality, management type, and business complexity—all drive absorptive capacity. The study shows how different approaches to innovation activities mediate this capability.
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Absorptive Capacity and Social Capital in Regional Innovation Systems: The Case of the Lahti Region in Finland
This study examines how absorptive capacity and social capital function in regional innovation systems, using the Lahti region in Finland as a case study. The research identifies three forms of social capital—organisational bonding, regional bridging, and personal creative—and categorizes actors into three interaction behavior groups: Missionaries, House Mice, and Passive Resistance. The findings show that social relationships and human interaction significantly influence how actors navigate structural gaps in innovation systems.
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Utilization of social science knowledge in science policy: Systems of Innovation, Triple Helix and VINNOVA
This paper examines how Swedish innovation policy agency VINNOVA uses academic theories—Systems of Innovation and Triple Helix—in its policy statements. The analysis shows these academic narratives actively shape policy discourse beyond merely legitimating decisions. Despite criticism of linear knowledge transfer models, understanding how academic knowledge actually influences policy remains valuable for analyzing the science-policy relationship.
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Research on the Regional Differences and Influencing Factors of the Innovation Efficiency of China’s High-Tech Industries: Based on a Shared Inputs Two-Stage Network DEA
This study measures innovation efficiency across China's high-tech industries in 29 provinces from 1999 to 2018 using a two-stage network DEA model. Eastern coastal provinces show significantly higher innovation efficiency than central and western regions. Government support, R&D investment intensity, industry clustering, economic openness, and modern service sector development all influence innovation efficiency levels.
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The impact of internationalization on innovation at countries’ level: the role of absorptive capacity
This study examines how internationalization affects innovation across 40 countries, measuring innovation through patent applications. Outward foreign direct investment boosts patenting, with stronger effects in countries possessing high absorptive capacity, though returns diminish. Inward FDI harms innovation in low-capacity countries by displacing local activities. Countries with weak absorptive capacity benefit from both imports and exports for innovation performance.
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Innovation in the Green Economy: An Extension of the Regional Innovation System Model?
Green innovation in California varies significantly by sector and doesn't automatically drive growth. Environmentally pressured firms innovate processes most, while new green companies target local markets. Traditional firms benefit from innovation, but emerging green firms need local network support and additional resources to commercialize new products and reach markets.
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The Role of Universities in the Regional Innovation Systems of the North East of England and Scania, Sweden: Providing Missing Links?
Universities play different roles in regional innovation systems depending on local economic conditions. This study compares the North East of England and Scania, Sweden, showing that universities contribute to regional development through varied institutional arrangements rather than a single entrepreneurial model. The specific constellation of university involvement depends on the particular innovation challenges each region faces.
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THE TRIPLE HELIX MODEL AND THE STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE-BASED INNOVATION SYSTEMS
The paper examines how universities, industries, and governments interact to shape knowledge-based innovation systems. It argues that understanding these systems requires analyzing how each sector makes strategic decisions—industries deciding on R&D investment, universities competing in regional and global markets, and governments balancing industrial and science-technology policies. The author proposes combining evolutionary economics with sociological reflexivity to better understand how these overlapping communications reshape innovation systems.
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Japan's national innovation system: current status and problems
Japan's national innovation system drove competitiveness in the 1980s but weakened during the 1990s. The paper examines how an aging population threatens future economic growth and argues that productivity gains through technological progress are essential. It analyzes industry, universities, and government sectors within Japan's innovation system and proposes reforms to restore competitiveness.
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Last Mile Innovation: The Case of the Locker Alliance Network
Singapore's government proposed a Locker Alliance network of public lockers in residential areas to improve parcel delivery efficiency. Using data analytics and facility location modeling, researchers found that optimal locker placement should not focus solely on high-volume delivery areas, but instead serve residential neighborhoods. A 250-meter coverage distance emerged as appropriate for Singapore's network, enabling better utilization despite lacking complete customer transit data.
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Research on the influence of network embeddedness on innovation performance: Evidence from China's listed firms
Network embeddedness significantly influences innovation performance in Chinese listed firms. Structural embeddedness has a positive effect on innovation, while relational embeddedness shows an inverted U-shaped relationship. Technological diversification mediates these effects. State-owned enterprises depend less on network resources than private firms but benefit more from structural embeddedness.
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Achieving superior performance in international markets: the roles of organizational agility and absorptive capacity
Korean export companies with high organizational agility achieve superior performance in global markets during Industry 4.0 transformation. The study of 228 exporters shows that realized absorptive capacity—a firm's ability to apply acquired knowledge—strengthens this relationship, while potential absorptive capacity has no significant moderating effect. Agility and knowledge application together drive international competitiveness.
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Regional Innovation Cluster for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME): A Triple Helix Concept
Regional innovation clusters strengthen small and medium enterprises by fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and government—a triple helix approach. These clusters form part of broader regional innovation systems that support national economic growth. Government programs promoting cluster development enhance SME competitiveness and contribute significantly to the economy.
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Innovation ecosystems and national talent competitiveness: A country-based comparison using fsQCA
This study examines how innovation ecosystems drive national talent competitiveness across 33 countries. The research identifies e-government efficiency as a necessary condition for high talent competitiveness and reveals three distinct ecosystem types that generate competitive talent pools: business investment-driven, e-government-led, and R&D-driven models. The findings show asymmetric relationships between ecosystems producing high versus low talent competitiveness.
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Neo-Triple Helix Model of Innovation Ecosystems: Integrating Triple, Quadruple and Quintuple Helix Models
This paper proposes an integrated neo-Triple Helix model that combines Triple, Quadruple, and Quintuple Helix frameworks to explain innovation ecosystems. The model operates at two levels: university-industry-government interactions at the innovation dynamics level, and the relationship between innovation dynamics, social structures, and the natural environment at the system level. The framework uses neo-institutional and neo-evolutionary perspectives to explain how these elements interact and evolve together.
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Innovation Ecosystem Research: Emerging Trends and Future Research
This systematic review of 136 innovation ecosystem studies identifies five major research streams: technology innovation, platform innovation ecosystems, regional development, conceptualization and theory, and entrepreneurship. The authors map the intellectual structure of innovation ecosystem research, revealing fragmented knowledge across these areas. They provide targeted recommendations for future research directions to advance the field beyond its current conceptual gaps.
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Efficiency of National Innovation Systems – Poland and Bulgaria in The Context of the Global Innovation Index
This paper examines how national innovation systems convert innovation inputs into outputs across countries. Using the Global Innovation Index data from 228 countries, the authors find that Poland and Bulgaria fail to follow the expected pattern where higher innovation investment produces higher innovation output. Through detailed comparison of these two cases, the paper investigates why their national innovation systems underperform relative to their resource investments.
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Innovation systems for technology diffusion: An analytical framework and two case studies
This paper develops a diffusion innovation system framework that analyzes technology adoption by examining institutions, infrastructure, and supply-side dynamics together. Applied to Swedish renewable energy cases—solar photovoltaics and wind power—the framework shows how these factors co-develop over time through feedback loops that either support or hinder diffusion. The approach identifies specific barriers that policy and business strategy could address.
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Superstar Cities and Left-Behind Places: Disruptive Innovation, Labor Demand, and Interregional Inequality
The paper explains why economic inequality between U.S. regions increased after 1980, reversing decades of convergence. The authors argue that disruptive technologies concentrate demand for skilled workers in certain places initially, then eventually spread that demand elsewhere. Labor supply follows these shifts, creating cycles of regional concentration and dispersal. This theory accounts for observed patterns of rising and falling interregional inequality over time.
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Organizing the Innovation Process: Complementarities in Innovation Networking
This paper examines how manufacturing plants in the UK and Germany use external networks across different stages of innovation. German firms show stronger complementarities between external networking activities, while UK firms tend to substitute external networks across stages. The findings reveal that optimal innovation strategies differ between countries and that the relationship between internal and external knowledge sources is more complex than previously understood.
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The Anchor Tenant Hypothesis: Exploring the Role of Large, Local, R&D-Intensive Firms in Regional Innovation Systems
Large, R&D-intensive firms acting as anchor tenants strengthen regional innovation systems by improving how local universities' research translates into commercial innovation. The authors examined three technology areas and found that regions with such anchor firms convert academic research into local industrial R&D more effectively than regions without them, despite similar university research presence across regions.
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The evolution of knowledge-intensive innovation ecosystems: co-evolving entrepreneurial activity and innovation policy in the West Swedish maritime system
This paper examines how innovation ecosystems emerge by studying Sweden's West Swedish maritime cluster. The authors argue that sustainable innovation requires both top-down policy exploration by government and bottom-up entrepreneurial activity. They find that knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship combined with experimental policymaking and new collaborative approaches drive progress toward innovation-led sustainable development.
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Synergy in Knowledge-Based Innovation Systems at National and Regional Levels: The Triple-Helix Model and the Fourth Industrial Revolution
The paper argues that knowledge-based innovation systems operate through dynamic expectations that can be tested and refined. The Triple-Helix model provides a framework to measure synergy between institutions and assess how well innovation systems generate options and reduce uncertainty. The Fourth Industrial Revolution represents a shift toward model-based innovation, and the author demonstrates how to empirically evaluate whether technological revolutions are occurring using information-theoretic measures of redundancy.
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Managing Innovation Paradox in the Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem: A Case Study of Ambidextrous Capability in a Focal Firm
A Chinese aerospace company balances competing innovation demands—profit versus breakthrough discoveries, tight versus loose organizational structures, and discipline versus passion-driven work—by developing ambidextrous capabilities across internal departments and external partners. The firm manages these tensions through dual innovation units, strengthened internal-external ties, and shared value creation, demonstrating how focal firms navigate paradoxes within sustainable innovation ecosystems.
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Intervening role of realized absorptive capacity in organizational culture–open innovation relationship
This study examines how organizational culture types influence open innovation adoption in UAE companies. Integrative cultures positively support open innovation, while hierarchical cultures inhibit it. The research shows that realized absorptive capacity—an organization's ability to use acquired knowledge—mediates these relationships. The findings help managers understand which cultural conditions enable successful open innovation initiatives.
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Do Regions Make a Difference? Regional Innovation Systems and Global Innovation Networks in the ICT Industry
Regional innovation systems shape how firms access global innovation networks in the ICT industry. The study compares European, Chinese, and Indian regions using firm surveys and case studies. Regions with weaker organizational and institutional thickness actually participate more in global networks, suggesting global connections compensate for local innovation system deficiencies.
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Ranking National Innovation Systems According to their technical Efficiency
This study measures and compares the technical efficiency of national innovation systems across EU27 member states plus Croatia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey. Using data from the 2011 Innovation Union Scoreboard database and data envelopment analysis, the researchers ranked countries by innovation system performance. The analysis reveals how efficiently different nations convert innovation inputs into outputs.
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The role of a firm's absorptive capacity and the technology transfer process in clusters: How effective are technology centres in low-tech clusters?
Small and medium-sized firms in low-tech manufacturing clusters access technology centres and research institutes based on their absorptive capacity—their internal resources and ability to learn. The study of 80 firms found that knowledge-intensive sectors use research infrastructure more effectively, while less knowledge-intensive sectors rely instead on supplier relationships. Technology centres alone cannot drive innovation; firms must actively seek out and engage with available knowledge sources.
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Knowledge Acquisition, Absorptive Capacity, And Innovation Capability: An Empirical Study Of Taiwan'S Knowledge-Intensive Industries
This study examines how knowledge acquisition and absorptive capacity drive innovation in Taiwan's finance and manufacturing sectors. Using survey data from 362 companies, the researchers found that absorptive capacity acts as a mediator between knowledge acquisition and innovation capability. Knowledge acquisition directly strengthens absorptive capacity, which then enables firms to innovate more effectively.
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Knowlege networks for innovation in small Scottish software firms
Small Scottish software companies rely on regional knowledge networks and clusters of complementary expertise to innovate and grow. The study reveals how learning through sociotechnical networks drives firm development, and shows that Scotland's infrastructure supports indigenous software ventures despite competition from foreign multinationals. Policy efforts to create a 'silicon glen' effect must account for these localized knowledge dynamics.
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From the Dark Side of Industry 4.0 to Society 5.0: Looking “Beyond the Box” to Developing Human-Centric Innovation Ecosystems
The paper argues that Industry 4.0's purely technology-focused approach has created problems, and proposes moving toward Society 5.0, which balances technology with human needs, sustainability, and resilience. Using the Quintuple Helix Model, the authors provide a framework showing how government, universities, industry, civil society, and the environment can work together to build innovation ecosystems that serve both business and society while addressing pandemic and climate challenges.
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Exploring regional innovation ecosystems: an empirical study in China
This study examines regional innovation ecosystems in China through three case studies, developing a 4C framework covering construct, cooperation, configuration, and capability. The research shows that organizations coevolve within ecosystems, and that complementarity-based collaboration within and between regional ecosystems—supported by government—strengthens national innovation capacity. The framework helps redistribute roles, coordinate resources, and identify partnership opportunities.
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Applying open innovation strategies in the context of a regional innovation ecosystem: The case of Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Belgium actively shaped a regional innovation ecosystem around its R&D center by opening firm boundaries, sharing infrastructure, mobilizing funding, and influencing policy to attract external talent and expertise. The company moved beyond traditional open innovation to strategically embed itself in a regional environment, creating a world-class research hub. This approach integrates open innovation, innovation ecosystems, and regional economics theories.
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Network Centrality and Open Innovation: A Social Network Analysis of an SME Manufacturing Cluster
Small and medium-sized manufacturers in an Irish cluster benefit from their position within innovation networks. Firms occupying central network positions—connected to more cluster members—show greater innovation activity in product development. Firm size, absorptive capacity, and managerial orientation determine a firm's network position. Despite knowledge-sharing concerns, networking activity correlates positively with innovation performance in low-technology manufacturing.
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Supply chain agility: a mediator for absorptive capacity
This study examines how supply chain agility mediates the relationship between absorptive capacity and firm performance. Using data from 231 Spanish firms, the authors find that supply chain agility does indeed mediate this relationship. Firms with more agile supply chains benefit more from their investments in absorptive capacity when improving overall performance.
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The contrasting effects of active and passive cooperation on innovation and productivity: Evidence from British local innovation networks
This study examines how different types of cooperation affect innovation and productivity in British firms. Active cooperation with suppliers and customers boosts innovation and productivity, while active cooperation among competitors actually reduces innovation rates. Passive knowledge spillovers from competitors' activities benefit firms. The findings suggest innovation policies should encourage cooperation within supply chains while discouraging direct competitor collaboration to maximize system-wide productivity gains.
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Sustainable Innovation: A Competitive Advantage for Innovation Ecosystems
National and regional innovation systems face pressure to adapt as economies shift from manufacturing to services and socio-technical changes reshape innovation landscapes. The paper argues that sustainable innovation provides a competitive advantage for innovation ecosystems, helping countries, regions, and cities navigate structural economic changes and meet demands of the global competitive environment.
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Networks and innovation in European construction: benefits from inter-organisational cooperation in a fragmented industry
Construction industries across five European countries show varying performance levels. The research reveals that stronger inter-organisational networks—particularly between contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, government, universities, architects, clients, and international partners—correlate with better industry performance. Cooperation networks drive innovation in this fragmented sector.
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Agglomeration, absorptive capacity and knowledge governance: implications for public–private firm innovation in China
Private enterprises in China innovate more efficiently than state-owned enterprises, even when both possess similar absorptive capacity. Local spillovers from related industries boost innovation, particularly for firms with strong learning abilities. The research shows that absorptive capacity alone doesn't guarantee successful knowledge integration; private firms' superior governance procedures enable them to leverage external knowledge more effectively than state-owned counterparts.
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Exploration, Exploitation and Co-evolution in Innovation Networks
This study examines how sectoral innovation systems co-evolve by analyzing the relationships between institutional environments, firm networks, and learning regimes. Using multimedia and pharmaceutical biotechnology sectors in the Netherlands as case studies from the late 1980s to early 2000s, the research identifies a general co-evolutionary pattern while showing that how this pattern manifests in network structures and coordination mechanisms depends on each sector's specific institutional setup.
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The role of absorptive capacity and big data analytics in strategic purchasing and supply chain management decisions
Big data analytics adoption in purchasing and supply chain management remains slow despite widespread use elsewhere. A survey of 222 supply chain managers found that a company's absorptive capacity—its ability to explore, assimilate, and transform information—determines whether big data analytics improves strategic decision-making. Only well-resourced companies fully benefit; applying analytics to routine operational tasks yields limited gains.
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Strategic renewal of SMEs: the impact of social capital, strategic agility and absorptive capacity
Social capital drives strategic renewal in Pakistani manufacturing SMEs through strategic agility, with absorptive capacity amplifying this effect. The study surveyed 519 leaders across 123 firms in agricultural machinery, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, electrical equipment, IT, and garments. Results show social capital directly improves strategic renewal, strategic agility mediates this relationship, and absorptive capacity strengthens the overall pathway.
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The global connectivity of regional innovation systems in Italy: a core–periphery perspective
This study examines how Italian regional innovation systems connect to global knowledge sources. The research finds that foreign companies and entities drive Italy's access to global innovation networks, while Italian firms show weak outward connections. Foreign investment and presence in Italian regions, rather than Italian firms reaching outward, explains the country's growing integration into global innovation systems.
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Enriching innovation ecosystems: The role of government in a university science park
This case study of a Chinese science park shows how local government acts as an 'ecosystem enricher' by fostering connections between universities, industry, and other innovation stakeholders. The government's top-down approach successfully drove university-industry partnerships, but the researchers identify gaps in priority-setting, collaboration frameworks, and intermediary support. They argue that innovation ecosystems need hybrid governance combining top-down direction with bottom-up policies.
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Makers and clusters. Knowledge leaks in open innovation networks
This study examines how knowledge flows through open innovation networks involving makers in an Italian high-tech cluster. Using social network analysis, the researchers found that unintended knowledge leaks occur within these maker ecosystems. The findings reveal previously unstudied patterns of knowledge exchange in innovation networks, with implications for understanding how information spreads beyond formal channels in collaborative innovation environments.
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Innovation networks in the advanced medical equipment industry: supporting regional digital health systems from a local–national perspective
This study maps innovation networks in China's advanced medical equipment industry using patent data from 2005–2024. The national network shows sparse, core-periphery structure dominated by Beijing and Shanghai, with weak participation from central and western regions. The Yangtze River Delta region, by contrast, has built a denser polycentric network with Shanghai, Nanjing, and Suzhou as hubs. Economic development, technological capability, and government policy drive network formation, with infrastructure as a key enabler.
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Knowledge innovation network externalities in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area: borrowing size or agglomeration shadow?
The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area shows unequal knowledge innovation networks where Guangzhou and Hong Kong dominate, with Shenzhen emerging as a secondary hub after 2012. Smaller cities remain peripheral and fail to benefit from core city innovation, trapped instead in their shadow. Institutional and cultural differences between cities block cooperation more than distance does. The study reveals negative network externalities, recommending the region reduce spatial disparities and restructure its innovation network.
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Absorptive capacity and business performance
A study of 278 Chinese manufacturing firms shows that absorptive capacity—a firm's ability to acquire and use new knowledge—improves business performance through three pathways: directly, and indirectly through innovation and mass customization capabilities. Mass customization proved a stronger mediator than innovation alone, suggesting firms should prioritize both knowledge absorption and the ability to customize production at scale.
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The diffusion of grassroots innovations for sustainability in Italy and <scp>G</scp>reat <scp>B</scp>ritain: an exploratory spatial data analysis
Grassroots sustainability networks spread unevenly across space and time. Transition Towns and Solidarity Purchasing Groups diffused differently in Great Britain and Italy, with similar patterns only in central Italy. The research reveals that spatial structure matters for grassroots innovation diffusion, challenging assumptions about their universal momentum and highlighting the importance of institutional context, cross-movement collaboration, and geographic proximity.
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What contextual factors shape ‘innovation in innovation’? Integration of insights from the Triple Helix and the institutional logics perspective
The Triple Helix model of university-industry-government collaboration shapes innovation systems globally, but one-size-fits-all approaches fail. This paper integrates institutional logics with Triple Helix theory to explain how different national contexts produce varying innovation system configurations. The author identifies seven institutional logics that influence Triple Helix interactions and argues that institutional settings enable but don't determine outcomes—innovation policies and key actors ultimately decide Triple Helix development. The framework helps policymakers, especially in developing countries, design context-appropriate innovation strategies.
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The role of supply chain resilience and absorptive capacity in the relationship between marketing–supply chain management alignment and firm performance: a moderated-mediation analysis
This study examines how aligning marketing and supply chain management processes improves firm performance in Saudi Arabian consumer goods companies. The research finds that this alignment strengthens supply chain resilience, which then boosts performance. Absorptive capacity—a firm's ability to learn and apply new knowledge—can substitute for resilience when it's weak. The findings suggest companies should invest in absorptive capacity alongside supply chain alignment to handle future uncertainties.
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The role of regional innovation systems in mission-oriented innovation policy: exploring the problem-solution space in electrification of maritime transport
This paper examines how regional innovation systems contribute to mission-oriented innovation policy by studying ferry electrification in Western Norway. The research finds that transformative change succeeded because it created new regional economic opportunities while leveraging existing regional resources, actors, and institutions. The mission benefited from low technological uncertainty, multi-level coordination among actors, and strategic modification of established regional structures and regulations.
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The Impact of Local Government Policy on Innovation Ecosystem in Knowledge Resource Scarce Region: Case Study of Changzhou, China
This case study of Changzhou, China examines how local government policies shaped innovation ecosystem development from 2001 to 2015 in a region with limited universities and research institutes. The authors map policy changes across ecosystem formation stages and identify key interactions between government, universities, industry, and research institutions. They propose a framework highlighting critical policy areas for innovation promotion in knowledge-scarce regions.
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Toward A Theory on the Reproduction of Social Innovations in Subsistence Marketplaces
Social innovations often fail to spread in subsistence contexts despite their potential to address poverty. This paper develops a theory explaining how social innovations get reproduced in sub-Saharan Africa by examining what innovation attributes and actor capacities enable duplication. The authors identify three reproduction archetypes—mimetic, facilitated, and complex—based on the resource and knowledge requirements of innovations versus the capabilities of subsistence users and intermediaries. The framework reveals when users can independently reproduce innovations, when they need external support, and when innovations exceed local capacity.
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Regional Innovation Systems: The Case of Angling Tourism
The Sea Trout Funen initiative in Denmark demonstrates how regional innovation systems work in tourism. Starting in 1989, collaboration between government, anglers, businesses, and educational institutions produced innovations in tourist products, environmental protection, and workforce development. The case shows that innovation systems theory applies to tourism and that stable multi-sector partnerships generate tangible benefits and adapt successfully to external changes.
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Diffusion of Regional Innovation Capabilities: Evidence from Italian Patent Data
Innovation capabilities spread faster in late-industrializing Italian regions than in early-industrializing ones, driven by learning dynamics within expanding propulsive sectors. The study uses patent data to track how manufacturing innovation diffuses regionally, showing that research and development investment and complementary economic structural changes accelerate this diffusion process.
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How research policy changes can affect the organization and productivity of public research institutes: An analysis within the italian national system of innovation
Italy reorganized public research institutes through mergers and consolidation between 1999 and 2003 to boost efficiency and knowledge transfer. The policy backfired: larger merged institutes became less productive due to bureaucratic overhead, while smaller institutes remained more productive. The study shows that consolidation created scale diseconomies rather than the intended efficiency gains.
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Regions, Absorptive Capacity and Strategic Coupling with High-Tech TNCs
Developing countries can build successful high-tech regions by adopting a regional innovation systems approach that enables strategic partnerships with multinational corporations. The authors argue that regional innovation systems theory effectively links regions to high-tech industries and provide policy guidance. Case studies from Bangalore's IT sector in India and Shanghai's high-tech sector in China demonstrate how this framework helps developing regions attract and integrate with global technology companies.
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Fixing Technology with Society: The Coproduction of Democratic Deficits and Responsible Innovation at the OECD and the European Commission
This paper examines how the OECD and European Commission have promoted 'Responsible Innovation' frameworks globally. The authors argue these institutions use a 'democratic deficit' narrative—claiming insufficient public participation in innovation governance—to justify their authority over innovation policy. This approach frames societal engagement as essential to technological adoption while reinforcing market-liberal governance structures.
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Mapping Europe’s institutional landscape for forest ecosystem service provision, innovations and governance
This paper analyzes European forest policies across national strategies on forests, biodiversity, and bioeconomy to map how institutions govern ecosystem service provision. The researchers found that policies focus heavily on wood and bioenergy value chains, while neglecting non-wood products, cultural heritage, and recreation. Regulating ecosystem services lack sufficient policy attention and innovation support, despite forests' prominence in sustainability agendas. The institutional landscape shows significant gaps where new governance mechanisms and innovations could better promote ecosystem service provision.
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Open social innovation dynamics and impact: exploratory study of a fab lab network
Open social innovation through fab labs and makerspaces in Eastern Europe enables rapid local adaptation and social impact. A study of 170 fab labs in the CMIT network found that despite identical initial funding and rules, an open approach produced three distinct types—Education, Industry, and Residential—each tailored to local needs. This decentralized strategy delivered measurable social impact within years, outperforming top-down approaches. The research identifies key challenges social entrepreneurs face and proposes sustainability strategies.
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Organizational learning, absorptive capacity, imitation and innovation
This study examines how Chinese firms transition from imitation to innovation by analyzing relationships among organizational learning, absorptive capacity, imitation, and innovation. Using survey data from 115 Beijing firms, the research finds that organizational learning and absorptive capacity both directly boost innovation. Imitation strengthens absorptive capacity, which then mediates the path from imitation to innovation. Absorptive capacity emerges as critical for firms moving beyond copying to genuine innovation.
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Measuring triple‐helix synergy in the <scp>R</scp>ussian innovation systems at regional, provincial, and national levels
This paper measures innovation system synergy across Russian regions by analyzing half a million firms' data on size, technological knowledge, and location. Knowledge concentrates heavily in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. High-tech manufacturing disrupts regional coordination rather than enhancing it. Knowledge-intensive services, often state-affiliated, strengthen synergy in most federal districts and administrative centers, but Russia's economy remains largely non-knowledge-based outside Moscow.
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The democratizing effects of frugal innovation
Frugal innovation in livelihood, education, infrastructure, and distribution networks strengthens democratization and state-building in countries with large base-of-pyramid populations. The paper argues that creating inclusive markets through low-cost innovations drives socio-economic development, which reinforces democratic institutions and government capacity. Multinational corporations can advance democratization by profitably serving poor populations.
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Social capital, internationalization and absorptive capacity: The electronics and ICT cluster of the Basque Country
Social capital and internationalization strengthen how electronics and ICT clusters absorb and use external knowledge. The Basque Country's successful high-tech cluster demonstrates that social capital builds internal knowledge connections between firms, while internationalization creates external knowledge linkages. Together, these factors increase a cluster's absorptive capacity and sustain long-term growth in mature industrial regions.
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Networks, Propinquity, and Innovation in Knowledge-intensive Industries
Geographic proximity and network position jointly influence innovation in biotechnology firms. The study analyzed U.S. life science patents from 1988–1999 and found that regional clustering and network centrality have complementary but interdependent effects on patenting. Firms benefit from local connections to other biotech companies and universities, but this advantage depends on their global network ties. Regional agglomeration shapes how information flows through networks and determines the innovation impact of network centrality.
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From regional innovation systems to local innovation systems: Evidence from Italian industrial districts
Italian industrial districts function as independent local innovation systems rather than simply components of larger regional systems. The paper argues that districts' specific socio-economic characteristics create distinct innovation patterns that regional frameworks cannot fully explain. In Lombardy, multiple autonomous local innovation systems operate within the broader regional structure, demonstrating that innovation processes operate at multiple nested levels.
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Innovation, Networks and Plant Location: Some Evidence for Ireland
Networks significantly influence whether plants innovate and the success of their innovations across Irish regions. The study examined four area types—urban, urban-periphery, rural, and second centres—and found no evidence supporting the urban hierarchy model of innovation. This suggests Ireland's regional dispersal policies had minimal impact on innovation outcomes, though network-based development strategies show promise.
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Building Networks to Harness Innovation Synergies: Towards an Open Systems Approach to Sustainable Development
Open innovation networks enable individuals, firms, and organizations to share knowledge across boundaries and drive sustainable development. The paper proposes an open systems model with institutional support that accelerates knowledge flows, expands participation among diverse socioeconomic agents, and promotes environmental greening and social equity. Examples show how farms, businesses, and organizations can connect with critical knowledge nodes to participate actively in innovation networks.
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How Institutions Influence SME Innovation and Networking Practices: The Case of Vietnamese Agribusiness
Vietnamese agribusiness SMEs operate within institutional constraints that discourage long-term investment and innovation. Instead of developing new products, firms pursue cost-control strategies. Social norms drive reliance on friendship-based networks that limit knowledge sharing and business effectiveness. Institutional pressures prevent SMEs from balancing exploration and exploitation. The study demonstrates how institutional frameworks in emerging economies shape innovation behavior.
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The Effects of Absorptive Capacity and Decision Speed on Organizational Innovation: A Study of Organizational Structure as an Antecedent Variable
Organizational structure directly shapes innovation outcomes. Formalization increases absorptive capacity and drives innovation, but slows decision-making. Centralization reduces absorptive capacity and innovation without affecting decision speed. The study analyzed 260 enterprises using structural equation modeling to reveal how formalization and centralization influence innovation through distinct pathways of organizational capacity and decision velocity.
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From technology transfer to the emergence of a triple helix culture: the experience of Algeria in innovation and technological capability development
Algeria's post-independence industrialization relied heavily on technology transfer and central planning, but this approach failed to build genuine innovation capacity. The paper argues that developing countries must shift toward a triple helix model where universities, industry, government, and non-governmental organizations collaborate to foster innovation culture. Bureaucratic fragmentation and institutional barriers have blocked technological capability development. Policy reforms must prioritize building national innovation systems and enabling triple helix partnerships over passive technology transfer.
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Driving business performance through intellectual capital, absorptive capacity, and innovation: The mediating influence of environmental compliance and innovation
This study examines how intellectual capital drives business performance in Vietnamese companies through knowledge absorptive capacity and innovation. Surveying 206 managers across industries, the research finds that intellectual capital strengthens absorptive capacity, which boosts performance when paired with innovation. Environmental compliance and innovation partially mediate this relationship. Managers should prioritize absorptive capacity and innovation capabilities while maintaining environmental standards to leverage intellectual capital and improve business outcomes.
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Exploring the Research Regarding Frugal Innovation and Business Sustainability through Bibliometric Analysis
This bibliometric analysis examines 2,072 scientific documents on frugal innovation and business sustainability using Web of Science data and science mapping software. The research identifies growing international interest in how frugal innovation contributes to sustainable business practices and consumer behavior. The USA, Germany, England, the Netherlands, and India lead research activity, with European scholars most prominent. The analysis maps the field's intellectual structure, highlights key journals and authors, and identifies emerging research directions.
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Systematic literature review paper: the regional innovation system-university-science park nexus
Universities play nine distinct dynamic roles within regional innovation systems and science parks, operating across three relationship types: resource sharing with the RIS, brokerage between RIS and science parks, and commercialization with science parks. These roles span knowledge co-creation, acting as conduits, and relationship building, encompassing activities from networking and research collaboration to startup creation and technology transfer. University engagement directly affects science park innovation performance.
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Innovating with Limited Resources: The Antecedents and Consequences of Frugal Innovation
Frugal innovation—developing affordable solutions with limited resources—drives performance improvements for firms in emerging markets. The study identifies two types: cost innovation and affordable value innovation. Firms facing institutional, technological, and market constraints generate more frugal innovations when they possess strong institutional leverage and bricolage capabilities. Dysfunctional competition also spurs frugal innovation. These findings show how resource-constrained emerging-market firms can compete effectively through resourceful product development.
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Social innovations in the German energy transition: an attempt to use the heuristics of the multi-level perspective of transitions to analyze the diffusion process of social innovations
This paper examines whether the multi-level perspective framework, commonly used to analyze technological transitions, can explain how social innovations spread in Germany's energy transition. The authors studied five social innovation projects in North Rhine-Westphalia and found that the framework works only for transformative social innovations that challenge existing systems, not for incremental improvements. The multi-level perspective proves useful for understanding diffusion barriers and drivers when social innovations compete with or reshape established regimes.
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On the geography of emerging industry technological networks: the breadth and depth of patented innovations
This study maps the global wind turbine industry's patent network to show how geographic locations contribute to technological innovation. The research reveals that locations cluster around core technologies like electricity and aerodynamics, with their patent activities determining their importance to the industry. The analysis demonstrates how existing knowledge at a location influences its position in the global network and how new entrants gain central roles in the industry's innovation ecosystem.
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Cross-border regional innovation systems: conceptual backgrounds, empirical evidence and policy implications
Cross-border regional innovation systems (CBRIS) have been developed as a theoretical framework for analyzing innovation across borders, but empirical research lags far behind. The authors identify a significant gap between conceptual advances and actual evidence, showing that policy recommendations rest on weak empirical foundations. They call for rigorous empirical validation of CBRIS theory and evaluation of how border-region policies based on this framework actually perform in practice.
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Regional conditions and innovation in Russia: the impact of foreign direct investment and absorptive capacity
This study examines how foreign direct investment and absorptive capacity drive regional innovation across Russia from 1997 to 2011, using patent applications and new technology development as measures. The research finds that FDI significantly boosts innovation in Russian regions. Regions with higher human capital benefit more from FDI spillovers, though human capital alone negatively affects innovation when absorptive capacity is included in the analysis.
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Institutional Conditions and Innovation Systems: On the Impact of Regional Policy on Firms in Different Sectors
Regional policies succeed or fail based on whether firms internalize and adopt them in their innovation practices. This study examines how institutions shape innovation activities across life science, media, and food sectors in Scania, Sweden. The research shows that effective regional policy doesn't just create external incentives—it must influence how organizations and individuals actually interact and organize their innovation work together.
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Competing pressures of risk and absorptive capacity potential on commitment and information sharing in global supply chains
Organizations participating in global supply chains face competing pressures when deciding whether to commit to and share information with partners. This study surveyed 207 organizations about their offshore outsourcing relationships and found that perceived business risk from supply chain partners strongly reduces commitment and information sharing, while partners' absorptive capacity strongly increases both. Commitment acts as a partial mediator between these factors and information sharing. Geographic and cultural location had no significant effect on these relationships.
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National culture, regulation and country interaction effects on the association of environmental management systems with environmentally beneficial innovation
Environmental management systems boost process innovations in firms, but this effect varies significantly by country. The study of nine European nations reveals that national culture and regulatory frameworks moderate whether firms implementing these systems actually develop environmental innovations. Management systems show no consistent link to product innovations across countries.
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Universities in the National Innovation Systems: Emerging Innovation Landscapes in Asia-Pacific
Universities across Asia-Pacific play increasingly central roles in national innovation systems, though their contributions vary significantly by country. While Southeast Asian universities and India focus primarily on teaching and workforce development, countries like Singapore, China, Taiwan, and Japan have transformed universities into entrepreneurial institutions through innovation policies, technology transfer offices, and science parks. Australia and New Zealand have successfully commercialized research alongside exporting higher education services regionally.
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Regional innovation systems: Systematic literature review and recommendations for future research
This systematic literature review examines academic research on Regional Innovation Systems from 1997 to 2017. The authors analyze how RIS is defined across top-ranked journals, identify its key components, and establish methods for measuring RIS performance. They reveal knowledge gaps in the field and propose directions for future research on how innovation operates within regional contexts.
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The Evolution of National Innovation Systems
This paper examines how national innovation systems develop and change over time. The authors analyze the institutional structures and evolutionary processes that shape how countries generate, adopt, and diffuse innovations across their economies. The work provides a framework for understanding why innovation systems differ between nations and how they adapt to new economic conditions.
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The impact of network orientation and entrepreneurial orientation on startup innovation and performance in emerging economies: The moderating role of strategic flexibility
In emerging economies, entrepreneurial orientation drives startup performance more than network orientation, particularly in early stages. Exploratory and exploitative innovation mediate these relationships differently: exploitative innovation matters most initially, while exploratory innovation becomes critical during growth. Strategic flexibility strengthens how entrepreneurial orientation and innovation types affect performance. The study surveyed 273 startups and reveals that startups benefit from balancing different innovation approaches as they mature.
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Digitalization and network capability as enablers of business model innovation and sustainability performance: The moderating effect of environmental dynamism
Chinese manufacturing firms can improve economic and environmental performance through digitalization and network capabilities, which work together to enable business model innovation. Environmental dynamism acts as both a barrier and enabler depending on the type of innovation pursued. The study surveyed 255 firms and found that network capability mediates digitalization's effects, while business model innovation mediates the path to sustainability outcomes.
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Innovation systems and local productive arrangements: New strategies to promote the generation, acquisition and diffusion of knowledge
The paper argues that less developed countries face mismatches between old analytical frameworks and the emerging knowledge economy. It proposes innovation systems and local productive arrangements as better conceptual tools for understanding how knowledge and innovation spread in development contexts. These frameworks emphasize learning, local tacit knowledge, agent interaction, and power dynamics. The paper recommends policies that mobilize local productive systems while coordinating across local, regional, national, and supranational levels.
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Cooperation, Networks and Institutions in Regional Innovation Systems
This book examines how cooperation, networks, and institutions shape regional innovation systems. Using examples of clusters at various development stages, the authors demonstrate that these factors are critical to how local innovation systems emerge and develop over time.
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The dynamic contribution of innovation ecosystems to schumpeterian firms: A multi-level analysis
This study examines how proximity to innovation ecosystem agents affects Schumpeterian firms' innovation performance. Using firm-level data from 2002–2014 covering 3,074 observations, the authors apply knowledge spillover theory to show that geographical closeness to ecosystem agents drives innovation outcomes. The research clarifies how firm size moderates these effects and identifies specific mechanisms through which knowledge spillovers enhance firm performance.
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Exploring Mission-Oriented Innovation Ecosystems for Sustainability: Towards a Literature-Based Typology
This paper develops a typology of mission-oriented innovation ecosystems designed to address sustainability challenges. By analyzing literature and using bibliometric methods, the author finds that ecosystems vary significantly depending on their mission type, with differences in which actors participate and their roles throughout innovation processes. The research emphasizes the state's critical role in driving system-level transformations, the necessity of civil society participation, and the need for research organizations to adapt to new requirements.
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Higher education institutions, private sector and government collaboration for innovation within the framework of the Triple Helix Model
This research examines collaboration between universities, industry, and government under the Triple Helix Model for innovation. The study identifies weaknesses in existing partnerships and proposes a new framework to strengthen these relationships. Key recommendations include clarifying government's role, improving research commercialization, and ensuring network actors possess adequate knowledge to adapt the model to changing needs.
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Circular Economy in the Triple Helix of Innovation Systems
This paper examines how industry, government, and universities conceptualize circular economy within innovation systems. Using natural language processing, the authors find that while each sector has distinct priorities—industry focuses on global business opportunities, government on waste-related policies and economic growth, and universities on production and environmental issues—they share limited consensus around materials, products, and creating resources from waste. This consensus space, the authors argue, can drive systemic innovation if strengthened across all three sectors.
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Modelling innovation support systems for regional development – analysis of cluster structures in innovation in Portugal
This paper analyzes innovation support systems across three Portuguese regions by mapping institutional innovation profiles and regional clustering patterns. Using principal coordinates analysis and Logistic Biplot methods, the authors created a typology of innovation structures showing that institutional profiles and regional innovation patterns are region-specific. The findings demonstrate significant differences in how regions organize their innovation support, offering practical tools for policymakers and businesses to understand and design regional innovation systems.
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Openness, Absorptive Capacity, and Regional Innovation in China
This study examines how openness to trade and foreign investment drives regional innovation across Chinese provinces from 1997 to 2007. The research finds that trade openness and foreign direct investment significantly boost innovation, while technology imports only help coastal regions. Human capital strengthens a region's ability to absorb external knowledge and benefit from spillover effects. Absorptive capacity emerges as crucial for translating openness into actual innovation gains.
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The role of universities in the evolution of the Triple Helix culture of innovation network: The case of Malaysia
Malaysian universities operate primarily within statist and laissez-faire variants of the Triple Helix model, with government as the dominant actor. Universities have attempted to strengthen relationships with industry and government, but face obstacles in commercialization and internal procedures needed to transition toward a hybrid Triple Helix culture that balances all three sectors.
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A Nexus among Strategic Orientation, Social Network, Knowledge Sharing, Organizational Innovation, and MSMEs Performance
This study examines how resource orientation, market orientation, social networks, and knowledge sharing drive organizational innovation in small and medium enterprises, which in turn improves business performance. Research with batik MSMEs in Central Java, Indonesia shows that strategic practices, social connections, and knowledge exchange significantly boost innovation. The findings provide a comprehensive model for understanding what factors enable organizational innovation and enhance MSME performance.
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A retrospective analysis of responsible innovation for low-technology innovation in the Global South
Low-technology innovation in the Global South receives insufficient attention despite its potential to address global challenges. This retrospective analysis examines how researchers applied responsible innovation frameworks to low-technology projects in development contexts. The study finds that responsible innovation can facilitate stakeholder engagement and reflection, but remains difficult to implement in practice. A key barrier emerges: deficit-based public engagement models undermine inclusive participation. Notably, low-technology innovators face the same engagement challenges as high-technology developers when attempting to give end-users meaningful input into innovations that affect them.
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Social Capital and Effective Innovation in Industrial Districts: Dual Effect of Absorptive Capacity
This study examines how firms in Spanish footwear industrial districts convert social capital into effective innovation. The research finds that absorptive capacity—specifically the ability to identify and combine external knowledge—moderates this relationship. Firms with strong identification capabilities better acquire novel knowledge from external networks, while combinative capabilities strengthen that knowledge into successful innovations.
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With or Without Clusters: Facilitating Innovation through a Differentiated and Combined Network Approach
European regions need not rely on cluster policies to drive innovation. Instead, a differentiated network approach combining global pipelines, local buzz, and standalone firm strategies proves more efficient, especially in non-cluster regions. Private and semi-public brokers mediate between these strategies, requiring region-specific knowledge of sectors, institutions, and culture. Public policy should recruit brokers, fund startups, and monitor performance within decentralized, multi-level innovation systems tailored to local conditions.
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Italy and European spatial policies: polycentrism, urban networks and local innovation practices1
Italian spatial policies increasingly adopt European principles of polycentrism and networking to organize urban and territorial development. The paper examines how these concepts translate from European policy frameworks into Italian practice, analyzing operational examples of network-based approaches. It distinguishes between different meanings of networking—from relationships between cities to local collective action mechanisms—and assesses their empirical and political relevance for Italian territorial organization.
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Emergence of global manufacturing virtual networks and establishment of new manufacturing infrastructure for faster innovation and firm growth
Global manufacturing virtual networks (GMVN) represent a new manufacturing architecture that integrates developing countries' firms into global supply chains through collaborative infrastructure and ICT support. Case studies across electronics, biotechnology, appliances, and apparel sectors show how GMVN enables faster innovation and firm growth by allowing complementary roles in fragmented markets and supporting new manufacturing configurations.
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Factors for innovation ecosystem frameworks: Comprehensive organizational aspects for evolution
This paper identifies organizational factors essential for developing innovation ecosystems beyond just scientific and technological elements. The authors review literature to isolate key factors including organizational actors, funding mechanisms, governance, human capital, and regional culture. They argue that regions must understand their own inherent factors rather than copying external models, and that effective ecosystem evolution requires attention to collaboration, relationships, and social behavioral aspects alongside institutional structures.
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A Conceptual Framework for Developing of Regional Innovation Ecosystems
This paper develops a conceptual framework for regional innovation ecosystems in Ukraine and the EU, defining key dimensions including ecosystem goals, actors, environment, and relationships. The authors identify innovation hotspots concentrated in three EU macro-clusters and propose using Ukraine's existing regional research centers as institutional support tools. They recommend establishing regional innovation councils at NUTS 2 level to coordinate ecosystem development.
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Grassroots Social Innovation for Human Development: An Analysis of Alternative Food Networks in the City of Valencia (Spain)
This paper examines organic food buying groups in Valencia, Spain, to understand how grassroots social innovation contributes to human development. The authors combine social innovation, grassroots innovation, and capability approach frameworks to create a new analytical model. Their analysis identifies key elements that bottom-up food initiatives must include—such as agent involvement, clear purposes, enabling drivers, and inclusive processes—to effectively advance human development and social transformation.
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Regional Horizontal Networks within the SME Agri-Food Sector: An Innovation and Social Network Perspective
Regional horizontal networks of small and medium-sized agri-food businesses develop innovative capability through distinct life cycle stages, each requiring different strategies for knowledge exchange. The study of 11 regional networks within the Slow Food Network reveals that successful innovation depends on balancing exploratory and exploitative learning approaches as network dynamics shift over time.
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Horizontal and Vertical Networks for Innovation in the Traditional Food Sector
Innovation in traditional food sectors occurs through networks rather than individual firms. This study examined vertical networks (same supply chain) and horizontal networks (competing firms) across Belgium, Hungary, and Italy in beer, cheese, ham, sausage, and paprika production. Both network types exist but face challenges: vertical networks struggle with trust issues despite quality schemes, while horizontal networks work better with producer consortiums but suffer from competition. Firms innovate mainly in packaging and form, not core products. Successful small firms use networks to share knowledge, information, and resources, overcoming barriers like lack of trust, skills, and financial resources.
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National innovation systems a proposed framework for developing countries
National innovation systems drive long-term economic development, but developing countries struggle to build the necessary infrastructure. This paper examines how newly industrialized economies successfully developed their innovation systems and proposes a conceptual framework that developing countries can adopt to manage technological innovation more systematically.
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The effects of entrepreneurial ecosystems, knowledge management capabilities, and knowledge spillovers on international open innovation
This study analyzes how entrepreneurial ecosystems, knowledge management capabilities, and knowledge spillovers influence international open innovation collaborations. Using data from nearly 99,000 firms across 15 EU countries, the research finds that knowledge spillovers directly boost open innovation engagement. Knowledge management capabilities mediate this relationship, while entrepreneurial ecosystems strengthen the link between firm capabilities and innovation outcomes. Strong ecosystems enhance firms' knowledge management and foster spillovers within their networks.
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Evolution and structure of technological systems - An innovation output network
This study maps how innovations spread across Swedish industries from 1970 to 2013, revealing that supply-and-use networks predict 30% of innovation patterns. The innovation network forms hierarchical structures with industry hubs creating tightly connected communities. Historical technological linkages and proximity strongly shape which industries innovate together, more so than skill or knowledge similarities alone. Innovations emerge from synergistic communities driven by technological requirements and imbalances rather than simple economic interdependencies.
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Developing process and product innovation through internal and external knowledge sources in manufacturing Malaysian firms: the role of absorptive capacity
Manufacturing firms in Malaysia improve their innovation performance by developing absorptive capacity—the ability to acquire, disseminate, and use knowledge. The study finds that a firm's own experience strongly builds absorptive capacity, while external R&D partnerships show mixed results. Absorptive capacity itself strongly predicts whether firms successfully innovate in products and processes.
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Responsible innovation as empowering ways of knowing
This paper examines responsible innovation through a case study of biogasification projects in rural India. The authors argue that inclusion in innovation governance often overlooks fundamental issues of how different groups know and understand the world. They show that exclusion happens when local communities lose control over their own knowledge and their ways of understanding are dismissed as outdated. The paper calls for responsible innovation to prioritize empowering communities' own ways of knowing.
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Managing Strategic Partnerships with Universities in Innovation Ecosystems: A Research Agenda
This paper proposes a research framework for university-company partnerships in innovation ecosystems. It identifies four key dimensions: entrepreneurial learning network dynamics, university organizational structures supporting innovation, company capacity for successful partnerships, and tools for designing and assessing collaborative initiatives. The framework helps explain how strategic partnerships develop entrepreneurial and innovative capabilities in both academic and business organizations.
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Evaluating the Collaborative Ecosystem for an Innovation-Driven Economy: A Systems Analysis and Case Study of Science Parks
This paper analyzes Taiwan's science parks as drivers of innovation-driven economic growth. Using systems thinking and causal loop analysis, the authors examine how government-academia-industry collaboration shapes innovation ecosystems. They evaluate the economic impact and employment effects of science parks over time, assess R&D performance, and identify policy lessons. The study demonstrates that strategic science park policies significantly contribute to sustainable development and high-technology industrial growth.
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Innovation ecosystems: a meta-synthesis
This metasynthesis synthesizes six qualitative case studies to build a unified theory of innovation ecosystems. The authors find that no conceptual consensus exists on the term, but identify core elements: organic, dynamic interrelationships between organizations that enable faster creation of innovative products. They propose a framework integrating global-local perspectives, showing how companies interact with dispersed strategic partners across industry dynamics and multiple organizational levels to produce innovations.
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Government policy change and evolution of regional innovation systems in China: evidence from strategic emerging industries in Shenzhen
China shifted innovation policy from relying on foreign technology spillover to promoting indigenous innovation and domestic firms. The government designated seven strategic emerging industries to drive technological upgrading after the 2008 financial crisis. This study examines how foreign and domestic firms adapted their innovation strategies in Shenzhen's LED industry, finding that the local government eventually abandoned its LED development plan after four years, revealing how institutional changes reshape regional innovation systems.
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The Growth of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services: Innovation, Markets and Networks
Knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) are growing as firms increasingly outsource specialized expertise to maintain competitiveness. Interview data from London and Helsinki shows KIBS firms create new channels for global knowledge flow, yet regions remain central to innovation systems. Regional knowledge bases continue to anchor KIBS networks despite globalization trends.
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Anchor tenants and regional innovation systems: the aircraft industry
Large innovative firms, universities, and research institutions act as anchor tenants that generate knowledge spillovers in their regions, spurring new company formation and attracting additional businesses. These anchor tenants drive regional innovation system development, but their emergence depends on pre-existing favorable conditions specific to each industry. The paper uses the aircraft industry to demonstrate how anchor dynamics shape regional economic evolution.
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Regional innovation, entrepreneurship and talent systems
Regional innovation systems have evolved unpredictably since the 1990s, with global economic shifts destabilizing them more than national factors. This paper argues that entrepreneurship and talent formation have been overlooked in understanding how regional systems develop. The author categorizes regional innovation system evolution based on the strength of these two variables, showing they are critical to system robustness.
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KNOWLEDGE INFRASTRUCTURE, INNOVATION DYNAMICS, AND KNOWLEDGE CREATION/DIFFUSION/ACCUMULATION PROCESSES
This paper examines how knowledge infrastructure and institutional arrangements shape innovation and knowledge creation across Europe's knowledge-based economy. The authors analyze the roles of various agents, their interactions, and how institutional and spatial configurations influence innovation dynamics. They develop an analytical framework showing how institutions, strategies, and spatial scales interact to structure and deploy knowledge infrastructure for economic and social value creation.
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Impact of innovation strategy, absorptive capacity, and open innovation on SME performance: A Chilean case study
Absorptive capacity significantly influences how Chilean manufacturing SMEs adopt open innovation practices and develop innovation strategies. Innovation strategy fully mediates the relationship between absorptive capacity and inbound open innovation, while partially mediating the relationship with outbound open innovation. Open innovation practices directly improve SME performance. The findings offer guidance for policymakers and managers seeking to enhance competitiveness through strategic innovation.
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Evaluation of Circular and Integration Potentials of Innovation Ecosystems for Industrial Sustainability
This paper develops methods to assess industrial ecosystem potential by examining circular economy and symbiotic integration principles. The authors analyze two real industrial ecosystems—Kalundborg Symbiosis and Baltic Industrial Symbiosis—to evaluate their circular and integration capabilities. They find that Kalundborg achieves productive but incomplete circularity. The framework helps policymakers and stakeholders understand how industrial symbiosis reduces environmental problems and advances sustainable development.
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Evaluation of Farm Fresh Food Boxes: A Hybrid Alternative Food Network Market Innovation
Researchers evaluated Farm Fresh Food Boxes, a market innovation combining CSA-style produce with rural retail distribution across Vermont, Washington, and California. The model expanded farmer markets and improved rural food access, though profits remained modest. Consumers valued the fresh local produce and convenience, while farmers and retailers appreciated brand development and customer base expansion despite added labor demands. The innovation addressed rural food deserts and supply chain vulnerabilities.
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The Moderating Role of Top‐Down Supports in Horizontal Innovation Diffusion
This study examines how government support policies affect the spread of administrative innovations across municipalities. Using data from China's one-stop government centers between 1997 and 2012, the authors find that strong central and provincial policy signals actually reduce the influence of neighboring cities' adoption decisions. Top-down government support substitutes for horizontal peer pressure rather than complementing it, suggesting different diffusion mechanisms compete for influence on local innovation adoption.
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Relationship between R&D grants, R&D investment, and innovation performance: The moderating effect of absorptive capacity
Government R&D grants and private investment both boost regional innovation performance in China, but grants can crowd out private investment. A region's absorptive capacity—its ability to acquire and use knowledge—strengthens the link between R&D spending and innovation results, yet weakens the grant-to-innovation relationship. China should improve institutions and talent flow to enhance innovation efficiency.
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Recognition of innovation and diffusion of welfare policy: Alleviating urban poverty in Chinese cities during fiscal recentralization
Local Chinese governments adopted innovative welfare policies to attract central government attention and secure fiscal transfers during fiscal recentralization after 1994. Cities with higher fiscal dependency innovated more strategically. Once the central government recognized and endorsed an innovation, further adoption lost its competitive advantage because cities could no longer distinguish themselves through novelty. The study traces this dynamic through China's Urban Minimum Living Standard Assistance system for poverty alleviation.
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Creative industry in supporting economy growth in Indonesia: Perspective of regional innovation system
Indonesia's government has promoted creative industries as a key economic driver since 2009, establishing a dedicated agency to develop this sector. This paper examines creative industries through a regional innovation systems lens, finding that creative industries and innovation are conceptually interconnected and together support national economic growth by shifting the economy from manufacturing-based to knowledge and intellectual asset-based models.
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Innovation and Destination Governance in Denmark: Tourism, Policy Networks and Spatial Development
Danish tourist destinations lost market share over a decade despite continued reliance on traditional marketing strategies. The paper argues that innovation-oriented destination development policies were slow to adopt because tourism policy networks prioritized short-term sectoral and local interests over renewal of tourist experiences. Recent governance reforms only marginally improved prospects for more innovative destination strategies.
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Regional innovation policy and public-private partnership: The case of Triple Helix Arenas in Western Sweden
Two Swedish regional innovation organizations called 'Arenas' were designed to bring together industry, universities, and government based on Triple Helix theory. The study found that these partnerships struggled to maintain stable collaboration because the different actors had conflicting interests, creating unresolved tensions that undermined the intended cooperation model.
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Social innovation and community development: Concepts, theories and challenges
This book examines how urban communities experiencing social exclusion have responded through social innovation. It documents specific local communities and the socially innovative strategies they deployed to address exclusion dynamics, offering insights into community-driven approaches to development and social change.
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Challenging the triple helix model of regional innovation systems: A venture-centric model
This paper critiques the triple helix model of regional innovation systems for excluding entrepreneurs and innovators. Through interviews, the authors find that government, university, and industry actors lack integration, and that entrepreneurs and researchers feel excluded from policy frameworks. They propose an alternative bottom-up double helix model centered on entrepreneurs as drivers of innovation, rather than treating innovation as a top-down process controlled by institutions.
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Canadian Science, Technology and Innovation Policy: The Product of Regional Networking?
Canadian science, technology, and innovation policy operates through regional networks despite federal funding and policy formulation. The federal government deliberately structures STI programmes to promote network creation across provinces and regions, emphasizing economic development and industrial cluster formation. This networked approach effectively regionalizes policy implementation across Canada's federal system.
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The Upgrading of Multinational Regional Innovation Networks in China
Multinational corporations have increasingly moved advanced innovation activities to China since 1995, contradicting theories that predict developing economies only handle routine work. By studying Motorola and Microsoft's regional innovation networks in China, this paper shows that innovation upgrading happens through interaction between MNC subsidiary research centers and local institutions, not through hierarchical global structures.
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The entrepreneur in the regional innovation system. A comparative study for high- and low-income regions
This study examines how entrepreneur characteristics influence firm innovation across Spanish regions with different income levels. Entrepreneurs' trust and growth ambition affect innovation differently depending on regional development. Low-income regions face human capital and infrastructure barriers, while high-income regions struggle with legal and financial systems. The findings show policymakers must tailor innovation strategies to regional contexts rather than applying uniform approaches.
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Networking towards sustainable tourism: innovations between green growth and degrowth strategies
This study examines a rural Irish tourism network using network analysis, categorizing businesses by their sustainability ideology from green growth to degrowth approaches. The research shows that sustainability networks help rural areas pursue change, but achieving genuine shifts away from conventional business practices requires degrowth strategists to play central roles in communication and collaborative activities.
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Resource-based co-innovation through platform ecosystem: experiences of mobile payment innovation in China
Chinese mobile payment providers—Alipay, Bestpay, and UnionPay—successfully innovated through inter-organizational co-innovation within platform ecosystems. Companies leveraged their superior resources and capabilities to achieve competitive advantage in a coopetitive environment where firms both cooperate and compete. The RISE model shows how strategic resource matching and ecosystem architecture enable win-win service innovation outcomes.
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Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) Use and User Innovation: High-Order Services, Geographic Hierarchies and Internet Use in Quebec's Manufacturing Sector
Geographic proximity to knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) does not improve innovation performance in Quebec's manufacturing sector. Firms seeking innovation-related services travel farther to access specialized KIBS suppliers located in central urban areas, regardless of distance. Innovators actively seek out the best service providers rather than relying on nearby options, creating a geographic hierarchy where innovation-focused KIBS concentrate in major centers.
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Regional innovation systems in tourism: The role of collaboration and competition
Regional innovation systems in tourism thrive through collaboration and competition among companies. The paper develops a theoretical framework combining dynamic capabilities, relational view, and resource-based theory to explain how social capital and relational assets drive innovation. Using Campania Region as a case study, it shows that co-creation of innovation and strategic plans across regional stakeholders—supported by digital transition and modernized infrastructure—builds sustainable, innovative tourism systems.
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Innovation ecosystem strategies of industrial firms: A multilayered approach to alignment and strategic positioning
Industrial firms in Germany and the Netherlands use two-layer innovation ecosystem strategies to manage innovation processes. Companies operate an open explorative layer to identify opportunities and a semi-closed exploitative layer to develop them into customer value. The study reveals how firms align partners and activities across these layers, create synergies between them, manage resulting tensions, and develop strategic positioning within ecosystems.
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Regional innovation system research trends: toward knowledge management and entrepreneurial ecosystems
This bibliometric analysis of regional innovation system research identifies three major research trends: innovation systems studies from the 1990s, knowledge management research from the 2000s onward, and entrepreneurial ecosystems research in recent years. The study examines Web of Science publications through 2017, revealing that knowledge, innovation, clusters, policy, networks, and R&D are central concepts in RIS research. The field has grown substantially, attracting attention from scientists, policymakers, and international organizations.
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Regional Innovation Systems as Complex Adaptive Systems: The Case of Lagging European Regions
This paper develops a computational model called CARIS to understand how regional innovation systems in lagging European regions can become self-sustaining. The research identifies exploration capacity, cooperation propensity, and actor competencies as key drivers of innovation performance. The authors recommend policymakers invest in R&D, support public-private partnerships, strengthen universities, and increase researcher employment to improve regional innovation outcomes.
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Does open innovation apply to China? Exploring the contingent role of external knowledge sources and internal absorptive capacity in Chinese large firms and SMEs
Open innovation strategies work differently in China than in developed economies. Small and medium enterprises benefit most from inter-firm networking, while large firms gain advantages from university partnerships when they have strong internal capacity to absorb external knowledge. Weak domestic research expertise and limited absorptive capacity constrain Chinese firms from adopting open innovation effectively. Chinese firms should focus on building internal capabilities rather than copying the closed-to-open innovation path followed by developed countries.
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National characteristics: innovation systems from the process efficiency perspective
This study analyzes innovation systems across 40 countries by treating them as two-stage processes: knowledge production and commercialization. Using data envelopment analysis, researchers identified efficiency levels and ranked countries by their strengths in each stage. The analysis reveals that no country excels equally at both stages, and categorizes nations into nine distinct groups based on their innovation characteristics. The findings offer policymakers benchmarks for improvement and examples of best practices to learn from.
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The Role of Finance and Corporate Governance in National Systems of Innovation
Corporate governance and finance systems shape how firms innovate within countries. Different industries demand different financial and governance structures to support innovation effectively. The paper explains why some countries gain technological advantages by matching their finance and governance systems to their industries' specific innovation needs.
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Nordic SMEs and Regional Innovation Systems
Nordic small and medium enterprises compete globally through innovation rather than cost-cutting, given their high wage levels. The paper examines how regional innovation systems support SME competitiveness in the Nordic countries, arguing that innovation capacity is essential for these firms to maintain economic viability in an increasingly globalized market.
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Analysing the diffusion and adoption of renewable energy technologies in Africa: The functions of innovation systems perspective
Renewable energy technologies remain poorly adopted across Africa despite their potential to address energy poverty and environmental challenges. This paper argues that previous research focused too narrowly on user-level factors and neglected institutional context. The author proposes using the Technological Innovation System framework to understand how institutions enable or hinder renewable energy diffusion, and provides a framework for evaluating institutional performance to guide African policymakers.
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The influence of knowledge absorptive capacity on shared value creation in social enterprises
Social enterprises that absorb and apply knowledge effectively create more shared value—combining economic and social benefits. The study tested 127 social enterprises in France and Spain, finding that knowledge absorptive capacity directly strengthens both economic and social value creation. Social value creation acts as a mechanism through which knowledge capacity drives economic gains, demonstrating that social enterprises generate profit by prioritizing social and environmental outcomes.
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The Encroachment Speed of Potentially Disruptive Innovations with Indirect Network Externalities: The Case of E‐Readers
This paper examines why e-readers adopted more slowly in Japan than the United States after 2010. Through interviews with industry leaders and document review, the authors identify three sources of slower adoption: organizational factors within publishing companies, technology factors including competing formats, and environmental factors such as regulations limiting e-book supply and pricing. The research shows that publishing industry insiders in Japan misinterpreted earlier e-reader performance and faced constraints from interdependent value networks.
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Determinants of National Innovation Systems: Policy implications for developing countries
This study examines how knowledge institutions, governments, and businesses shape national innovation systems in 46 developed and emerging economies. The researchers find that market forces dominate innovation outcomes, while institutional structures around knowledge management and government-business relations also matter significantly. The analysis suggests developing countries should prioritize creating institutional environments that support market mechanisms to strengthen their innovation systems and economic growth.
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University–industry linkages and absorptive capacity: an empirical analysis of China's manufacturing industry
Universities contribute to innovation in China's manufacturing sector, but their impact depends on the type of research performed and whether companies invest in absorptive capacity—the ability to acquire, assimilate, transform, and exploit external knowledge. The study of 20,000 firms across 31 provinces from 1998 to 2004 confirms that companies benefit most from university knowledge when they develop complementary internal capabilities.
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Disruptive innovation and spatial inequality
Disruptive innovations cluster geographically during industrial revolutions but disperse in other periods, according to analysis of US patents from 1920 to 2010. The locations capturing the most disruptive innovation shift substantially across industrial revolutions. Disruptive innovation significantly influences spatial patterns of economic output and income inequality across US regions.
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The diffusion of technological and management accounting innovation: Malaysian evidence
Malaysian industrial companies show minimal adoption of innovative management accounting tools, even among large firms, with financial accounting dominating management control practices. The study applies the Akira development model, arguing it better suits developing Southeast Asian countries with lower automation levels than Western frameworks.
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India’s National Innovation System: Key Elements and Corporate Perspectives
India has emerged as a major R&D hub for multinational corporations, driven by skilled labor from elite institutions, market potential from its growing population, and government investment in research institutions and education. While India's mathematics and science education ranks 11th globally, the country faces infrastructure challenges and labor shortages. Government initiatives, including massive investments in the Eleventh Five Year Plan, aim to strengthen India's national innovation system and resolve these constraints.
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Les facteurs de diffusion des innovations managériales en comptabilité et contrôle de gestion : une étude comparative
This comparative study examines what factors influence the spread of managerial innovations in accounting and management control. By analyzing the diffusion of three innovations—ABC costing, budgetary control, and the Georges Perrin method—in France, the authors identify that different categories of actors, communication channels, and contextual variables all significantly impact how these innovations spread across organizations.
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The adoption and diffusion of interorganizational system standards and process innovations
This paper examines how interorganizational system standards and process innovations spread across industries. The authors surveyed 102 firms across 10 industrial groups to identify what drives adoption of modern IOS technologies like XML and SOAP. They found that technological, organizational, and environmental factors—plus the role of standards development organizations—significantly influence whether companies implement these systems. The research bridges older EDI-focused studies with current web-based interorganizational solutions.
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R&D and Technology Spillovers via FDI: Innovation and Absorptive Capacity
This study examines how R&D and foreign direct investment affect firm productivity in Czech manufacturing. The research finds that R&D's learning effect matters far more than innovation for productivity growth. Technology spillovers from foreign partners occur only in specific sectors like electrical machinery and radio & TV, where foreign firms actively invest in R&D. No general spillover benefits reach local firms from foreign joint ventures.
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Profiting from innovation when digital business ecosystems emerge: A control point perspective
Digital transformation shifts how companies profit from innovation in emerging ecosystems. The paper examines smart farming through a control points framework, showing that value capture depends on who owns strategic, technical, generic, and institutional control points in layered digital architectures. Incumbents, new entrants, and diversifying firms compete in a seesaw pattern to establish bargaining positions. The findings help firms optimize ecosystem strategies and guide policymakers in supporting institutional development.
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Managing innovation ecosystems around Big Science Organizations
Big Science Organizations are massive research institutions addressing complex scientific challenges through large networks of suppliers, collaborators, and partners. These organizations function as influential innovation ecosystems with permeable boundaries enabling technology transfer, knowledge sharing, and business creation. The paper introduces a special issue examining innovation and entrepreneurship around BSOs, providing a comprehensive overview of how these institutions drive innovation across science, government, and business sectors.
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Gaming innovation ecosystem: actors, roles and co-innovation processes
This study examines Poland's gaming innovation ecosystem to understand how different actors contribute to co-innovation. Researchers conducted interviews and observations over three years and identified 21 types of actors playing four distinct roles: direct value creation, supporting value creation, encouraging entrepreneurship, and leadership. The co-innovation process unfolds across five stages from discovery through dissemination, with actors varying their engagement intensity at each phase.
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Catching-up national innovations systems (NIS) in China and post-catching-up NIS in Korea and Taiwan: verifying the detour hypothesis and policy implications
This study examines how China, South Korea, and Taiwan developed their innovation systems during economic catch-up. China currently specializes in short-cycle technologies, while South Korea and Taiwan have shifted toward long-cycle technologies. The research confirms the 'detour hypothesis': latecomer economies first focus on short-cycle sectors to drive growth, then transition to more complex long-cycle sectors as they mature. Economic growth correlates with these technological shifts at each development stage.
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Reconceptualising responsible research and innovation from a Global South perspective
Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has been developed primarily in wealthy northern countries with little consideration of how it operates in the Global South. This paper examines RRI practices across three countries—the Netherlands, Malawi, and Brazil—and finds that while some activities are comparable, important differences exist in motivations and structures. The authors propose a new theoretical framework that accounts for these regional differences, positioning RRI as a continuum rather than a fixed concept.
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Social innovation, sustainability and the governance of protected areas: revealing theory as it plays out in practice in Costa Rica
This paper examines how social innovation drives adaptive governance in Costa Rica's Juan Castro Blanco National Water Park. Local community mobilization sparked social innovation that produced three key outcomes: satisfied stakeholder interests, effective governance arrangements, and community empowerment. The socially-innovative approach to park management improved both environmental sustainability and social-ecological outcomes across multiple levels.
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National Innovation Systems of the South, Innovation and Economic Development Policies: A Multidimensional Approach
This paper reexamines the National Innovation System concept for developing countries, arguing that existing literature focuses too narrowly on technology policy without adequately addressing innovation capacity, innovation policy design, and economic development. The authors analyze how innovation policies function in developing nations, their governance structures, and the conditions that enable or hinder economic development within globalized growth contexts.
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National innovation systems in developing countries: Barriers to university–industry collaboration in Egypt
This study examines Egypt's national innovation system and identifies barriers and drivers to university-industry collaboration. Researchers surveyed 162 companies in industrial areas and free zones around Cairo and Alexandria, testing four hypotheses about what prevents or enables partnerships between universities and businesses. The analysis confirmed all four hypotheses, revealing specific obstacles and facilitators to collaboration in Egypt's innovation ecosystem.
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Relational capital for shared vision in innovation ecosystems
This paper examines relationship networks in three metropolitan innovation ecosystems—Austin, Minneapolis, and Paris—using Triple Helix framework and network analysis. The authors measure relational capital through network metrics and visualizations, revealing distinct patterns that structure business activity at startup, growth, and enterprise levels. They demonstrate that data-driven indicators of relational capital can guide network orchestration, inform policy decisions, and build shared vision across spatially defined business ecosystems.
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The Role of a Local Industry Association as a Catalyst for Building an Innovation Ecosystem: An Experiment in the State of Ceara in Brazil
An industrial association in Brazil's Ceara state successfully catalyzed innovation ecosystem development where government alone failed. The federation of industries' UNIEMPRE program increased actor awareness, shared knowledge, strengthened firm capabilities, built regional innovation capacity, and created sustainable long-term change through five key mechanisms.
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Rural Entrepreneurship in Europe: A Research Framework and Agenda
Rural entrepreneurship operates within a distinct territorial context shaped by physical geography, social capital, governance structures, and networks. The authors argue that rurality itself functions as a dynamic entrepreneurial resource, creating both opportunities and constraints. They propose a three-stage sequential model of rural entrepreneurship and outline a research agenda addressing theoretical understanding and policy development to support rural business creation.
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Exploring exclusion in innovation systems: case of plantation agriculture in India
Innovation systems in India's plantation sector fail to deliver inclusive development despite policy efforts. The paper identifies multiple forms of exclusion—subordinated inclusion, illusive inclusion, sustained exclusion, and transient exclusion—within commodity boards, research institutions, and labor markets. Knowledge intensification could strengthen labor-intensive sectors in developing countries, but institutional arrangements currently perpetuate exclusion rather than enabling genuine participation in innovation benefits.
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Considering the implications of place-based approaches for improving rural community wellbeing: The value of a relational lens
Place-based rural policy often treats rural space as homogenous, limiting its effectiveness for improving community wellbeing. This paper argues that adopting a relational view of rural space—understanding it as socially created through connections and flows—offers a better framework for designing and evaluating rural health and community development policies. A relational approach helps policymakers measure outcomes more accurately and address the complex, interconnected nature of rural wellbeing.
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What Does an Inventory of Recent Innovation Experiences Tell Us About Agricultural Innovation in Africa?
An inventory of 57 agricultural innovation cases across Benin, Kenya, and South Africa reveals that African smallholder farmers actively drive innovation through diverse stakeholders and market forces. Innovation processes typically unfold over long timeframes, often bundle multiple changes together, and frequently connect to external funding. The research demonstrates African agriculture's dynamic response to challenges, countering negative perceptions and highlighting the continent's innovation capacity.
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Digital transformation, well-being and shrinking communities: Narrowing the divides between urban and rural
Digital transformation in shrinking Finnish communities produces more positive than negative effects on resident well-being. While service concentration can reduce local offerings, digitalization enables previously unavailable services and creates new opportunities. Remote work and digital services attract new residents to rural areas, helping narrow the urban-rural divide and revitalizing shrinking communities.
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Innovation in the Rural Areas and the Linkage with the Quintuple Helix Model
Rural areas function as productive systems where agriculture connects with other economic activities. The paper argues that protecting ecosystems and implementing the Quintuple Helix Model—which links innovation processes across multiple sectors—enables rural development based on sustainable competitiveness. Using Sicily and Italian regional data, the authors demonstrate how peripheral areas can adopt Smart Specialization Strategy to create new development models that balance economic growth with environmental protection.
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Embedded models of rural entrepreneurship: The case of pubs in Cumbria, North West of England
Rural pubs in Cumbria have declined sharply, damaging community networks and local employment. This study examines why pubs fail and succeed through interviews with owners, managers, and customers. The authors find that pubs function as critical community hubs providing social connection and business opportunities. They conclude that stronger involvement from local communities and public sector support is essential to preserve these rural assets.
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Agricultural Innovation in Asia: Drivers, Paradigms and Performance
Agricultural innovation in Asia has driven impressive productivity gains, but faces mounting pressures from climate change, land loss, and population growth. This study identifies four distinct techno-institutional paradigms shaping Asian agriculture: the green revolution, sustainability revolution, biotechnology revolution, and supermarket revolution. Each paradigm involves different technologies, actors, and networks with varying performance outcomes across Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. Effective innovation policies must align with each paradigm's specific opportunities and constraints.
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Innovation context and technology traits explain heterogeneity across studies of agricultural technology adoption: A meta‐analysis
A meta-analysis of 304 farm-level adoption studies across 60+ countries reveals that agricultural technology adoption depends on matching innovation characteristics with local contexts. Land, capital, and knowledge constraints matter most when technologies require those resources intensively, but constraints weaken where resources are abundant. Rural development and extension programs should tailor strategies to fit both geographic conditions and specific technology traits.
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Multi-actor co-innovation partnerships in agriculture, forestry and related sectors in Europe: Contrasting approaches to implementation
This paper analyzes 200 multi-actor co-innovation partnerships across Europe involving farmers and foresters. The authors develop a typology identifying eight ideal types of co-innovation partnerships based on organizational structure and interaction attitudes. They find that successful partnerships take different forms depending on context—actor capacities, networks, topic, and enabling environment—rather than one approach being universally superior. The framework helps policymakers design targeted interventions suited to local circumstances.
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Innovation Challenges and Opportunities in European Rural SMEs
Rural small and medium enterprises across Europe face significant barriers to innovation adoption, including weak innovation environments, inadequate policies, skill shortages, and difficulty attracting talent compared to urban competitors. The paper identifies these obstacles through literature review and stakeholder consultations in six European countries, then recommends policy solutions focused on fostering business networks, training programs, targeted innovation support, improved marketing, and workforce development.
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Do translocal networks matter for agricultural innovation? A case study on advice sharing in small-scale farming communities in Northeast Thailand
Social networks drive agricultural innovation in Northeast Thailand's farming communities. The study maps advice-sharing patterns for sugarcane and rice farming over five years, finding that translocal networks—connections across migrant communities—carry substantial innovation knowledge. Extension agencies and elite farmers dominate formal advice channels, but migration experience itself enables bottom-up innovations that reach less-connected farmers. Translocal networks boost adaptive capacity when innovations fit small-scale farming practices and limited resources.
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Examining palliative care program use and place of death in rural and urban contexts: a Canadian population-based study using linked data
This Canadian study examined palliative care program enrollment and place of death across rural and urban Nova Scotia from 2003 to 2009. Women, younger seniors, and cancer patients enrolled most frequently. Distance to palliative care services strongly predicted enrollment and hospital death, but urban-rural residence alone did not. Effects varied significantly by district, suggesting local context and service organization matter more than simple rural-urban categorization for end-of-life care access.
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Learning and Innovation Competence in Agricultural and Rural Development
This paper argues that agricultural and rural development benefit when competence development and capacity development are integrated rather than kept separate. The research finds that measuring learning outcomes—changes in how people think, feel, and act—better develops organizational innovation capacity than traditional input-output metrics. The author concludes that combining theory-based, competence-based, and experiential learning through education and extension strengthens innovation systems in agriculture.
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The impact of agricultural innovation system interventions on rural livelihoods in Malawi
A study in Malawi measured how an agricultural innovation system intervention affected rural livelihoods using propensity score matching. Participating households improved crop and livestock production, income, asset ownership, and fertilizer use during the program. However, benefits declined when the research program ended. The authors recommend strengthening local extension officers' capacity and funding to sustain innovation system benefits.
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Orchestrating Regional Development Through Projects: The ‘Innovation Paradox’ in Rural Finland
Project management dominates rural and regional development in Finland, yet creates an 'innovation paradox': regions are expected to innovate while lacking genuine innovative capacity. This professionalization of project management, combined with gender dynamics, reduces project value. The author argues that relaxing strict innovation requirements would unlock the actual innovation potential embedded in most development projects.
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Uncovering the building blocks of rural entrepreneurship: A comprehensive framework for mapping the components of rural entrepreneurial ecosystems
Rural entrepreneurship drives economic growth, but rural areas have distinct ecosystem needs. This study uses bibliometric analysis of academic literature to identify essential components supporting rural entrepreneurial ecosystems. The researchers categorize these into actor components (academics, business, government, community) and non-actor components (human capital, networks, culture, finance, governance, infrastructure, environmental resources, markets). Environmental resources emerge as uniquely critical for rural areas, distinguishing them from general entrepreneurial ecosystems and reflecting local economic potential.
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Do Federal Place-Based Policies Improve Economic Opportunity in Rural Communities?
Federal place-based policies increased substantially in rural counties between 1990 and 2015. The study finds that rural youth who received more place-based funding in their counties achieved higher educational attainment and earnings in adulthood, but only if they migrated away. Place-based investment appears to improve economic opportunity by enabling geographic mobility rather than creating local prosperity.
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Strengthening Conservation Agriculture innovation systems in sub-Saharan Africa: lessons from a stakeholder analysis
Conservation Agriculture innovation in Malawi relies heavily on NGOs and government, but smallholder farmers remain passive participants rather than active stakeholders. Promoters lack technical and financial capacity, and weak collaboration between organizations limits knowledge-sharing and program integration. The paper recommends strengthening stakeholder understanding of innovation systems, building partnerships through platforms, and improving advisory mechanisms to enable joint implementation and feedback.
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Shifting from Fragmentation to Integration: A Proposed Framework for Strengthening Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System in Egypt
Agricultural knowledge and innovation systems in Egypt's Dakhalia governorate suffer from fragmentation caused by weak regulatory frameworks, poor infrastructure, and ineffective intermediary organizations. The study proposes a framework to strengthen these systems by improving actor linkages, fostering public-private partnerships, and distributing appropriate technologies. Better coordination between farmers, researchers, and support organizations can boost agricultural productivity and sustainability.
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The effects of rural–urban migration on corporate innovation: Evidence from a natural experiment in China
Rural-to-urban migration of low-skilled workers in China reduces corporate innovation in receiving cities. Using China's relaxed household registration policies as a natural experiment, the study finds firms in cities adopting these policies innovate significantly less than firms in non-adopting cities. An abundant supply of low-skilled labor makes existing technology more profitable, reducing incentives to develop new innovations.
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Sustainability, Innovation and Rural Development: The Case of Parmigiano-Reggiano PDO
This paper develops a framework to measure sustainability across environmental, economic, and social dimensions in food quality schemes. Using Parmigiano-Reggiano PDO as a case study, the authors track how innovations between 2000 and 2018 affected product quality, value chain performance, and rural development. They create synthetic indexes showing how these innovations shifted the overall sustainability of the production system over time.
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Multi-stakeholder process strengthens agricultural innovations and sustainable livelihoods of farmers in Southern Nigeria
Multi-stakeholder platforms in Southern Nigeria significantly boost farmers' livelihood assets compared to non-participants, with human and social capital increasing substantially. The study shows that institutionalizing these platforms within agricultural research programs, combined with extension services, strengthens cassava production efficiency and enables effective technology adoption. Knowledge dynamics and power relationships within platforms drive innovation outcomes.
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Community-based broadband organizations and video communications for remote and rural First Nations in Canada
Two First Nations organizations in Canada use broadband video communications—including videoconferences and online videos—to support economic and social development in remote and rural communities. The research analyzes hundreds of archived videos and interviews with key users, situating these organizations within a broader movement toward First Nations self-determination.
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Women's contributions to rural development: implications for entrepreneurship policy
Rural women entrepreneurs in Sweden make substantial, multidimensional contributions to rural development across diverse industries, deeply embedded in family and local structures. However, existing entrepreneurship and rural development policies largely bypass their businesses and miss their actual needs. Women entrepreneurs prioritize access to public services like schools and childcare over business training programs. Policymakers should integrate entrepreneurship policy with family, welfare, and rural development policy rather than treating women entrepreneurs as isolated economic actors.
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Anchoring innovation methodologies to ‘go-to-scale’; a framework to guide agricultural research for development
Research for development projects use innovation platforms to solve agricultural problems, but scaling these approaches to new contexts remains unclear. This paper develops a framework for anchoring innovation methodologies across networking, institutional, and methodological dimensions. Testing the framework on a farmer research group in Ethiopia, the authors identify which anchoring tasks succeeded or failed and provide concrete recommendations for R4D projects seeking to scale their innovations effectively across different contexts.
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Applying a community entrepreneurship development framework to rural regional development
The paper develops a community entrepreneurship development framework for rural regions and tests it in South Australia's Barossa Valley agricultural sector. The framework helps practitioners and policymakers build entrepreneurial capacity by combining community capitals—particularly natural, human, and social capital. The research shows that successful firm-level entrepreneurship depends on leveraging a region's unique natural resources alongside human and entrepreneurial assets to drive community-wide market development.
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The drivers of innovation diffusion in agriculture: evidence from Italian census data
Italian agricultural innovation spreads unevenly across regions, driven by local productive conditions, farm characteristics, and institutional frameworks. Using 2010 census data from 110 provinces, the authors mapped diffusion of product, process, organizational, and marketing innovations. Some innovations concentrate in specific areas with favorable market conditions, while others depend on individual farm features. Rural development spending and regulatory context significantly influence adoption rates, showing how productive and institutional systems interact to enable or constrain agricultural innovation.
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How does social entrepreneurship achieve sustainable development goals in rural tourism destinations? The role of legitimacy and social capital
Social enterprises in rural tourism build legitimacy by managing institutional complexity while strengthening community social capital. This process empowers individuals and increases collective efficacy, advancing sustainable development goals. The study examines a Chinese village case, showing how social entrepreneurship balances economic returns with social values to drive sustainable rural tourism development.
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Contextualising rural entrepreneurship – A strong structuration perspective on gendered-local agency
This paper uses Strong Structuration Theory to examine rural entrepreneurship through a case study of a woman entrepreneur in Sweden. The authors introduce the concept of gendered-local agency to explain how rural entrepreneurs actively navigate constraints and opportunities shaped by gender and locality. They show that agency emerges from the interplay between individual entrepreneurs and rural structures, demonstrating how everyday entrepreneurial actions both challenge and reinforce rural contexts.
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Serving rural low‐income markets through a social entrepreneurship approach: Venture creation and growth
Social entrepreneurs in rural Latin America create and grow ventures serving low-income communities by continuously revising goals and building capabilities, embedding operations deeply in communities, and innovating business models suited to resource-constrained environments. The study of three ventures reveals that success requires treating communities as resource sources, not just customers, and adapting distribution, marketing, and management practices to local conditions.
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Scaling and institutionalization within agricultural innovation systems: the case of cocoa farmer field schools in Cameroon
Farmer field schools in Cameroon's cocoa sector failed to scale effectively despite a public-private partnership. The study identifies four key barriers: the curriculum wasn't adapted to local contexts, extension workers lacked genuine commitment and resources, management approaches didn't evolve from pilot to scaling phases, and strategic leadership was absent. Successful scaling requires translating pilots to fit specific institutional conditions rather than simply rolling out standardized programs.
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Eco-Innovations in Rural Territories: Organizational Dynamics and Resource Mobilization in Low Density Areas
Rural areas develop eco-innovation projects despite limited agglomeration. This study examines how organizational factors and environmental conditions influence eco-innovation in low-density areas. Using interviews across five French rural cases, researchers found that personal and local professional networks, combined with strong leadership, enable projects to absorb local resources effectively. While local resources remain essential, successful projects increasingly mobilize distant resources as they develop.
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Examining the influence of social capital on rural women entrepreneurship
Social capital significantly influences rural women's entrepreneurship in Iran. The study surveyed 265 rural women entrepreneurs and found that three dimensions of social capital—structural, relational, and cognitive—positively predict key psychological traits including achievement motivation, innovation, personal control, self-esteem, opportunism, autonomy, and risk tolerance. This research demonstrates how specific social capital components shape entrepreneur psychology.
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Knowledge management for agricultural innovation: lessons from networking efforts in the Bolivian Agricultural Technology System
Farmers in Bolivia who participated in agricultural innovation projects using multi-agent knowledge management networks adopted innovations more successfully than those in traditional technology transfer programs. Farmer adoption rates depended on both the project's knowledge management approach and how embedded farmers were in local learning networks. The study confirms that farmers need intensive relationships with multiple agents—not just one extension agency—to access sufficient knowledge, build confidence, and jointly learn to apply innovations.
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Institutional Innovations for Climate Smart Agriculture: Assessment of Climate-Smart Village Approach in Nepal
Nepal's Climate Smart Village approach uses institutional collaboration among government, private, and civil society organizations to introduce climate-adapted agricultural technologies to smallholder farmers. The study finds that this institutional innovation successfully increased farmer awareness and adoption of climate-smart practices in the Gandaki region, though scaling remains challenging. Multi-stakeholder partnerships proved effective for communicating climate science and developing locally appropriate farming solutions.
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Multi-actor Horizon 2020 projects in agriculture, forestry and related sectors: A Multi-level Innovation System framework (MINOS) for identifying multi-level system failures
This paper develops MINOS, a multi-level innovation system framework, to analyze 50 European Horizon 2020 agricultural research projects involving multiple actors across different countries. The framework identifies system failures occurring at European, national, project, and organizational levels, categorizing them as 'multipliers' and 'stackers'. The analysis reveals how institutional, cultural, and social contexts interact across levels to influence co-innovation and learning in multinational partnerships.
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Making Room for Place-Based Knowledge in Rural Classrooms
Rural classrooms can better serve students by incorporating place-based knowledge that reflects local communities and environments. The authors argue that integrating local context into curriculum strengthens educational relevance and student engagement in rural settings, moving beyond standardized approaches that ignore regional distinctiveness and community assets.
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Rural Enterprise Hub Supporting Rural Entrepreneurship and Innovation – Case Studies from Hungary
Enterprise hubs established in rural Hungarian settlements can support entrepreneurship, but physical infrastructure alone is insufficient. The study of two hubs in Debrecen and Noszvaj over two years found that active facilitators and hosts are essential to foster real interaction networks and generate synergies among entrepreneurs, addressing the infrastructure needs of the emerging rural economy.
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Rural innovation activities as a means for changing development perspectives – An assessment of more than two decades of promoting LEADER initiatives across the European Union
The LEADER approach has mobilized rural actors across the European Union since the 1990s by activating local stakeholders and leveraging endogenous potential. After integrating LEADER into EU Rural Development Programmes in 2007, implementation became mainstream but highly diverse. The paper synthesizes 25 years of European experience, focusing on Austria, finding that LEADER's main impact lies in generating learning processes and improving local governance through stakeholder involvement, rather than in quantitative measures alone.
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Does Broadband Matter for Rural Entrepreneurs and Creative Class Employees?
Using county-level data across the continental U.S., this study examines whether broadband access attracts entrepreneurs and creative-class workers to rural areas. Contrary to common assumptions, the results show that higher broadband adoption actually correlates with fewer entrepreneurs and creative-class employees in rural communities. The findings challenge the notion that broadband alone solves rural economic development challenges.
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Rural young people's opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship in globalised southern Africa: the limitations of targeting policies
Rural young people in Malawi and Lesotho face severe employment and entrepreneurship constraints rooted in structural factors at national and global levels, not just individual characteristics. Policies targeting vulnerable groups like women and orphans miss how multiple factors interact to create vulnerability. An intersectional approach combined with livelihoods analysis shows that improving conditions for all rural youth proves more effective than identifying and targeting the most vulnerable.
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Critical Systems of Learning and Innovation Competence for Addressing Complexity in Transformations to Agricultural Sustainability
Technological innovation alone cannot ensure food security in developing countries. This study examines why agricultural biodiversity-rich nations in Nepal and India fail to leverage agroecological advantages despite investing heavily in technology. The research finds that low and middle-income countries need more than technological competence—they require critical systems of learning competence that integrate social, ecological, and technical knowledge to address agricultural sustainability and food security.
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Creating value from intangible cultural heritage—the role of innovation for sustainable tourism and regional rural development
Intangible cultural heritage drives sustainable rural development by creating economic and social value for communities. Two case studies—alpine farming in Bavaria and sharecropping heritage in Italy—show how innovation transforms traditional practices into tourism assets. Bad Hindelang succeeds through long-term collaboration between farmers, conservationists, and locals balancing tourism with conservation. Le Marche's culinary heritage project preserves oral traditions but has yet to generate significant economic returns. Storytelling and participatory engagement make cultural heritage accessible to tourists, enhancing both visitor experience and community wellbeing.
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Californian innovation ecosystem: emergence of agtechs and the new wave of agriculture
California's agtech innovation ecosystem generates radical agricultural innovations through a distinctive combination of factors. Universities and research institutions develop new knowledge, venture capital and funding enable new businesses, and diverse actors—including accelerators and multinational companies—interact in complex networks with multiple roles. These interconnected characteristics create an environment where agricultural technology disruption thrives.
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Small-scale agricultural product marketing innovation through BUMDes and MSMEs empowerment in coastal areas
Small-scale farmers in coastal areas can increase agricultural product value and market competitiveness through partnerships between village-owned enterprises (BUMDes) and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The study proposes an innovative marketing model where these institutions work together with credit providers and farmer entrepreneurs to develop agribusiness chains, provide market information, and support technology adoption for rural communities.
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Facilitating affective experiences to stimulate women’s entrepreneurship in rural India
Women in rural India overcome socio-cultural barriers to entrepreneurship through cooperative ventures that foster sisterhood. Cooperative membership creates repeated positive emotional experiences through role models, mentoring, and peer support, enabling women to challenge traditional constraints and sustain entrepreneurial activity. The study of craft-based cooperatives in Bihar shows that equality-focused work environments and female solidarity generate the affective conditions necessary for lasting socio-economic change.
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Research capacity for local innovation: the case of conservation agriculture in Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique
Agricultural researchers in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Mozambique lack the institutional capacity to adapt conservation agriculture to local contexts. While researchers identified specific gaps preventing CA adoption, financial, human, and social constraints within their systems prevent participatory research needed to customize farming practices for farmers. CA remains a donor-driven intervention unsuited to local conditions.
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Becoming Spatially Embedded: Findings from a Study on Rural Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Norway
Rural immigrant entrepreneurs in northern Norway develop businesses through social and spatial embeddedness rather than individual traits alone. The study reveals how immigrants build economic success by integrating into local communities, leveraging place-based resources, and establishing networks within their geographic context. Spatial embedding emerges as a critical factor shaping entrepreneurial outcomes in rural areas.
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Small scale entrepreneurship – understanding behaviors of aspiring entrepreneurs in a rural area
Aspiring entrepreneurs in rural Denmark benefit from business networks in different ways depending on their innovation type. Those developing new products need strong ties with consultants and network-building experts, while service innovators rely on university connections. Rural entrepreneurs connected to a regional entrepreneurship center can build strong relationships and leverage weak ties effectively. Professional support organizations help less-privileged startups compensate for lacking strong ties.
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Innovation in the Norwegian Rural Tourism Industry: Results from a Norwegian Survey
A survey of 133 Norwegian rural tourism businesses reveals high innovation rates, though slightly below the national tourism average. Innovation capacity correlates strongly with business cooperation, market information use, and employee training. Export-oriented firms produce more product innovations, and those receiving public grants implement more product and market innovations. The study identifies cooperation, information systems, and workforce development as key drivers of rural tourism innovation.
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Planning Innovations in Land Management and Governance in Fragmented Rural Areas: Two Examples from Galicia (Spain)
Land fragmentation in rural Galicia creates obstacles for agriculture and forestry, leading to abandonment and social decline. Traditional consolidation approaches fail due to high transaction costs. Two innovative governance models in Galicia combined individual and common property rights to improve land management without changing ownership. These structures increased labour productivity, clarified property rights, and reduced abandonment while promoting sustainable land use.
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Process framework for innovation through tradition and its antecedents in rural heritage B&B
Rural heritage bed-and-breakfast businesses in China successfully innovate by blending tradition with modern practices. The study identifies a five-phase framework—idea generation, evaluation, initial implementation, continuing implementation, and sustaining improvement—that guides this innovation process. Three key factors enable success: entrepreneurs' travel experience, business networks, and institutional support. These findings show how rural heritage businesses can compete by strategically modernizing traditional offerings.
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On (Dis)Connections and Transformations: The Role of the Agricultural Innovation System in the Adoption of Improved Forages in Colombia
Colombia has developed 23 improved forage cultivars with superior quality and environmental benefits, yet adoption remains low. This study examines the agricultural innovation system to understand why. Researchers found that weak connections between research institutions, poor coordination, and misaligned objectives create barriers to technology adoption. The study recommends restructuring institutional relationships and improving R&D funding allocation to enable effective forage technology scaling.
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Living Labs as an Approach to Strengthen Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems
Living Labs bring together farmers, businesses, and public agencies to co-create and test agricultural innovations. This study evaluated six Living Labs across Europe from 2018 to 2021 and identified four critical conditions for success: the challenge must be appropriately complex, the enabling environment must support collaboration, facilitation must be skilled, and participants must maintain momentum. These findings help policymakers and practitioners design more effective Living Labs for sustainable farming.
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An Analytical Framework to Study Multi-Actor Partnerships Engaged in Interactive Innovation Processes in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Development Sector
This paper develops a framework for understanding multi-actor co-innovation partnerships in agriculture, forestry, and rural development across Europe. Analysis of 30 partnerships reveals that funding mechanisms often push partnerships to adapt their goals and overpromise outputs. Successful partnerships recruit experienced members with established networks who facilitate internal collaboration and navigate external political and market conditions. Aligning funding body goals with societal needs could better support partnerships pursuing socio-economic and environmental benefits.
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Place-Based Policies for Sustainability and Rural Development: The Case of a Portuguese Village “Spun” in Traditional Linen
European rural development policies increasingly emphasize place-based approaches that leverage local resources for sustainability. This study examines a Portuguese village that revitalized itself through traditional linen production, using collective action and local identity to combat depopulation and marginalization. The case demonstrates how place-based policies enable sustainable practices that improve both social well-being and economic conditions in rural communities facing demographic decline.
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Exploring innovation creation across rural and urban firms
Rural and urban firms create innovation differently. Using national survey data on patent applications, the study finds that urban firms better leverage their resources for innovation. Rural firms benefit from university research and development support, though they don't value university information as highly. Rural firms willing to attempt innovation, even when failing, outperform those avoiding risk. The research reveals distinct innovation characteristics between rural and urban business environments.
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“We moved here for the lifestyle”: A picture of entrepreneurship in rural British Columbia
Rural entrepreneurs in British Columbia start businesses primarily for lifestyle reasons and persist despite marginal finances. The study finds that entrepreneurial opportunities and resources exist in rural environments, contrary to perceptions of hostility. Communities and governments can use these findings to develop context-specific policies supporting rural economic development.
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Opportunity entrepreneurship in the rural sector: evidence from Greece
This study tests whether urban entrepreneurship theories apply to rural contexts by surveying 81 business owners in southern Crete, Greece. The researchers found that entrepreneurs' personality traits, prior knowledge, education level, and expectations of future social status significantly predict opportunity entrepreneurship in rural areas. The findings suggest existing entrepreneurship theories do transfer to rural settings and could guide policymakers developing rural small businesses.
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Bridging the digital divide in Sub-Saharan Africa: The rural challenge in Uganda
A 2002-2003 study in Uganda identified three key groups addressing the digital divide: information workers, business entrepreneurs, and policy makers. The research found that information workers and institutions like the National Library play a crucial role in bridging digital access gaps in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. The study used qualitative interviews and grounded theory analysis to understand strategies for connecting underserved populations to digital resources.
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Actor roles and linkages in the agricultural innovation system: options for establishing a cocoa innovation platform in Ghana
Ghana's cocoa sector needs an innovation platform to boost performance. Researchers analyzed actor roles and relationships in the cocoa innovation system using social network analysis. They found that farmer groups, researchers, extension agents, policymakers, and private sector actors are critical to establishing and sustaining a cocoa innovation platform. These actors attract participation and hold the network together.
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Women, Rural Environment and Entrepreneurship
Women in rural Spain face severe employment barriers, social exclusion, and economic marginalization that drive rural depopulation and aging. The authors analyze the socio-economic conditions of rural women and propose entrepreneurship as a pathway to improve their employability and economic opportunities, arguing that existing rural development policies lack gender-specific mechanisms to address women's particular challenges.
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Rural proofing entrepreneurship in two fields of research
This systematic review of 97 papers from entrepreneurship and rural studies journals reveals that rural entrepreneurship research inadequately addresses what makes rural contexts distinctive. While 56 papers engage with at least one dimension of rurality—remoteness, accessibility, or sense of place—41 papers ignore these dimensions entirely. Entrepreneurship journals particularly neglect rurality, focusing instead on generic topics like social capital and networks. The authors call for stronger collaboration between the two fields to develop more contextually grounded rural entrepreneurship research.
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Trademark potential increase and entrepreneurship rural development: A case study of Southern Transylvania, Romania
Rural areas can drive economic development by capitalizing on cultural heritage through trademark creation and heritage tourism. This study develops a decision-making model using the Analytical Hierarchy Process to help local authorities identify and market lesser-known heritage assets as innovative tourism products. Applied to Southern Transylvania, Romania, the model shows how communities can leverage both tangible and intangible heritage to create branded tourism routes and diversify local economies.
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Features of the Content and Implementation of Innovation and Investment Projects for the Development of Enterprises in the Field of Rural Green Tourism
Rural green tourism enterprises in Ukraine face underdevelopment despite significant tourist resources and 5 million potential self-employed rural workers. The paper identifies innovation and investment project structures, competitive advantages, and funding sources needed for growth. Budget support combined with private investment from agribusiness and communities proved effective in the 2000s-2010s, rapidly expanding rural tourism entrepreneurship, but these programs were later discontinued.
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Charting the media innovations landscape for regional and rural newspapers
This paper develops a framework for understanding media innovation in rural Australian newspapers. Rather than pursuing a narrow 'digital first' strategy, the authors propose a six-dimensional approach that integrates digital, social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental concerns. They argue that rural news organizations should prioritize building resilience and relevance for their communities and environments, not just organizational survival.
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Entrepreneurship of Women in the Rural Space in Israel: Catalysts and Obstacles to Enterprise Development
This study examines 100 women entrepreneurs in rural Israeli settlements near Tel Aviv, finding that most operate small service businesses from home as their household's primary income source. Women start enterprises to replace declining farm income and pursue self-fulfillment, but face obstacles including capital shortages and low business confidence. Rural location offers cost savings and family flexibility but creates distance from markets and local competition challenges. These businesses prove essential for household survival and regional wellbeing.
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The Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in Agriculture and Rural Development
This handbook examines entrepreneurship within agriculture and rural development contexts. It brings together research on how entrepreneurs drive innovation and economic growth in rural areas through agricultural ventures and related activities. The work synthesizes knowledge about rural entrepreneurial practices, challenges, and opportunities across different regions and agricultural sectors.
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Gendered Entrepreneurship in Rural Latvia: Exploring Femininities, Work, and Livelihood Within Rural Tourism
Women entrepreneurs in rural Latvia's tourism sector pursue livelihoods driven by both economic necessity and lifestyle preferences. The study reveals how women navigate their livelihood strategies while balancing desires for independence against economic and social constraints. Women organize their work and personal lives across time and space, negotiating complex paradoxes inherent in rural entrepreneurship within the post-socialist context.
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A Chinese economic revolution: rural entrepreneurship in the twentieth century
This historical study traces rural entrepreneurship in twentieth-century China across three distinct phases: early industrial development in textile production, the planned economy period, and the transition back to market mechanisms. The work examines how rural entrepreneurs built marketing networks, managed communal resources, and adapted their enterprises through wartime disruption and major economic system shifts, revealing entrepreneurial legacies that persist in contemporary Chinese firms.
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Can convergence of agricultural sciences support innovation by resource-poor farmers in Africa? The cases of Benin and Ghana
A research program in Benin and Ghana found that developing appropriate farm technologies alone cannot help resource-poor farmers innovate. The real barriers are institutional: limited market access, poor infrastructure, lack of credit, cheap imports, and political exclusion. The researchers concluded that poverty reduction requires institutional change, not just better farming techniques. The program documents various attempts to address these deeper structural problems.
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“It is my place”: residents’ community-based psychological ownership and its impact on rural tourism participation
This study develops a scale measuring community-based psychological ownership—how residents feel they belong to and identify with their rural community. Using surveys across villages in Zhejiang, China, the researchers found that residents' sense of self-identity, self-efficacy, responsibility, and belonging strongly predict their participation in rural tourism development. Conversely, feelings of possession and territoriality either had no effect or discouraged participation. The findings suggest that fostering the right psychological connections to community drives sustainable tourism engagement.
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Assessing climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies and agricultural innovation systems in the Niger Delta
This study evaluates climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies for agriculture in Nigeria's Niger Delta region by analyzing 129 previous studies and surveying 282 extension agents. The researchers developed a method to assess how innovative these strategies are for building sustainable agricultural innovation systems. They found that many recommended strategies face adoption barriers and don't effectively support regional agricultural innovation systems. The work explains why farmers reject most climate strategies and proposes a new scoring approach for agricultural innovations.
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Characterization of Technological Innovations in Photovoltaic Rural Electrification, Based on the Experiences of Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina: Third Generation Solar Home Systems
Solar Home Systems have evolved through three generations since 1980, with third-generation systems now offering efficient LED lighting, lithium batteries, and microelectronic controls that require minimal maintenance. These newer systems cost less and enable users to manage their own electricity, making rural electrification more affordable and reliable for off-grid populations in Latin America. The research characterizes technological advances to support developers and policymakers in achieving universal energy access.
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International Comparison of the Efficiency of Agricultural Science, Technology, and Innovation: A Case Study of G20 Countries
This study measures agricultural science, technology, and innovation (ASTI) efficiency across G20 countries using data envelopment analysis. Developed G20 nations show declining efficiency trends but stronger innovation capacity, while developing G20 countries demonstrate rising efficiency but lower capacity. R&D spending redundancy and insufficient agricultural research output constrain efficiency gains. Technological change drives most productivity improvements across both groups.
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Triggering system innovation in agricultural innovation systems: Initial insights from a community for change in New Zealand
This paper describes a process in New Zealand that brings together agricultural innovation system actors to identify systemic problems and challenge institutional barriers. Through collaborative problem-solving, reflexivity, and practical experimentation, the process helped change agents develop shared understanding of how relationships and boundaries reinforce current practices. The approach stimulated project-level actions and revealed wider system barriers, though integrating individual innovation projects with broader system-level changes remains difficult.
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Facilitating Agricultural Innovation Systems: A critical realist approach
Agricultural innovation systems have shifted from top-down technology transfer to systemic approaches, but gaps remain between expert and lay knowledge that hinder participatory development. This paper applies critical realism to understand these obstacles and proposes how intermediation functions within agricultural innovation systems can bridge knowledge divides and enable genuine transformation in rural development.
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The Evolution of an Innovation System in a Rural Area: The Case of La Pocatière, Québec
This paper traces how an innovation system developed in rural La Pocatière, Quebec from 1830 to 2005. The authors identify four historical periods showing how institutions and innovation types evolved: pioneering agricultural institutions, growth in agricultural science, economic diversification into technology and transport equipment, and finally system redeployment. The study demonstrates that institutional change directly shaped the region's innovation trajectory across farming, science, and industrial sectors.
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Spin-Offs, Innovation Spillover and the Formation of Agricultural Clusters: The Case of the Vegetable Cluster in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, China
Agricultural clusters in rural China form through three interconnected mechanisms: farmer spin-offs that transform traditional producers into enterprises, network spillovers that spread agricultural innovations across regions, and spatial integration of farming activities. The study of Shouguang's vegetable cluster reveals that entrepreneurial farmers adopting new knowledge create specialized enterprises that cluster together, generating increasing returns to scale and establishing local agricultural innovation systems that mark cluster maturity.
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How to assess agricultural innovation systems in a transformation perspective: a Delphi consensus study
This study used a modified Delphi technique with international experts to design a framework for assessing agricultural innovation systems across multiple countries. Experts reached consensus on a capacity-oriented assessment model with standardized yet flexible components. The research identifies factors that helped and hindered consensus-building, offering practical lessons for future Delphi studies and demonstrating how group-based Delphi methods can support international knowledge co-production on agricultural innovation systems.
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Formation of an Export-Oriented Agricultural Economy and Regional Open Innovations
This paper develops indicators and modeling tools to assess how agricultural investments, production output, and exports relate to each other across Russian regions. Using factor and cluster analysis, the authors identify five regional groups with distinct investment levels, production volumes, and export patterns. They find that investment intensity and agricultural production efficiency are undervalued in current assessments. The results support better institutional management of regional agricultural systems oriented toward export.
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When an initiative promises more than it delivers: a multi-actor perspective of rural entrepreneurship difficulties and failure in Thailand
A Thai rural entrepreneurship initiative failed to deliver promised outcomes because entrepreneurs lacked resources and exhibited risk aversion, passivity, and dependence on government support. One-size-fits-all policies ignored entrepreneurs' actual needs and capabilities. The study reveals that entrepreneurship failure takes multiple forms beyond business closure, including inability to meet initiative objectives, and identifies attitudinal inadequacies alongside resource weaknesses as key barriers.
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Agricultural research organisations’ role in the emergence of agricultural innovation systems
Agricultural research organizations often serve as network brokers in innovation systems, but their effectiveness depends on objectives. In Mexico's MasAgro initiative, research organizations proved suitable for developing and scaling specific technologies. However, when innovation goals include extension and education alongside technology development, other actors are better positioned to coordinate the network and achieve broader outcomes.
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Organization of Research and Innovation: a Comparative Study of Public Agricultural Research Institutions
This paper examines how four public agricultural research institutes reorganized their management models and structures. The authors compare their experiences to identify common patterns and differences in how these institutions manage research and innovation processes, policies, and workflows. The goal is to develop better approaches and tools for improving research and innovation management in public agricultural institutions.
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Moving beyond tourists’ concepts of authenticity: place-based tourism differentiation within rural zones of Chilean Patagonia
Rural tourism zones in Chilean Patagonia can differentiate themselves by leveraging local cultural practices and customs as endogenous assets rather than adopting standardized, commodified approaches. The study found that local service providers possessed authentic place-based practices that visitors failed to recognize or value, representing untapped resources for sustainable, place-based development strategies that distinguish emergent destinations from competitors.
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The Bandwidth Divide: Obstacles to Efficient Broadband Adoption in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa
Rural Sub-Saharan Africa faces significant barriers to broadband adoption beyond simple infrastructure gaps. The paper identifies obstacles including affordability, limited local content, inadequate technical support, and misalignment between available services and actual community needs. These factors prevent efficient broadband use even where networks exist, requiring solutions that address social and economic dimensions alongside technological deployment.
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RETRACTED: Community gender entrepreneurship and self-help groups: a way forward to foster social capital and truly effective forms of participation among rural poor women?
This paper has been retracted due to extensive plagiarism. The original article examined self-help groups and gender entrepreneurship among rural poor women in India, arguing these mechanisms build social capital and enable meaningful participation. Readers should consult the original source by Lahiri-Dutt and Samanta instead.
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Growing Innovation Policy: The Case of Organic Agriculture in Ontario, Canada
This case study of organic agriculture in Ontario reveals how innovation operates across multiple scales—local, national, and global. The research identifies three key policy needs: strengthening local networks and farmer associations, correcting global subsidy inequities, and establishing national research funding and standards for organic production. These changes would create more resilient production and marketing systems. The study demonstrates that understanding innovation requires analyzing how different scales interconnect and influence each other.
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Do Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems Have the Dynamic Capabilities to Guide the Digital Transition of Short Food Supply Chains?
Agricultural knowledge and innovation systems in Greece and Italy struggle to capitalize on digital opportunities in short food supply chains, despite sensing external changes. Knowledge emerges as critical for building transformative capacity, but systems lack functional connections between stakeholders. Strengthening engagement from public advisory organizations, universities, and technology providers is essential for developing the collective knowledge base needed for successful digital transition.
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A Techno-Economic Framework for Installing Broadband Networks in Rural and Remote Areas
This paper develops a techno-economic framework for deploying broadband networks in rural and remote areas, addressing the challenge of high infrastructure costs versus low operator revenue. Using cost-of-ownership analysis and financial feasibility techniques, the authors demonstrate how to reduce subscription costs for end-users while maintaining operator profitability. A case study in the Brazilian Amazon shows the framework can deliver equitable digital access by lowering deployment expenses.
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Interpreting community enterprises’ ability to survive in depleted contexts through the Humane Entrepreneurship lens: evidence from Italian rural areas
Community enterprises in depleted Italian rural areas survive by adopting humane entrepreneurship—a strategic approach that balances economic goals with environmental and social values. This framework better explains why entrepreneurs operate in high-risk contexts and reveals how community involvement and altruistic values enable these businesses to succeed where conventional ventures fail.
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Climate variability, innovation and firm performance: evidence from the European agricultural sector
Climate variability drives agricultural firms to develop adaptation innovations, which significantly improve their performance. Using panel data from European farms between 2007 and 2017, the authors find that firms generating knowledge about climate adaptation technologies perform better, particularly in aquaculture and fishing sectors in northern Europe. Innovation emerges as a key mechanism linking climate stress to business success.
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Network Structure and Influencing Factors of Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Spatial Correlation Network—A Study Based on Data from 30 Provinces in China
This study maps how agricultural science and technology innovation spreads across 30 Chinese provinces through two stages: R&D and technology application. Using network analysis, researchers found that innovation shows clear spatial correlation and spillover effects across regions. The network has a core-periphery structure with strong stability. Market differences, government agricultural support, geographic proximity, and regional economic development drive innovation spread. The findings support cross-regional coordination mechanisms to address uneven distribution of innovation resources.
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Making Darkness a Place-Based Resource: How the Fight against Light Pollution Reconfigures Rural Areas in France
French rural communities are turning darkness into an economic and environmental resource by fighting light pollution. The paper identifies three approaches: economicizing darkness for profit, protecting it for biodiversity conservation, and integrating it into sustainable development planning. These rural areas become experimental spaces where communities resolve conflicts between different visions of darkness protection, ultimately enabling new development trajectories that balance economic, ecological, and energy goals.
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Rethinking rural entrepreneurship in the era of globalization: some observations from Iran
This longitudinal study of 40 rural entrepreneurs and experts across four Iranian provinces identifies four distinct types of rural entrepreneurship: orthodox economic, technology-driven, applied scientific, and development-supplementary approaches. The authors argue for a fifth model—anti-globalized cultural rural entrepreneurship—that shifts focus from productivist agriculture toward multifunctional farming and social movements, moving beyond rural-urban divides.
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Innovation in rural development in Puglia, Italy: critical issues and potentialities starting from empirical evidence
In Puglia, Italy, rural innovation policy under the LEADER approach emphasizes social and cultural change, yet local implementation remains narrowly focused on technological solutions and productivist goals. Despite significant CAP funding for innovation axes, governance structures at regional and local levels fail to support broader institutional and social innovation. Stakeholder interviews reveal a gap between policy intent and practice, with entrenched conservatism limiting transformative rural development.
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'Just sisters doing business between us': gender, social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial resilience in rural Malaysia
A study of a rural women's cooperative in Sabah, Malaysia reveals how female social entrepreneurs build resilience and community impact through informal business ventures. The 20+ women in 'Annie's Co-op' function as both family breadwinners and community leaders, demonstrating strategies for overcoming entrepreneurial barriers while maintaining social responsibility. Their collective approach shows how rural women create economic and social value despite significant challenges.
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A study on research hot-spots and frontiers of agricultural science and technology innovation - visualization analysis based on the Citespace III
This paper analyzes international agricultural science and technology innovation research using citation mapping software to identify research hotspots and frontiers. The authors compare international trends with Chinese agricultural innovation research, finding disconnects between agricultural science studies and actual production, weak market mechanisms, and poor resource allocation. They map the evolution of agricultural innovation research globally to inform China's science and technology innovation system development.
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Patterns and Collaborators of Innovation in the Primary Sector: A Study of the Danish Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Industry
Danish agricultural, forestry, and fishery firms show substantial innovation despite being classified as low-tech. Nearly half of 640 surveyed firms reported some innovation activity, with product/process innovation at 23 percent. Firms selling directly to consumers innovated more than those in processing or wholesale. Most innovative firms worked independently, citing internal drivers. The industry's strong extended knowledge base—universities, research institutions, advisory services—provides critical innovation support that traditional surveys often miss.
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Infrastructure required, skill needed: Digital entrepreneurship in rural and urban areas
Digital entrepreneurship in Germany grows faster than conventional entrepreneurship and concentrates in cities, but the study reveals it can thrive in rural areas when two conditions are met: adequate digital infrastructure and a highly-skilled workforce. Policy should focus on building both elements to enable rural digital venture formation.
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Urban-rural digitalization evolves from divide to inclusion: empirical evidence from China
China's urban-rural digitalization has shifted from division toward inclusion between 2000 and 2020, with development advancing and gaps narrowing overall. However, three challenges persist: some high-development areas maintain high disparities, digital applications remain inadequately integrated, and provincial disparities are widening. The authors recommend policies targeting urban-rural integration, digital literacy improvement, and coordinated regional development.
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Overcoming constraints of scaling: Critical and empirical perspectives on agricultural innovation scaling
Agricultural innovation scaling in Ethiopia requires balancing technical and social factors, not just linear technology rollout. Scaling succeeds through flexible, stepwise strategies that build long-term partnerships, trust, and continuous learning rather than rigid predetermined plans. Social dynamics, actor relationships, and emergent processes matter as much as technical requirements for achieving real impact on rural livelihoods.
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Middle years students’ engagement with science in rural and urban communities in Australia: exploring science capital, place-based knowledges and familial relationships
Rural and urban Australian middle-school students develop science engagement differently based on family relationships and local knowledge. The study of 45 Year 8 students reveals that place-based knowledge and family social capital significantly influence science identity formation. Rural students draw on different knowledge resources than urban peers. Teachers can better support science engagement by recognizing and building on students' existing family knowledge and local expertise rather than assuming uniform science capital across communities.
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Managing Agricultural Research for Prosperity and Food Security in 2050: Comparison of Performance, Innovation Models and Prospects
This study compares agricultural research and innovation performance across six emerging economies in Asia and Africa—Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Uganda, and Kenya. The authors find that these countries show varying levels of success in R&D investment, policy implementation, technology transfer, and public-private partnerships. They identify best practices and recommend that sustained agricultural development requires strong policies supporting research investment, strategic partnerships linking research to practice, and continuous capacity building.
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Rural Entrepreneurship in African Countries: A Synthesis of Related Literature
This literature synthesis examines rural entrepreneurship across African countries, analyzing existing research to identify patterns, challenges, and opportunities for business development in rural African contexts. The authors synthesize findings from related studies to provide a comprehensive overview of how rural entrepreneurs operate, what barriers they face, and what factors enable their success across the African continent.
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Sustaining the Entrepreneurship in Rural Tourism Development
Rural entrepreneurs drive sustainable tourism development and local economic growth. The paper argues that stimulating entrepreneurial activities in rural tourism recovers regional potential, preserves traditions, and maintains employment while raising living standards. It examines how local communities participate in developing rural tourism entrepreneurship and addresses key challenges in this sector.
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Culture and entrepreneurial opportunity in high- and low-entrepreneurship rural communities
Rural entrepreneurs in high- and low-entrepreneurship communities conceptualize business opportunities differently than existing theory suggests. The study examined six rural communities across Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Maine, finding that entrepreneurs neither simply discover nor create opportunities in the ways literature describes. Instead, cultural context shapes how entrepreneurs recognize and act on opportunities, with different community actors holding equally valid but distinct views on opportunity emergence.
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Entrepreneurship as a Catalyst for Rural Tourism Development
Tourism development catalyzes rural entrepreneurship by creating business opportunities for local communities to serve visitors and sell products. The paper argues that active community participation in tourism-related enterprises drives economic development in rural areas. Local entrepreneurs and workers in tourism and complementary sectors encourage broader community involvement, fostering prosperity and sustainable rural development.
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Human capital, migration and rural entrepreneurship in China
This paper models how human capital affects occupational choices and migration decisions in rural China. The analysis shows that improving human capital distribution has different effects depending on initial levels: low human capital increases permanent migration, while higher human capital encourages rural entrepreneurship. The study finds that rural non-farm businesses help raise wages but don't eliminate urban-rural income gaps, and that borrowing constraints and migration costs significantly limit rural business development and labor mobility.
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THE STRUGGLE FOR BROADBAND IN RURAL AMERICA
Rural American communities face significant barriers to broadband access and adoption. The paper examines the challenges preventing rural areas from obtaining reliable high-speed internet infrastructure and identifies obstacles to technology uptake among rural populations. These barriers limit rural communities' ability to participate in the digital economy and access online services.
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Success and Failure of Crossbred Cows in India: A Place-Based Approach to Rural Development
India's dairy cooperative program is widely celebrated, but crossbred cows promoted by development agencies were not uniformly adopted across rural areas. This study explains mixed adoption rates by examining how place-specific agricultural economies and social relations shape farmer decisions. Success or failure cannot be measured simply by adoption rates; instead, evaluating dairy development requires understanding local practices, official policies, and the distinct characteristics of each village and region.
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REAL-WORLD INNOVATION IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA
Living Labs, a European model for community-driven innovation, can accelerate rural development in South Africa. The authors examine whether this regional innovation approach—which embeds user communities in real-world environments—transfers effectively to South African rural contexts. They assess how European best practices and lessons learned from Living Lab networks can speed innovation adoption in South African communities.
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Technological and Institutional Innovations for Sustainable Rural Development
International agricultural research must shift from traditional top-down models to participatory, systems-based approaches that engage farmers and communities throughout the innovation process. The International Livestock Research Institute reorganized its work around five interconnected themes emphasizing innovation systems, participatory research, social science capacity, and partnerships. This demand-driven, community-based model produces knowledge products directly addressing poverty alleviation and sustainable rural development, particularly through livestock research in developing countries.
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Reducing food loss through sustainable business models and agricultural innovation systems
This study identifies how sustainable business models integrated with agricultural innovation systems reduce food loss in postharvest supply chains. Researchers found that value losses cascade through supply chains via multiplier and stacking effects. They propose four strategies: redefining ownership as stewardship, enabling beneficiary identification, strengthening value addition, and building community capacity. The findings emphasize networked approaches combining agricultural innovation systems with sustainable business models to address early-stage food loss.
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Place-based research in small rural hospitals: an overlooked opportunity for action to reduce health inequities in Australia?
Small rural hospitals in Australia represent an underutilized setting for place-based research that could address health inequities. The authors argue that conducting research within these hospitals, tailored to local contexts and needs, offers a practical opportunity to generate evidence and implement solutions that reduce disparities in rural healthcare access and outcomes.
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A Coupling Mechanism and the Measurement of Science and Technology Innovation and Rural Revitalization Systems
This paper develops a measurement framework to assess how scientific and technological innovation couples with rural revitalization efforts. Using data from Hebei province (2010–2019), the authors construct evaluation indices and coordination models to quantify the relationship between the two systems. Results show Hebei's coupling coordination improved from mild imbalance to primary coordination, with projections reaching good coordination by 2024. The framework provides policymakers with tools for managing regional agricultural development.
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Diffusion of Agricultural Technology Innovation: Research Progress of Innovation Diffusion in Chinese Agricultural Science and Technology Parks
Chinese agricultural science and technology parks drive technology diffusion through a systematic model. The research analyzes how these parks function as innovation hubs, examining both the spatial and temporal patterns of technology spread. It identifies key factors influencing farmer adoption of new agricultural technologies and explores how different environmental conditions and technology types affect adoption behavior. The study reveals a "point-axis" diffusion pattern and highlights emerging adoption behaviors among new business agents in agricultural innovation.
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5G and 6G Broadband Cellular Network Technologies as Enablers of New Avenues for Behavioral Influence with Examples from Reduced Rural-Urban Digital Divide
Fifth and sixth generation broadband networks enable faster feedback loops for persuasive design and behavioral influence. The authors argue these technologies can reduce the rural-urban digital divide, but only if rural populations gain actual access. Without equitable deployment, next-generation networks risk widening existing inequalities rather than closing them.
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Understanding social enterprise, social entrepreneurship and the social economy in rural Cambodia
This study examines social enterprises in rural Northern Cambodia through interviews with three organizations, revealing that Western development agencies' views on social enterprise often conflict with local realities and community needs. As capitalist market forces advance, Cambodia's social economy is changing in ways that may exclude vulnerable community members. The research challenges Western-centric assumptions about social entrepreneurship and highlights how local social enterprises serve rural development differently than international development models predict.
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Innovation in rural development: "neo-rural" farmers branding local quality of food and territory
Neo-rural farmers in Campania, Italy are innovating through collective branding that links local food quality with territorial identity. These farmers reshape production-consumption relationships by combining economic practices with environmental and cultural values. Their narrative-based brand represents an alternative agri-food movement that promotes local development, food quality, and resource stewardship in inner rural areas.
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Benchmarking innovations and new practices in rural tourism development
Rural tourism in Asia can become more sustainable by adopting innovations and best practices from both within the region and internationally. The authors reviewed case studies from nine Asian countries plus New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Lesotho, and Poland to identify successful approaches. They found that Asian countries can replicate management strategies and development models from other nations to improve their own rural tourism initiatives.
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A Predictive Model of Innovation in Rural Entrepreneurship
Rural entrepreneurs succeed when they embrace innovation. This study identifies key factors driving economic development in rural areas and builds a predictive model showing how innovation levels directly influence business success. The model helps explain the relationship between entrepreneurial innovation and rural well-being, providing practical guidance for supporting local business growth.
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Literary rural tourism entrepreneurship: case study evidence from Northern Portugal
This case study examines how literary tourism entrepreneurs in Northern Portugal develop and operate their businesses. The research demonstrates that literary heritage and cultural narratives drive rural tourism ventures in the region, creating economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs who leverage regional identity and literary connections to attract visitors and build sustainable tourism enterprises.
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In Violence as in Peace: Violent Conflict and Rural Entrepreneurship in the Philippines
Rural entrepreneurs in conflict-affected areas of the Philippines use business activities as a primary risk-coping strategy, so conflict does not deter them from starting or maintaining enterprises. However, conflict significantly constrains investment and expansion decisions. The specific nature of the conflict shapes how entrepreneurs respond and adapt their behavior accordingly.
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Australian agricultural R&amp;D and innovation systems
Australia's agricultural sector maintains global competitiveness through cutting-edge R&D and rapid innovation despite minimal public subsidies and high export volumes. The paper challenges urban-focused creativity theories by demonstrating that rural innovation systems can be equally powerful, driven by scale economies and quality control demands in the farming sector.
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Place-Conscious Capacity-Building: A Systemic Model for The Revitalisation and Renewal of Rural Schools and Communities Through University-Based Regional Stewardship
Universities can revitalize rural communities through place-conscious capacity-building, a model that uses culturally-responsive methods and institutional resources to strengthen local capabilities. Implemented at a post-compulsory institution in central Appalachia, the approach combines place-based learning with stakeholder engagement across multiple contexts to support public education and community economic development.
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Rural Art Festivals and Creative Social Entrepreneurship
Rural art festivals in peripheral island communities drive social and regional revitalization through creative social entrepreneurship. The study analyzes four festivals—a traditional matsuri and three contemporary art, music, and film events—showing how entrepreneurial networks enable resource exchange, population retention, and community development. Festival organizers use resourcefulness and bricolage to adapt their activities, creating socially engaged creative networks that advance revitalization goals.
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Digital divide, craft firms’ websites and urban-rural disparities—empirical evidence from a web-scraping approach
Using web-scraping data from 345,000 German small firms, this study reveals a significant digital divide between urban and rural areas. Rural firms are half as likely to operate websites as urban firms, despite similar adoption of social media and website maintenance practices. Population density, youth, and education positively correlate with website adoption, while GDP per capita shows a surprising negative association in urban regions. The findings challenge the "death of distance" hypothesis and highlight persistent spatial inequalities in digitalization.
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Entrepreneurial ecosystems and local economy sustainability: institutional actors' views on neo-rural entrepreneurship in low-density Portuguese territories
Neo-rural entrepreneurs in low-density Portuguese territories drive local economic development and sustainability, according to institutional actors interviewed in this study. The research identifies territorial attractiveness factors and institutional support from municipalities and polytechnic institutes, but also reveals significant entrepreneurial obstacles. Most neo-rural ventures are necessity-driven rather than opportunity-driven, suggesting these entrepreneurs fill economic gaps in declining rural areas.
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The role of actors’ cooperation, local anchoring and innovation in creating culinary tourism experiences in the rural Slovenian Mediterranean
Rural culinary tourism experiences in Slovenia's Mediterranean region drive sustainable development when local actors cooperate closely and embed community values. The researchers analyzed 213 culinary experiences, examining ten in depth across cooperation, local anchoring, and innovation. They found that innovation significantly influences success and that experience types correlate with organizer types, making culinary tourism a viable alternative to mass coastal tourism.
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Rural broadband initiatives in the Netherlands as a training ground for neo-endogenous development
Rural broadband initiatives in the Netherlands involve citizens, governments, and market players working together to improve internet connectivity. An analysis of 75 initiatives reveals an eight-stage development model showing how all three actors influence progress. However, market players use rigid policies to protect market share, while governments offer vague or generic policies that ignore local differences. These initiatives require substantial social, intellectual, and financial capital to succeed, but current operating conditions threaten their ability to deliver broadband to rural areas.
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The dynamics of local innovations among formal and informal enterprises: Stories from rural South Africa
This study examines innovation in rural South African enterprises, both formal and informal. The research reveals that innovation characteristics are similar across formal and informal sectors, challenging traditional distinctions between them. Informal innovations occur throughout the rural economy regardless of sector location. The findings show that narrow categorizations of innovators obscure economic reality and identify four policy priorities for supporting rural innovation.
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Beyond the Transfer of Capital? Second-Home Owners as Competence Brokers for Rural Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Second-home owners in Norwegian rural municipalities possess significant untapped potential as competence brokers for local entrepreneurship and innovation. A survey of 2,200 second-home owners in Telemark found they demonstrate genuine interest in their communities, willingness to contribute, and extensive higher education and business experience. These characteristics position them as valuable resources for stimulating rural economic development beyond simple capital transfer.
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Territory and innovation behaviour in agri-food firms: does rurality matter?
Innovation in agri-food firms depends on both company structure and territorial characteristics. Using data from Valencia, Spain, the study finds that rural location itself does not hinder innovation. Instead, proximity to training services and technological institutes significantly boosts innovation rates. Education levels and access to knowledge infrastructure matter more than urban versus rural designation.
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Urban–Rural Integration and Agricultural Technology Innovation: Evidence from China
Urban-rural integration in China promotes agricultural technological innovation, with effects varying by region and agricultural area. The study of 288 cities from 1999-2018 shows that governance systems and mature markets strengthen this relationship. The impact follows a double threshold pattern, where deeper integration produces larger gains in innovation, particularly in central and urban areas. Breaking down urban-rural barriers accelerates agricultural technology development.
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The Sustainable Rural Industrial Development under Entrepreneurship and Deep Learning from Digital Empowerment
This paper uses neural networks and genetic algorithms to identify which sectors drive rural industrial development under digital transformation. The authors analyzed global digitalization practices and modeled influencing factors on rural income. Results show tourism, infrastructure, and transportation are the highest-priority sectors for development. The mathematical model provides data-driven guidance for allocating resources and planning rural industries during digital empowerment.
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A framework for optimal techno-economic assessment of broadband access solutions and digital inclusion of rural population in global information society
Rural areas face persistent digital divides in broadband access compared to urban regions. This paper proposes an extended techno-economic assessment framework to identify optimal broadband deployment and adoption strategies for rural populations. The framework incorporates regression analyses of key factors influencing rural broadband solutions, integrating these findings into standard techno-economic models. A case study demonstrates the framework's effectiveness in determining efficient broadband solutions for rural scenarios.
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Creating a smart rural economy through smart specialisation: The microsphere model
This paper proposes the microsphere model, a framework for applying smart specialisation strategies to rural economies. The model shifts innovation focus from large-scale capital investment to entrepreneurial activity, helping policymakers support innovation among small rural firms. The author tests the framework using a Scottish rural region case study, demonstrating how smart specialisation can address economic stagnation and boost regional growth through demand-led innovation strategies.
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Information and Communication Technologies for Regional Development in the Czech Republic – Broadband Connectivity in Rural Areas
A survey of Czech rural regions reveals significant digital inequality despite recent improvements. Urban areas achieve near-complete broadband coverage, suburban areas exceed 85%, but rural areas lag at only 75% availability. Many rural areas lack high-quality internet connections entirely. The research documents how agricultural enterprises in rural Czech regions face persistent connectivity challenges despite EU and national digital development initiatives.
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Challenges for Place-Based Mathematics Pedagogy in Rural Schools and Communities in the United States
Rural mathematics teachers in seven U.S. states attempted to connect math instruction to their communities. The study found that community-based math teaching primarily motivated lower-track students rather than advancing higher-level mathematics. Success depended on dedicated teacher champions and community belief in local futures. However, tensions between local relevance and universal academic standards reinforced social class divisions and encouraged youth to leave rural areas. The authors urge educators to clarify the actual purposes of place-based math education.
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Agricultural extension services and rural innovation in inner Scandinavia
Agricultural extension services in Norwegian Hedmark and Swedish Värmland take different approaches to supporting rural innovation. Värmland's extension services foster entrepreneurship and rural development through networked regional systems, while Hedmark's services remain tied to conventional agro-industrial models within a centralized national system. The study shows extension services function as either catalysts for agricultural restructuring or defenders of traditional farming approaches.
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Bridging or widening? The impact of the Broadband China policy on urban-rural income inequality
China's Broadband policy expanded rural internet infrastructure but paradoxically widened the urban-rural income gap between 2011 and 2021. The policy's effects varied by region based on local conditions. Innovation, entrepreneurship, digital finance, and information industry growth mediated the policy's impact on inequality. Complementary policies helped reduce the widening effect, suggesting that broadband expansion alone requires coordinated policy support tailored to local development levels.
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Multi-actor rural innovation ecosystems: Definition, dynamics, and spatial relations
Rural innovation ecosystems differ fundamentally from urban ones in their structure and dynamics. This paper defines rural innovation ecosystems by identifying their unique characteristics: geographic dependencies, sector-specific relationships, and social and human capital rooted in local communities. The authors argue that rural areas possess distinct resources and capacities to generate innovation through multi-actor collaboration, and that understanding these differences is essential for establishing vibrant innovation ecosystems that address rural disparities.
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The heterogeneous role of broadband access on establishment entry and exit by sector and urban and rural markets
Broadband access increases business formation and reduces closures overall, but effects vary significantly by sector and location. Construction and professional services gain establishments in both urban and rural areas. Finance, insurance, real estate, and information sectors grow only in cities. Retail shrinks in urban areas while manufacturing and hospitality decline in rural areas. Educational services shift from rural to urban locations.
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Socio-cultural factors as driving forces of rural entrepreneurship in Oman
This study examines why rural entrepreneurship participation remains low in Oman despite government diversification efforts. Through interviews with twenty rural entrepreneurs, the researchers identified three entrepreneurial community orientations driven by cultural values. Cultural factors—particularly Islamic and Omani traditions—prove far more influential than economic or infrastructure conditions in determining whether people pursue entrepreneurship. The findings suggest that understanding culture-specific values is essential for developing effective rural development policies in Oman and similar Gulf countries.
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Methods of State Support of Innovative Entrepreneurship. The Example of Rural Tourism
Kazakhstan's small business sector needs stronger state support systems to drive innovation, particularly in rural tourism. The authors analyze how developed countries support innovative entrepreneurship and propose tailored strategies for Kazakhstan that account for local cultural and institutional contexts. They emphasize that effective legal frameworks and corruption prevention are essential, and highlight how tourism and hospitality sectors were severely impacted by COVID-19.
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A Place-Based Pedagogical Action Study to Enrich Rural Sustainability: Knowledge Ties of National Taiwan University’s 10-Year Partnership with Pinglin
Rural communities lose young people and local knowledge, threatening sustainability. National Taiwan University partnered with Pinglin for a decade using place-based pedagogy to connect students and faculty with rural communities. The researchers developed the Knowledge-Ties Youth Rural Sustainability framework, which integrates local tacit knowledge with contemporary science to create economic and cultural networks that retain young talent and sustain rural livelihoods.
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How Knowledge-Based Local and Global Networks Foster Innovations in Rural Areas
Rural micro-businesses in peripheral areas innovate by combining local and global knowledge networks. Analysis of three German case studies shows that extra-local knowledge sources spark initial ideas and support product marketing, while local ties prove essential for production. The findings challenge rural development policies that focus solely on local networks, demonstrating that global knowledge flows significantly enable innovation even in institutionally thin regions.
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Language Education for Newcomers in Rural Canada: Needs, Opportunities, and Innovations
Rural areas across Canada are receiving growing numbers of immigrants and refugees, yet research on their integration remains concentrated in major cities. Language education is critical for newcomer integration, enabling access to social, economic, cultural, and civic participation. This paper examines barriers and opportunities for language learning in rural Canadian communities, identifies promising practices and innovations already in use, and analyzes teacher education programs to support effective language instruction in smaller centres.
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Internet Village Motoman Project in rural Cambodia: bridging the digital divide
A wireless internet project in rural Cambodia motivated users through identity, social connection, and community ownership. The system generated unintended benefits including increased social interaction, internet commerce, telemedicine, and e-government services. User adoption depended on social interactions and community dynamics, not individual decisions alone, demonstrating how practical internet infrastructure can bridge the digital divide in developing regions.
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Macroeconomic Analysis of the Competitive Factors which Influence Innovation in Rural Entrepreneurship
This study identifies macroeconomic factors that drive entrepreneurial innovation in rural areas by analyzing competitiveness at regional levels. The research develops a descriptive model placing entrepreneurial innovation at the center of rural competitiveness, incorporating Porter's diamond framework and institutional influences. The model shows how four key elements interact with external institutions to foster innovation in rural entrepreneurship.
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Fablabs as Drivers for Open Innovation and Co-creation to Foster Rural Development
Fablabs function as collaborative spaces where policymakers, businesses, and citizens jointly develop innovative products and services. The paper demonstrates how these makerspaces drive rural development by examining two case studies from rural Slovenian municipalities, showing how open innovation and co-creation platforms can generate economic opportunities in rural regions.
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Institutional Constraints to Innovation: Artisan Clusters in Rural India
Rural artisan clusters in India suffer from low innovation due to institutional constraints. Formal institutions—both public and private—remain disconnected from these informal enterprises, limiting access to finance, technology, and markets. The paper examines five handloom and handicraft clusters across Indian states, finding that sectoral approaches to cluster development fail to address underlying spatial and organizational problems. It questions whether innovation systems adequately serve poor rural producers.
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Enabling rural innovation in Africa: an approach for empowering smallholder farmers to access market opportunities for improved livelihoods
This paper presents the Enabling Rural Innovation approach, which helps smallholder farmers in Africa access market opportunities and build entrepreneurial capacity. The method combines participatory market research, farmer-led research, natural resource management, social capital building, and gender equity to link resource-poor farmers to domestic, regional, and international markets. The authors share lessons and impact findings from testing this approach across eastern and southern Africa.
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Rural businesses and levelling up: A rural-urban analysis of business innovation and exporting in England's north and midlands
Rural and urban small businesses in England's North and Midlands show no significant differences in innovation or exporting rates, according to analysis of longitudinal survey data. The study challenges the assumption that cities provide better conditions for business growth, suggesting that levelling-up policies should not prioritize urban areas over rural ones.
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Digital Rural Construction and Rural Household Entrepreneurship: Evidence from China
Digital rural construction in China significantly boosts rural household entrepreneurship by enabling resource acquisition and opportunity identification. The effect is strongest among local entrepreneurs, risk-averse individuals, and lower-income families in regions with advanced digital development. All four dimensions of digital rural construction—infrastructure, services, governance, and culture—positively influence both entrepreneurial behavior and performance among rural households.
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“Do you Know What's Underneath your Feet?”: Underground Landscapes & Place‐Based Risk Perceptions of Proposed Shale Gas Sites in Rural British Communities<sup>☆</sup>
Rural communities in the United Kingdom perceive risks from proposed shale gas exploration through deep, place-based knowledge rooted in generations of connection to their local landscapes, including underground features. Residents' understanding of subsurface geology shapes their concerns about how extraction threatens their communities' distinctiveness and character. The study shows that effective risk management for underground energy projects must incorporate local, place-based knowledge alongside technical expertise.
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Building a Culture of Entrepreneurial Initiative in Rural Regions Based on Sustainable Development Goals: A Case Study of University of Applied Sciences–Municipality Innovation Partnership
Universities and municipalities can build entrepreneurial culture in rural regions through creative partnerships that extend beyond economic contributions. The study examines a university-municipality innovation partnership, showing that universities should integrate social, environmental, and economic dimensions across teaching, research, and community engagement. Governments should move beyond regulation to actively collaborate with universities in fostering regional entrepreneurial initiatives aligned with sustainable development goals.
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Research on Rural Entrepreneurship in Terms of the Literature: Definition Problems and Selected Research Issues
Rural entrepreneurship represents a critical research area amid significant socio-economic changes in rural regions. This paper reviews Polish and international literature on rural entrepreneurship, emphasizing geographical perspectives. The authors organize existing theoretical research, propose a definition of rural entrepreneurship, and identify future research directions and opportunities.
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Innovation in Rural Japan: Entrepreneurs and Residents Meeting the Challenges of Aging and Shrinking Agricultural Communities
In Japan's aging rural agricultural communities, entrepreneurs drive economic reconstruction by creating new business combinations that integrate elderly residents as a resource. Successful entrepreneurs in these shrinking regions demonstrate typical entrepreneurial traits alongside strong empathy for their communities and residents, enabling demographic challenges to become opportunities for local economic survival and redefinition.
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Exploring the potential of local food and drink entrepreneurship in rural Wales
Rural food and drink entrepreneurs in Wales create microenterprises and food tourism initiatives that address social and economic challenges in farming communities. Case studies show how these ventures deliver sustainable local food systems with community benefits, operating within Wales's One Planet Sustainable Development framework. The research demonstrates entrepreneurship's role in translating policy into rural development, particularly as European funding and Welsh Government increasingly support food heritage tourism for rural wellbeing.
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Local development in the rural regions of Eastern Europe: Post-socialist paradoxes of economic and social entrepreneurship
Agricultural transformation in Hungary and Poland created paradoxes for rural development. The paper examines how de-collectivization reshaped cooperative management and the relationship between large cooperatives and rural households. It analyzes how Europeanization and globalization affected these dynamics, identifying what distinguishes successful cooperatives and households in this post-socialist context.
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Rural Telephone Company Adoption of Service Innovations: A Community Field Theory Approach*
Rural telephone companies in Iowa that actively participate in local economic development activities adopt telecommunications service innovations at higher rates than those that don't. The study distinguishes between service innovations (improving client offerings) and operations innovations (improving business efficiency), finding that community engagement directly drives adoption of new technologies to serve rural customers better.
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How returning home for entrepreneurship affects rural common prosperity
Returning home to start businesses significantly promotes rural prosperity in China, with effects varying across regions and driven by three mechanisms: access to financial credit, government support, and social networks. The impact is stronger in areas already experiencing higher prosperity levels, creating a Matthew effect where advantages concentrate in better-off rural regions.
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Co-creating cultural narratives for sustainable rural development: a transdisciplinary learning framework for guiding place-based social-ecological research
This paper presents a transdisciplinary framework that combines cultural heritage, landscape, and social-ecological systems thinking to support sustainable rural development. The framework emphasizes continuous dialogue and collaboration among communities, stakeholders, and researchers across four steps. Testing in four European UNESCO Biosphere Reserves demonstrated that the framework successfully guides place-based research and enables comparative analysis, allowing insights from local contexts to scale up to national and global levels.
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Redefining rural entrepreneurship: The impact of business ecosystems on the success of rural businesses in Extremadura, Spain
Rural businesses in Extremadura, Spain succeed based on community connection and value creation, not just location or primary sector activity. The study finds that local business ecosystems lack sufficient resources tailored to rural entrepreneurship. Policymakers must develop new, place-based support strategies and resources that leverage endogenous rural assets to increase viable rural businesses and drive regional development.
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Fostering rural entrepreneurship: An ex-post analysis for Spanish municipalities
A Spanish policy promoting rural entrepreneurship through bottom-up ecosystem relationships reduced unemployment in treated municipalities, but showed no spillover effects. Infrastructure and innovation funding proved effective at lowering joblessness, while technology adoption alone did not. Female workers experienced smaller benefits, revealing that basic infrastructure matters more than technology alone for rural economic development.
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THE RURAL TOURIST ENTREPRENEURSHIP – NEW OPPORTUNITIES OF CAPITALIZING THE RURAL TOURIST POTENTIAL IN THE CONTEXT OF DURABLE DEVELOPMENT
Rural tourism entrepreneurship can revitalize economically disadvantaged communities by leveraging traditional agro-food products and regional food systems. The authors analyze how integrated rural tourism ventures create economic benefits at national levels across European Union countries. They develop metrics to measure rural tourism entrepreneurship potential, finding that mountainous and adjacent areas can achieve sustainable development by capitalizing on their distinctive food heritage and tourist appeal.
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Wealth, Entrepreneurship, and Rural Livelihoods
This paper examines the relationship between wealth, entrepreneurship, and rural livelihoods. The authors investigate how wealth accumulation and entrepreneurial activity shape economic opportunities and living standards in rural communities. The work connects financial resources to business creation and sustainability in agricultural and non-agricultural rural sectors.
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Rural Entrepreneurship through Electricity
Nepal shifted rural electrification from top-down government programs to community-based management, where local groups contribute 20% of costs and operate systems themselves. Between 2003 and 2008, this approach brought electricity to nearly 190,000 rural households annually through 450 community electricity organizations. The model increased economic activity, enabled productive use of electricity, fostered rural entrepreneurship, and advanced gender equality in participating communities.
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Lessons from the design of innovation systems for rural industrial clusters in India
Innovation systems for rural village industries in India fail when they adopt weak competitiveness models focused on poverty alleviation rather than business growth. The paper argues that small producers must form multi-sectoral collectives pooling resources and capabilities to achieve technological efficiency. Analysis of leather, fruit processing, and agro-processing sectors shows that successful innovation requires producers to cooperate in production at scale, not compete individually using primitive intermediate technologies.
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Rural Entrepreneurship and Innovation in BRICS Economies: Secondary Evidence from Rural Areas in South Africa
Rural firms in South Africa are risk-averse and heavily dependent on government support and networks to engage in entrepreneurship and innovation. When external support ends, rural businesses fail. The study argues that government and networks must shift focus toward building independent, sustainable rural entrepreneurs rather than providing temporary assistance.
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Deciphering the digital divide: the heterogeneous and nonlinear influence of digital economy on urban-rural income inequality in China
Digital economy expansion in China widens urban-rural income inequality, but this effect weakens as digitalization advances. The impact varies significantly by region: in developed areas with high education and openness, digital economy increases inequality, while in regions with stronger secondary industry and higher fiscal spending, it helps reduce inequality. Policymakers should tailor digital strategies to local conditions.
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Has Electronic Commerce Growth Narrowed the Urban–Rural Income Gap? The Intermediary Effect of the Technological Innovation
E-commerce growth in China reduces the urban-rural income gap, according to analysis of provincial panel data. Measured by per capita express volume, e-commerce expansion significantly narrows income disparities between cities and countryside, even after controlling for urbanization, industrial structure, and human capital. The effect persists in robustness tests using instrumental variables. E-commerce growth operates as a direct mechanism for adjusting income distribution rather than through technological innovation channels.
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Rural sustainable development: A case study of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone in China
This case study of China's Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone examines how innovation drives rural sustainable development. Between 2016 and 2020, economic and social sustainability grew strongly, but ecological sustainability declined. Rural innovation capacity increased rapidly yet had weak effects on overall sustainable development. The authors identify imbalances across sustainability dimensions and propose a multi-dimensional pathway combining policy, technology, projects, and institutions to strengthen innovation's role in rural development.
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Developing social entrepreneurship in rural areas: A path mediation framework
Local wisdom strengthens social entrepreneurship development in rural microfinance groups in East Sumba, Indonesia. The study shows that incorporating traditional knowledge helps microfinance organizations overcome capital constraints and achieve sustainability. Local governments should design policies supporting social enterprise development that build on existing community wisdom and create environments where stakeholders can foster entrepreneurship.
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A new model of rural development based on human capital and entrepreneurship
Rural development depends heavily on entrepreneurship and human capital, which together drive economic growth in rural areas. The paper reviews academic literature on rural development and presents research findings on economic growth models for rural regions in the 21st century. The authors argue that connecting rural amenities with socio-economic development is essential and demonstrate how successful rural economic growth models can be implemented in Serbia.
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Swarm grids - Innovation in rural electrification
Swarm grids represent a decentralized approach to rural electrification that builds on existing Solar Home Systems by enabling households to trade electricity and supply additional loads with excess power. The author develops a simulation model to test swarm grid feasibility and validates it with field data from Bangladesh. Results show that swarm grids can effectively supply unelectrified households and commercial loads like irrigation pumps by capturing previously wasted solar energy, offering a scalable alternative to traditional mini-grids.
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Developing information to support the implementation of place-based economic development strategies: A case study of regional and rural development policy in the State of Victoria, Australia
Victoria, Australia implemented place-based regional development strategies requiring local and government partnerships. A key challenge emerged: stakeholders lacked shared understanding of government's role in promoting local economic growth. The author describes developing an information base to address this misalignment and offers lessons for practitioners implementing similar place-based economic development approaches elsewhere.
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Rural Regional Innovation: A Response to Metropolitan-framed Place-based Thinking in the United States
This paper examines place-based policy approaches to rural innovation in the United States, arguing that metropolitan-focused frameworks fail to capture rural realities. The author critiques how rurality is measured and how this shapes policy discourse, then proposes a rural regional innovation framework that accounts for distinct rural-metropolitan relationships and clusters. The work challenges regional science to better understand rural innovation dynamics.
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Rural Women Empowerment through Entrepreneurship Development
Rural women in agriculture and allied activities constitute a major workforce but remain underempowered. The paper argues that microenterprises offer an effective path for women's economic empowerment by leveraging their existing skills and available time. Technical training and enterprise development enable rural women to increase productivity and drive family and community development while contributing to national economic growth.
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Social entrepreneurship in a rural context: an over-ideological 'state'?
This study examines how social entrepreneurs operate in rural Scotland and what challenges they face. Researchers surveyed thirty stakeholders in the Scottish Highlands and Islands and identified major constraints limiting social entrepreneurship development, factors that support it, and conditions that act as both barriers and promoters depending on context. The findings reveal issues specific to remote rural areas alongside problems affecting Scotland's broader social economy.
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Entrepreneurship and institutional change in Post-socialist rural areas: Some evidence from Russia und the Ukraine
Rural entrepreneurs in post-socialist Russia and Ukraine differ significantly from their urban counterparts, operating within weaker institutional frameworks. The study examines three regions—Novosibirsk and Bashkortostan in Russia, and Transcarpathia in Ukraine—finding that while urban areas show increased entrepreneurial diversity following transformation, rural areas lag behind. Even within these rural regions, divergent development pathways are emerging, raising questions about the pace and direction of institutional change.
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Promoting the 'Civic' in Entrepreneurship: The Case of Rural Slovakia
Rural Slovakia successfully developed entrepreneurs through a mini-grants program that built civic capacity before economic entrepreneurship. The approach emphasized social and cultural norms alongside individual characteristics and networks. This model proved effective in post-communist Eastern Europe, where institutional support for entrepreneurship had been neglected during the transition to capitalism.
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Green Innovation and the Urban–Rural Income Gap: Empirical Evidence from China
Green innovation significantly reduces China's urban–rural income gap, with each unit increase in green innovation cutting the gap by 0.017 units. The effect is stronger in economically developed regions and areas with higher-skill workforces. Green innovation narrows income inequality by driving urbanization, restructuring labor forces, and reducing wage disparities. Environmental pollution amplifies these benefits, making green innovation particularly effective in polluted areas.
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Understanding the impact of internet use on farmer entrepreneurship: evidence from rural China
Internet use significantly promotes farmer entrepreneurship in rural China, with stronger effects in less developed northern Jiangsu than in the more developed south. The study identifies two mechanisms: internet access improves farmers' ability to obtain loans and expands their social networks, both of which drive entrepreneurial activity. These findings highlight internet connectivity as essential infrastructure for rural economic development.
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Rural Entrepreneurship Development in Southwest China: A Spatiotemporal Analysis
Rural entrepreneurship in Mianyang, southwest China grew significantly from 2011 to 2020 as part of government vitalization efforts. The study maps where enterprises emerged and finds that physical geography and institutional support—particularly government policies and infrastructure—shaped entrepreneurship patterns across the region. Rural entrepreneurship develops unevenly and requires analysis at regional scales to understand how local conditions drive business formation.
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Rural Development and Entrepreneurship: Exploration of Entrepreneurial Intention in Rural Area Among Chinese University Students
Chinese college students show stronger entrepreneurial intentions for rural areas when they experience positive emotions, feel capable of succeeding, and receive government support. Perceived control and desire to start a business directly influence entrepreneurial intent. These findings help policymakers design strategies to attract educated young people back to rural communities, addressing talent shortages and supporting national rural revitalization goals.
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Push them forward: Challenges in intergovernmental organizations' influence on rural broadband infrastructure expansion
Regional Planning Commissions in rural Missouri struggle to advance broadband infrastructure despite it being a core goal. Interviews with 16 commissions reveal they face competing stakeholder pressures from residents, local governments, internet service providers, and state/federal agencies. While commissions advocate for broadband priorities to elected officials, they lack sufficient expertise and self-efficacy to effectively support planning efforts. The study proposes a framework combining behavioral and stakeholder theories to explain these dynamics.
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Determinants of innovation by agri-food firms in rural Spain: an MCA PLS-SEM analysis
Small and medium agri-food firms in Spain innovate primarily to increase sales, enter new markets, and improve product quality, driven by firm capacity and financial resources. Smaller and younger firms face greater barriers to innovation. The study finds that firms rarely innovate to reduce costs or meet regulatory requirements. Public policy should address environmental compliance and employment maintenance, while supporting market-driven innovation incentives.
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Societal Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Asian Rural Societies: A Multi-Sectoral Social Capital Approach in Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan
Small-scale farmers in Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan collaborate across public, private, and third sectors to address agricultural crises including aging producers, falling prices, and biodiversity loss. The paper identifies how different types of social capital—solutions, advocacy, and reconciliation—drive these multi-sectoral initiatives and enable sustainable community development and scaling of solutions, with distinct drivers emerging in each country context.
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The Role of Social Entrepreneurship for Rural Development
Social entrepreneurship can drive sustainable rural development in Bulgaria by addressing poverty, migration, and depopulation while creating employment. The paper analyzes economic, social, and institutional factors that enable or hinder social enterprises in rural areas. Results show that social entrepreneurship effectively solves socially significant problems and should be promoted to retain working populations in rural communities.
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Innovation Network for Entrepreneurship Development in Rural Indian Context: Exploratory Factor Analysis
Rural entrepreneurs in Gujarat, India identify three critical types of innovation networks: connections with private organizations, NGOs, and public organizations. These networks help rural entrepreneurs access scarce resources and create development opportunities. The study finds that rural entrepreneurs value innovation networks primarily for production enhancement, information accessibility, skill development, and entrepreneurial opportunities.
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Drivers of Innovation in Rural Tourism: the Role of Good Governance and Engaged Entrepreneurs
Good governance and engaged entrepreneurship drive innovation in rural tourism. Research in Ontario identified seven success factors: governance, human resources, investments, research, marketing, communication, and coordination. Engaged entrepreneurs enable incremental innovation that helps rural businesses survive economic challenges, while strategic governance—including bottom-up planning and federal coordination—creates conditions for sustainable tourism development. Local entrepreneurial leadership proves critical for product development and training.
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How much TV UHF band spectrum is sufficient for rural broadband coverage?
This paper addresses rural broadband coverage in India by proposing a mesh network operating in TV UHF spectrum. The authors develop an optimization tool that calculates optimal power and routing for multihop networks, accounting for rural demographics, desired speeds, and propagation models. The solution coexists with TV broadcasting through shared access mechanisms and uses frequency reuse to manage interference. The tool determines feasible power levels for broadband coverage in specific rural regions.
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Rural Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Opportunities
Rural entrepreneurship is critical for Sweden's development, where 15.3% of the population lives in rural areas. Previous research focused narrowly on economic perspectives of rural development. This paper identifies new challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurs in small rural firms, moving beyond purely economic analysis to provide a more comprehensive understanding of rural entrepreneurship.
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The innovation performance of small rural enterprises and cooperatives in Tehran province, Iran
Small rural enterprises in Tehran province, particularly those processing and packaging food products, struggle with sustainability. This study examined innovation as a sustainability driver and found that regional cooperatives significantly outperform private enterprises in both product/service and market innovation, suggesting cooperative structures better support rural enterprise innovation.
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Off-grid Power for Small Communities with Renewable Energy Sources in Rural Guatemalan Villages
Engineers Without Borders implemented an off-grid renewable energy system in a 50-home Guatemalan village, replacing candles with solar power. The system provides electricity for lighting, cooking, and education while eliminating indoor pollution and fire hazards. Community evaluation showed off-grid renewable energy more sustainable than extending the utility grid, with operating costs lower than previous candle expenses.
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AREAS: CASE OF ROMANIA
Romania's EU accession in 2007 shifted rural development focus from agriculture to entrepreneurship and tourism. The paper examines how this transition created opportunities for small family tourism businesses in peripheral rural regions, particularly encouraging women entrepreneurs. Rural tourism emerged as a new survival strategy for rural communities adapting to globalization and EU integration.
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Microfinance and the dynamics of financial vulnerability. Lessons from rural South India
Microfinance in rural South India produces mixed results for household financial vulnerability. The study finds microfinance can either reduce vulnerability or deepen debt, depending on how clients combine it with other financial tools and strategies. The paper argues that microfinance effects cannot be understood in isolation from local employment, financing, and consumption dynamics, or from households' broader asset-building and vulnerability-coping strategies.
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Social Impact of Broadband Internet: A Case Study in the Shippagan Area, a Rural Zone in Atlantic Canada
This case study examines how broadband internet adoption affects rural communities in Shippagan, Atlantic Canada. The research documents the social impacts of broadband access in this rural zone, providing empirical evidence about how digital connectivity influences community life and development in remote Atlantic Canadian regions.
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From Rural Single-County to Multicounty Regional Transit Systems: Benefits of Consolidation
This study examines consolidating single-county rural public transit systems into multicounty regional systems in North Carolina. Researchers identified opportunities and barriers to regional integration, analyzed case studies of successful consolidations, and recommended programmatic and legislative changes to facilitate regional transit systems. The findings show that consolidation improves coordination of public transportation services across rural counties.
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Alleviating poverty: entrepreneurship and social capital in rural Denmark 1800-1900
Social capital—built through formal cooperative associations with written rules—motivated rural entrepreneurs to organize collective action in 19th-century Denmark. Peasants formed cooperative groups that provided public goods and drove economic growth in poor agricultural areas, solving the puzzle of why individuals voluntarily contribute to collective efforts despite negative personal economic incentives.
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Internationalization, innovation, and resilience: Financial performance of agricultural cooperatives in southeastern Spain's rural economy
Agricultural cooperatives in southeastern Spain that expand into international markets achieve stronger financial resilience, increased profitability, and greater innovation capacity than non-internationalized enterprises. Digital innovation proves essential for successful export performance. The study demonstrates that internationalization strengthens cooperative governance and positions these organizations as drivers of sustainable rural economic development, particularly in the post-pandemic context.
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Off-grid PV systems modelling and optimisation for rural communities - leveraging understandability and interpretability of modelling tools
This paper develops a transparent, open-source framework for designing off-grid solar photovoltaic systems in rural buildings. The authors combine particle swarm optimization with physics-informed modeling tools to size solar-plus-battery systems while accounting for climate change, user behavior changes, and evolving energy needs. Testing shows that open-source models reduce costs, increase flexibility, and improve confidence in rural electrification solutions compared to proprietary software.
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Impact of agricultural science and technology innovation resources allocation on rural revitalization
Agricultural science and technology innovation resources in Anhui Province, China positively drive rural revitalization. The relationship is nonlinear—benefits only materialize once resource allocation reaches a threshold. Improved allocation also creates spatial spillover effects that boost development in neighboring rural areas, demonstrating how strategic investment in agtech innovation strengthens broader rural development.
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Theoretical cognition and application innovation of Chinese rural tourism resources under the goal of common prosperity
This paper examines how rural tourism resources in China can be theoretically understood and practically developed to support common prosperity goals. The authors analyze cognitive frameworks for rural tourism innovation and propose applications that leverage local resources for economic development. Their work connects tourism resource management to broader rural development objectives in China.
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Rural Entrepreneurship as a Sustainable Livelihood Alternative for the Returnee Migrants: Reviewing the Potentials and Challenges
Rural entrepreneurship offers returnee migrants in Bangladesh a sustainable livelihood alternative, particularly following pandemic-related job losses. While remittances historically remain underinvested, the study finds that entrepreneurship can build migrant resilience if supported by adequate skills training and solutions to infrastructure and socio-political barriers. Success requires local development organizations, incubation centers, and peer support networks.
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Appalachian social entrepreneurship ecosystem: A framework for rural development
Social enterprises in rural Appalachian Ohio create economic development by leveraging regional champions, university partnerships, and multiple forms of capital. The study shows that successful rural social enterprise ecosystems depend on integrating community and economic development while preserving ecosystem services. This approach represents a fourth wave of rural economic development that moves beyond traditional models.
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To know is to accept. Uncovering the perception of renewables as a behavioural trigger of rural energy transition
Rural communities in Poland show broad awareness of renewable energy but lack deep, balanced knowledge about specific sources and their local applications. The study finds that personal experience with small-scale renewable installations drives attitude change and motivates new energy investments. Direct community involvement in renewable projects ensures both costs and benefits are distributed fairly across rural areas, making inclusive, place-based approaches essential for sustainable energy transitions.
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Innovation and Development of Rural Leisure Tourism Industry Using Mobile Cloud IoT Computing
This paper demonstrates how mobile cloud IoT computing improves rural leisure tourism in China by enabling data analysis and intelligent guidance systems. The research shows that IoT applications help optimize tourist distribution across regions, reducing geographical concentration and spreading economic benefits more evenly throughout rural areas. Better information systems allow tourists to make smarter decisions, supporting sustainable rural economic development.
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Innovative Rural Entrepreneurship in Chile
Rural areas in Chile show high entrepreneurship rates despite economic disadvantages, challenging stereotypes that innovation requires high-tech sophistication. The paper argues that middle-income countries can foster more innovative rural entrepreneurship through systemic, amenity-based territorial policies that improve local public goods and living conditions, rather than assuming rural entrepreneurship must remain unsophisticated.
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How rural is too rural for transit? Optimal transit subsidies and supply in rural areas
This paper models optimal public transit supply in low-density rural areas by analyzing trade-offs between passenger welfare and operating costs. Using data from a rural corridor, the authors test different network lengths, service frequencies, and population sizes across car, bus, and rail modes. They find that adjusting rail frequency generates the largest welfare gains, that existing rail networks provide marginal benefits until major repairs are needed, and that bus service remains worthwhile even when rail closure becomes optimal as populations decline.
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Innovation and Investment in the Roman Rural Economy Through the Lens of Marzuolo (Tuscany, Italy)*
This historical study of a Roman pottery production site in Tuscany reveals that rural innovation was driven by local smallholders experimenting with production techniques, not by elite landowners as traditionally assumed. Local experimentation was limited by lack of capital, while later large-scale production involved a landowner appropriating the facility. The findings reframe innovation as a process rooted in human capital, labor, and production relationships rather than external investment.
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Innovation, Spatial Loyalty, and ICTs as Locational Determinants of Rural Development in the Catalan Pyrenees
Information and communication technologies enable rural and mountain development by dispersing economic activity from cities and connecting local territories to global markets. In the Catalan Pyrenees, companies leverage local identity and lower costs while performing high-value activities like design locally and manufacturing elsewhere. ICTs support education, workforce development, and new business creation in these areas, offsetting labor shortages through small company structures and spatial loyalty among clustered firms.
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Techno-Economic analysis of hybrid renewable energy systems for rural area energization in Pakistan
This paper designs and compares four hybrid renewable energy systems for rural electrification in Pakistan using solar, wind, and biomass resources. The researchers used HOMER Pro optimization software to evaluate each system based on net present cost, levelized cost of energy, and payback period. A hybrid system combining all three renewable sources proved most feasible, delivering the lowest energy cost at Rs 14.40 per unit with a 2.54-year payback period, while a solar-biomass system alone was least cost-effective.
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Innovation in the Rural Nonfarm Economy: Its Effect on Job and Earnings Growth, 2010-2014
Rural nonfarm businesses innovate at lower rates than urban establishments, but certain rural industries show high innovation intensity. Using nationally representative data from 2010-2014, the study finds that local innovation significantly influenced job and earnings growth during the post-recession recovery period, suggesting innovation drives economic resilience in rural areas.
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A New Role for Land Grant Universities in the Rural Innovation Ecosystem?
Land grant universities play a limited role in fostering innovation-driven entrepreneurship in rural America, contributing to persistent economic inequality and reduced wealth-creation opportunities. The authors identify why this gap exists and propose a new vision for how these institutions can more effectively support rural innovation and economic development through concrete actions.
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Models of entrepreneurship development in rural tourism destinations in Vojvodina
Rural tourism in Vojvodina can drive economic development through entrepreneurship models centered on farm stays, village experiences, traditional events, organic food production, and eco-tourism. The paper identifies key rural tourism products and argues that targeted investment in these entrepreneurial ventures aligned with current market demand will increase tourism income and boost rural economic growth.
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The influence of entrepreneurship ecosystem for sustainable growth on the rural small and micro retail businesses : case study
This study examines how entrepreneurship ecosystems influence sustainable growth in rural small and micro retail businesses in South Africa's eThekwini Municipality. The research surveyed 64 rural retailers and found that both internal and external ecosystem factors affect business success. The paper recommends that retailers develop business and financial management skills, while provincial governments, local municipalities, and traditional leaders should provide infrastructure and entrepreneurship support to enable sustainable growth.
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A Comparative Study of Rural Entrepreneurship Romania – Greece
This comparative study examines rural entrepreneurship in Romania and Greece using statistical data on rural development indicators and country reports. The research documents how the economic crisis affected rural and urban areas differently across these European nations, while also identifying general improvements in various development domains despite persistent regional disparities.
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Rural entrepreneurship in India
Rural entrepreneurship in India faces significant barriers despite its potential to drive economic development. The paper identifies challenges that prevent rural people from accessing central markets and becoming entrepreneurs, particularly in impoverished eastern states like Bihar. Government, private sector, and social organizations struggle to reach remote areas and implement innovations effectively. The paper discusses these obstacles and proposes improvements to foster rural entrepreneurship and create employment opportunities.
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Super Network on the Prairie: The Discursive Framing of Broadband Connectivity by Policy Planners and Rural Residents in Alberta, Canada
This study examines Alberta's SuperNet broadband infrastructure project by comparing how government planners and rural residents differently understood and valued broadband connectivity. Through interviews, focus groups, and town halls, the researchers found that policy makers and rural communities held distinct visions of broadband's purpose. Rural residents themselves interpreted broadband differently based on their specific circumstances. Rather than simply equalizing access, broadband functioned as a complex mediator affecting opportunity, participation, and identity in rural communities.
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The Impact of FDI on the Independent Innovation Capability of Chinese Indigenous Industries——From the Perspective of Industrial Linkages
Foreign direct investment's forward linkages stimulate Chinese firms' independent innovation through R&D spillovers from multinational corporations, while backward linkages reduce innovation by substituting imported technology for domestic spillovers. Stronger intellectual property protection enhances positive forward linkage effects, and higher absorption expenditure reduces negative backward linkage effects.
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iShakti--Crossing the Digital Divide in Rural India
iShakti is a web-based platform deployed across 1,000 rural kiosks in India, reaching 1 million people in 5,000 villages. The system provides community development services, market access, and brand engagement to previously isolated regions. Using adaptive technology and computational intelligence, iShakti empowers rural entrepreneurs with revenue opportunities and gives residents greater control over their lives through improved access to information and markets.
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Challenges for tourism-related lifestyle migrant entrepreneurship in rural areas of the Algarve, Portugal
Lifestyle migrant entrepreneurs in rural Portugal's Algarve region face significant barriers when starting and running tourism businesses. Bureaucratic complexity, unclear legal procedures, and inadequate specialized support create the biggest obstacles. The study reveals that better cooperation and communication among stakeholders—including government agencies, local authorities, and support organizations—is essential to help these entrepreneurs succeed and enable sustainable rural tourism development.
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Revisiting research on firm-level innovation in rural areas: A systematic literature review and future research directions
This systematic review of 152 academic papers examines firm-level innovation in rural areas from 2003 to 2023. The study maps the intellectual structure of rural innovation research, identifies key antecedents and outcomes of firm innovation, and reveals major research gaps. The authors establish a research agenda for advancing understanding of how rural firms innovate and sustain growth.
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Women’s Network Resource Acquisition in Informal Rural Entrepreneurship: A Developed View of Opportunity versus Necessity Dichotomy
Women informal entrepreneurs in rural Iran use different network strategies to access resources and overcome gender constraints. Tourism entrepreneurs build both weak and strong ties, gaining diverse resource access and pursuing opportunity-driven ventures. Farm entrepreneurs rely primarily on strong horizontal ties, remaining more necessity-driven. The study shows tailored policies must address distinct network patterns across different entrepreneurial groups.
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Measuring financial divide in the rural environment. The potential role of the digital transformation of finance
Rural areas in Spain show lower financial literacy than urban regions, particularly among populations with limited income and education. This gap prevents financial inclusion and perpetuates rural decline. The authors argue that digital transformation of financial services offers a concrete pathway to improve financial literacy and inclusion in sparsely populated Spanish regions, enabling rural economic regeneration.
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How Does Internet Use Promote Returned Migrant Workers’ Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Rural China
Internet use significantly increases entrepreneurship among returned migrant workers in rural China. The study finds that internet access raises the probability of starting a business, increases entrepreneurial investment by 18%, and boosts the number of enterprises founded by 36%. The effect is strongest in areas with high internet penetration potential. The authors recommend governments support business formation, improve digital literacy, and expand rural internet infrastructure to drive sustainable economic development.
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Renewable energy resource assessment for rural electrification: a case study in Nepal
This study assesses renewable energy potential for rural electrification in Nepal's Karnali province, where 67% of the population lacks grid electricity access due to mountainous terrain. Researchers evaluated solar and wind installations in two districts, analyzing energy, economic, and environmental factors. They found that distributed solar and wind plants are feasible solutions for remote high-altitude regions, requiring 7–9 million USD in investment costs.
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Consolidating passenger and freight transportation in an urban–rural transit system
This paper demonstrates that combining freight and passenger transportation on buses in urban-rural areas improves profitability and reduces costs. The authors developed a mathematical model to optimize coordination between these services and tested it through a case study. Results show that consolidating freight with passenger transport cuts logistics costs and increases bus company profits while benefiting society.
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Indigenous innovation and organizational change towards equitable higher education systems: the Canadian experience
Indigenous peoples in Canada have leveraged innovation discourse to push universities toward organizational change that incorporates Indigenous knowledges and worldviews. The study examined 15 research-intensive universities and interviewed 13 Indigenous people, finding that Indigenous groups successfully created normative shifts in institutional structure. Decolonizing approaches to innovation offer pathways to equitable higher education by centering reciprocity, ecological sustainability, and land connection over market-driven models.
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The geography of innovation in times of crisis: a comparison of rural and urban RDI patterns during COVID-19
Rural firms in Finland lagged behind urban firms in securing competitive research and development funding before COVID-19, but this gap narrowed significantly during the pandemic. Rural enterprises demonstrated strategic flexibility and resilience by taking advantage of more accessible and flexible funding mechanisms introduced during the crisis. The findings challenge assumptions that rural innovation capacity is fragile during economic shocks.
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Comprehensive land improvement innovation for rural revitalization: Public value creation and realization
This paper examines how comprehensive land improvement innovations create and realize public value for rural revitalization. The authors analyze mechanisms through which land improvement projects generate benefits for rural communities, focusing on the processes that transform potential public value into actual realized outcomes. The work addresses how innovation in land management and improvement practices supports broader rural development goals.
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Exploring the impact of participative place-based community archaeology in rural Europe: Community archaeology in rural environments meeting societal challenges
A participative archaeology project in rural Czech Republic, Netherlands, and Poland demonstrates that community-led excavations within villages are popular and effective. Residents conducted test pit excavations in their own communities, generating both archaeological knowledge and social benefits. The approach successfully attracted and sustained local interest in heritage participation across all three countries, proving the feasibility of this participatory method in rural European contexts.
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Hidden Champions and their integration in rural regional innovation systems: Insights from Germany
Hidden Champions—little-known global market leaders—show weak integration into rural German regional innovation systems despite their high innovation capacity. The study of 57 expert interviews reveals that family ownership, firm size, organizational structure, and local economic conditions shape integration levels. Family businesses integrate more than other firm types, though with significant variation, primarily because their international focus and technological specialization limit local knowledge exchange.
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Rural–urban financial inclusion: Implications on the cost sustainability of microfinance lenders
Microfinance institutions typically avoid rural lending because they believe it costs more than urban lending. This study analyzed data from 1,729 microfinance institutions worldwide between 2008 and 2018. The findings contradict conventional wisdom: rural lending is actually more cost-efficient than urban lending, even when accounting for different measurement approaches and potential statistical biases.
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Designing Rural Policies for Sustainable Innovations through a Participatory Approach
This paper examines how involving local stakeholders in policy design strengthens rural innovation outcomes. Researchers applied a participatory approach using SWOT analysis with experts and stakeholders in an Italian region developing a Rural Development Program. The analysis identified that sustainable innovations, rural services, and training require improvement, and that financial resources dedicated to these areas must increase.
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Evolving Rural Community Colleges With Innovation and Agility
Rural community colleges face growing pressure to innovate and adapt. The paper examines successful innovative practices already underway at various rural community colleges and provides recommendations for fostering and maintaining innovation across the sector. These changes help rural institutions meet evolving workforce and community needs.
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The impact of external knowledge sourcing on innovation outcomes in rural and urban businesses in the U.S.
External knowledge sourcing drives innovation in U.S. rural and urban businesses, but with different patterns. Rural firms benefit significantly from knowledge sources outside their own industry and from non-local organizations, while urban firms rely more on within-industry sources. The study uses survey data covering product, process, and green innovations across multiple industries, revealing that rural businesses depend more heavily on distant external knowledge networks to innovate successfully.
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Exploring the Potential for Rural Entrepreneurship through Integrated Community-based Intervention Strategies
This study validates a measurement model for integrated community intervention strategies in ecotourism destinations across four protected areas in Kerala, India. The research identifies three intervention types—governance, eco-development, and commercial—and demonstrates that local community members develop entrepreneurial orientation across exploration, initiation, and sustenance levels. The findings provide a practical model for enhancing inclusive and sustainable resource management through enterprise development in tourism contexts.
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Survivalism, collectivism and proud heritage: A study of informal arts and crafts entrepreneurship in rural Zimbabwe
Rural arts and crafts entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe operate under distinct motivations shaped by their sociocultural context. Beyond poverty reduction, these traders pursue business to preserve cultural heritage and strengthen community bonds through reciprocal, collective practices. Western entrepreneurship models fail to capture these non-financial drivers and sub-Saharan African business characteristics, requiring context-specific research and policy approaches.
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SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF LITHUANIA
Social entrepreneurship plays a significant role in rural development in Lithuania. The paper examines trends in Lithuanian social enterprises and identifies successful examples to inform policy recommendations. While the government has taken steps to support social entrepreneurship and innovation, substantial improvements remain necessary. Family business traditions are weak in Lithuania, having existed for only about 20 years, but rural areas show potential for young social enterprises, particularly in agriculture-based family farms.
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Solar-Wind Renewable Energy System for Off-Grid Rural Electrification in Ecuador
This paper analyzes and designs an off-grid solar-wind renewable energy system for rural electrification in Ecuador. The authors measured local energy consumption and solar and wind resources in a remote county, then used simulation tools to estimate the community's electrical load profile and propose a complete hybrid system. They present the technical and economic specifications of the resulting wind-solar installation.
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Hydro-based, renewable hybrid energy sytem for rural/remote electrification in Nigeria
Nigeria's remote areas lack grid electricity and conventional energy access due to cost and infrastructure barriers. The paper proposes hybrid renewable energy systems combining hydro, solar, and wind power to electrify rural and remote communities. Nigeria possesses abundant renewable resources but lacks technical expertise to harness them effectively. Hybrid systems leverage local renewable potential to provide sustainable power solutions for off-grid populations.
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Impacts of Electrification with Renewable Energies on Local Economies : The Case of India’s Rural Areas
Solar mini-grid electrification in rural India generates stronger local economic impacts than grid connection, particularly through small business creation and household income growth. However, solar systems' limited capacity prevents agricultural use. The study reveals that significant portions of households remain unelectrified even in electrified villages, especially in solar mini-grid areas. Despite this equity challenge, solar energy effectively powers local markets, schools, and health centers, supporting rural economic development.
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Vino, turismo e innovación: Las Rutas del Vino de España, una estrategia integrada de desarrollo rural/Wine, Tourism and Innovation: The Wine Routes of Spain, an Integrated Strategy of Rural Development
Spain's Wine Routes program integrates wine production, tourism, and rural development by positioning wine as a territory-intensive product. The strategy responds to global market competition by diversifying offerings beyond wine itself, creating wine tourism experiences that leverage regional identity and quality. This approach guarantees visitors high-quality tourism products while supporting rural economies through innovation in complementary services.
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Collective entrepreneurship in agriculture and its contribution to sustainable rural development in Greece
Greek agricultural cooperatives face financial crises that threaten their survival. The paper identifies how cooperatives are adopting new forms of collective entrepreneurship, transforming from traditional models into new generation cooperatives to remain competitive. The authors develop a typology showing how different collaborative structures balance economic development, environmental protection, and social equity to support sustainable rural development.
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Place‐Based Income Inequality Clusters in the Rural North Central Region, 1979–2009
This study maps income inequality clusters across 7,353 rural block-groups in the North Central United States from 1979 to 2009. The analysis reveals that persistently low-inequality rural areas actually experience worse demographic and economic outcomes than high-inequality areas, contradicting broader literature. Low-inequality places concentrate in traditional agriculture and manufacturing, while high-inequality places specialize in skilled service industries.
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Studying Rural Innovation Management: A Framework and Early Findings from RIU in South Asia
This paper develops a framework for analyzing rural innovation management in South Asian agricultural projects, identifying four key elements: functions, actions, tools, and organizational format. The research finds that successful rural innovation requires more than just technology access—it demands bundling technology with network development, policy advocacy, training, and negotiated practice changes. Supporting this broader suite of innovation management activities helps rural communities better utilize agricultural research.
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Embeddedness and innovation in low and medium technology rural enterprises
This paper examines how location influences innovation in low and medium technology rural firms. Through case studies of four Irish companies in furniture and metal products, the authors investigate whether deep local embeddedness is necessary for innovation and how this relationship changes over time. The findings inform understanding of rural industrial development and the role geographic proximity plays in firm innovativeness.
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SUPPORTING LOCAL INNOVATION FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT ANALYSIS AND REVIEW OF FIVE INNOVATION SUPPORT FUNDS
This study reviews five innovation support funds across Africa, India, and Latin America that help rural farmers develop and scale local agricultural innovations. The analysis finds that these funds effectively support both individual innovators and producer groups, but could improve by better balancing support between innovators and their institutional connections, recognizing diverse innovator types, and facilitating continuous learning cycles that connect innovators with entrepreneurs and adopters to commercialize solutions.
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The Differential Impact on Gender Relations of 'Transformatory' and 'Instrumentalist' Women's Group Intermediation in Microfinance Schemes: A Case Study for Rural South India
Microfinance programs in rural South India use women's groups differently, with diverging impacts on gender relations. Some programs treat groups as tools to improve financial sustainability while maintaining existing gender hierarchies. Others actively mobilize women through credit to build collective action and transform underlying gender relations. The paper argues that assuming all group-based microfinance achieves empowerment is shortsighted; program design fundamentally determines whether women's empowerment actually occurs.
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Small-scale Business in Rural Java: Involution or Innovation?1
Two case studies of rural Indonesian entrepreneurs reveal that while proximity enables information spread, fear of imitation prevents knowledge sharing and limits learning. Local business owners avoid collaboration to protect innovations from competitors. The paper argues that universities should provide business services and market information to rural small-scale enterprises to overcome these barriers and improve welfare outcomes.
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Drivers of Rural Entrepreneurship in Northern Ghana: A Community Capitals Framework Approach
Rural communities in northern Ghana possess strong cultural, social, and political capital that supports entrepreneurship, along with some human capital strengths. However, severe financial capital shortages and gaps in human capital skills significantly limit entrepreneurial development and sustainability. The study identifies these barriers and assets to help policymakers design more effective entrepreneurship programs for poverty reduction.
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Intersectoral collaboration for the development of rural entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean
Intersectoral collaboration between governments, companies, NGOs, and local communities drives sustainable rural entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study finds that such partnerships overcome barriers to rural entrepreneurship and promote innovation. Educational policies, gender equality support, and institutional backing prove essential. Intersectoral collaboration emerges as critical—not merely supplementary—for rural entrepreneurship success and regional socioeconomic development.
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THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BACKYARD AS A LOCAL LEVEL INNOVATION INTERMEDIARY IN RURAL CHINA
Science and Technology Backyards (STBs) in rural China function as innovation intermediaries that support agricultural change by facilitating technological, social, and institutional innovation together. STBs evolved from simple knowledge brokers into systemic intermediaries that help farmers adopt improved practices. Villages with STBs showed higher adoption rates of improved tillage methods and better learning environments than villages without them. However, individual STBs have limited impact beyond their communities, requiring collaboration networks to scale innovation across regions.
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Dimensions and Strategies of Sustainable Rural Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: An Explorative-Mixed Research Study
Rural entrepreneurship operates as a distinct ecosystem with unique characteristics requiring tailored support. This study identifies six dimensions and thirty-six strategies for sustainable rural entrepreneurship ecosystems through expert interviews and analytical hierarchy analysis. The findings show rural entrepreneurship differs fundamentally from other ecosystems and demands context-specific approaches that account for bio-resource conservation and local conditions.
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Rural renewable energy development: lessons learned from community-based renewable energy business model in East Sumba, Indonesia
Community-based renewable energy projects in East Sumba, Indonesia require four key strategies to succeed: developing village leadership, building business management capacity, establishing meaningful community roles in energy operations, and fostering stakeholder collaboration. The paper examines renewable energy initiatives in two villages and identifies these capacity-building approaches as essential for rural communities to implement and sustain renewable energy business models effectively.
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Transition to the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Africa’s Science, Technology and Innovation Framework and Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Africa's science, technology, and innovation policies fail to adequately integrate indigenous and traditional knowledge systems into fourth industrial revolution strategies. The paper argues that African nations must develop deliberate, indigenous knowledge-sensitive STI frameworks to leverage local knowledge systems and ensure equitable participation in the bioeconomy and broader 4IR innovation ecosystem.
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Counter-urbanization, Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Rural Development in Developing Countries: The Nigerian Example
Counter-urbanization presents an opportunity for rural development in Nigeria by leveraging entrepreneurship and local resources. The paper argues that rural areas can achieve sustainable development by mobilizing endogenous capital, local knowledge, land, skills, and social networks. Success requires reformed rural development policies that strengthen local institutions, build trust, and support entrepreneurial activity among both rural residents and counter-urbanizing migrants.
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS THE BASIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL COMMUNES IN EASTERN POLAND
Entrepreneurship drives rural development in eastern Poland. Researchers assessed entrepreneurship levels across 484 rural communes using data from 2009 and 2018, applying the TOPSIS method. They found entrepreneurship scores ranged from 0.07 to 0.63, while development scores ranged from 0.23 to 0.62. Rural communes showed greater variation in entrepreneurship than in overall development, and entrepreneurship levels correlated positively with development outcomes.
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Trust in Collective Entrepreneurship in the Context of the Development of Rural Areas in Poland
Personal trust matters more than institutional trust for collective entrepreneurship in rural Poland. The study surveyed 132 people in agricultural producer organizations, women's circles, and local action groups. Social factors outweigh economic ones in determining success. Trust grows over time and strengthens both economic and social dimensions of collective enterprises, with social benefits slightly exceeding economic gains.
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Structural and functional principles of entrepreneurship development in rural areas
This paper outlines the structural and functional principles of rural entrepreneurship development using institutional theory. The authors identify key functions, development factors, and institutional environment elements that support rural business growth. They argue that effective rural entrepreneurship requires multilevel, bottom-up implementation of support measures, with state involvement playing a crucial role in achieving inclusive rural development.
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Renewable Energy Plants and Business Models: A New Rural Development Perspective
Renewable energy plants in Spain create opportunities for rural development through local economic activities and business model innovation. Some businesses directly connect to energy plants and generate stable jobs, while others diversify through land leasing arrangements. The study finds that renewable energy integration requires stronger governance frameworks and strategic planning to align energy transition with sustainable development goals and rural community well-being.
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Techno-economic analysis and design of hybrid renewable energy microgrid for rural electrification
This paper designs a hybrid renewable energy microgrid for rural electrification in Ethiopia using techno-economic analysis. Researchers modeled a standalone microgrid for the village of Jarre in the Somali region, comparing it economically against grid extension. Using particle swarm optimization, they identified the most cost-effective and reliable configuration of renewable energy sources to meet local electricity demand while ensuring system reliability.
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Optimal Design of Hybrid Grid-connected Microgrid with Renewable Energy and Storage in a Rural Area in Turkey by Using HOMER
Researchers designed an optimal hybrid microgrid system for a rural Turkish village using HOMER software. The system combines photovoltaic modules, wind turbines, small hydroelectric plants, fuel cells, and hydrogen storage to reduce electricity costs and carbon emissions. Analysis of local solar radiation, wind speed, water flow, and power demand determined the best combination of renewable resources for both grid-connected and off-grid operation.
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Analysis of the gap in enterprise access to renewable energy between rural and urban areas in Cameroon
Rural enterprises in Cameroon have significantly lower access to renewable energy than urban enterprises. The study of over 209,000 firms reveals that education, bank credit, microfinance, and formalization reduce this gap. Gender discrimination, sector barriers, and business environment challenges widen it. Improving rural finance access and promoting formalization are key to closing the rural-urban renewable energy divide.
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Eco-Innovation Activities in the Czech Economy 2008–2014: Impact of the Eco-Innovative Approach to the Profit Stream and Differences in Urban and Rural Enterprises
Rural and urban enterprises in the Czech Republic show similar capacity to develop and market eco-innovations, despite urban firms engaging more broadly in innovation activities. Rural enterprises that relocated to countryside areas actually achieved higher sales from innovative goods and services. High-tech industries paradoxically show lower rates of eco-innovation adoption. The study reveals that eco-innovation represents a viable strategy for both rural and urban businesses, with location having minimal impact on R&D intensity or new-to-market eco-innovation success.
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Innovations in rural tourism in Poland and Romania
Rural tourism in Poland and Romania is growing due to economic and social demand from both residents and visitors. Tourist businesses in rural areas are implementing innovative products and services to meet this demand. This study examines what types of innovations rural tourism businesses adopt, using case studies and interviews with owners of tourist facilities in both countries.
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The Role of Entrepreneurship Development for Women Welfare in Rural Area
Women in rural Indonesia remain underrepresented in entrepreneurship despite the country's rising entrepreneurial rate. This paper argues that rural women entrepreneurs are critical for economic development and welfare improvement in rural communities. The authors identify barriers including low confidence, limited entrepreneurship education access, and pessimism about entrepreneurial ability. They apply Schumpeter's innovation theory and hope theory to explain why entrepreneurship matters for rural women's advancement.
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System Platform Enabling Peer-to-Peer Electricity Market Model for Off-Grid Microgrids in Rural Africa
Off-grid microgrids powered by solar and battery storage can electrify remote African villages more cost-effectively than grid extension. The authors present a peer-to-peer electricity market platform that bundles power, connectivity, and digital services. A pilot in Namibia demonstrates that this approach improves investment efficiency and strengthens community integration while expanding electricity access beyond the 22% baseline in rural Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Off-Grid Power Plant Load Management System Applied in a Rural Area of Africa
This paper develops a load management system for off-grid solar power plants in rural areas using machine learning. The system combines support vector machines and fruit fly optimization to predict energy demand and detect anomalies in real time. Applied to a 50-household solar installation in Tanzania, the approach improves energy efficiency and utilization rates, offering a practical solution for sustainable rural electrification in Africa.
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How local resources shape innovation and path development in rural regions. Insights from rural Estonia
Local resources—physical, human, social, financial, and immaterial—shape how rural firms innovate and develop. Research in rural Estonia shows that firms actively mobilizing these place-specific resources drive innovation and extend regional development paths. However, local resources alone cannot transform regional trajectories; they enrich existing paths but require strategic firm action to create substantial change.
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AGRO-TOURISM ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE CONTEXT OF INCREASING THE RURAL BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS IN ROMANIA
Agro-tourism entrepreneurship strengthens rural business competitiveness in Romania by leveraging local agricultural and non-agricultural resources. The paper identifies methods to promote and support agro-tourism ventures, examines mechanisms for integrating Romanian agro-tourism into international markets, and demonstrates how these investments create jobs, retain local labor, and revitalize rural communities.
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Optimal modeling of an integrated renewable energy system with battery storage for off grid electrification of remote rural area
This study designs an optimal renewable energy system for remote rural electrification in India's Karnataka state. Researchers modeled an integrated system combining micro hydro, solar, wind, biomass, and biogas with battery storage. Using genetic algorithms to minimize costs while maintaining reliability, they tested different technology combinations and resource scenarios. A hybrid system combining micro hydro, biomass, biogas, and wind turbines with battery storage proved most cost-effective for the target area.
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Who Controls Tourism Innovation Policy? The Case of Rural Tourism
Rural tourism innovation in Denmark occurs through local action groups implementing EU's LEADER program, which decentralizes policy control away from national authorities. While these groups effectively leverage local resources and incrementally upgrade tourism facilities, innovation performance remains low. The study finds that this radical decentralization undermines national coordination and strategy, making it difficult to align tourism development with broader welfare and environmental goals.
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Innovations and Opportunities for Entrepreneurial Rural Developments
Young people in rural Romania show strong interest in starting businesses, but entrepreneurial culture remains underdeveloped in villages. The research identifies barriers to rural business creation and proposes strategies to foster entrepreneurship in Romania's Central Region. Building supportive environments and promoting entrepreneurial values are essential to converting this interest into actual rural business development.
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Mas Roig mini-grid: A renewable-energy-based rural islanded microgrid
A renewable energy microgrid deployed on a Spanish farm uses intelligent load management and real-time control to maximize renewable energy use while maintaining reliable power supply. The system classifies electrical loads by priority and controls them through networked smart sockets. After five years of operation, the project demonstrates that distributed generation and active management reduce costs and ensure energy security even during extreme weather events.
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Energy Autarky of Rural Municipality Created on the Basis of Renewable Energy Resources
This study evaluates whether a rural Polish municipality can meet its energy needs using renewable sources. Researchers assessed solar, hydro, wind, and biogas potential in Rakow municipality through 2020. Currently, renewables cover only 2.2% of total energy demand and 24% of electricity demand. However, renewable heat production already exceeds local needs by 20% and could reach 256% with biomass from set-aside land, creating exportable surplus energy.
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National Strategy of Indigenous Innovation and its Implication to China
China's indigenous innovation strategy from 2006–2020 successfully supports industrial upgrading and catch-up growth through targeted policies, but it constrains breakthrough innovation. The authors argue that China needs to embrace open innovation and market competition rather than protecting domestic enterprises from global technology systems. Only by engaging with international innovation networks can Chinese firms achieve disruptive innovation and establish China as a genuine innovation leader.
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Rural anchor institution broadband connectivity
Rural anchor institutions like libraries and schools face multiple barriers and enablers affecting broadband adoption. Research in rural Florida identified situational factors that influence whether these institutions successfully implement broadband connectivity. The study proposes a community-based planning model where multiple anchor institutions collaborate to jointly plan, deploy, and assess broadband infrastructure and adoption across their region.
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Institutional entrepreneurship and professionalization of the rural development of the sisal region in Brazil
Professionalization of rural development in Brazil's sisal region created entrepreneurship opportunities by transforming how funding bodies operated. Professional practices spread through informal networks rather than formal institutions, allowing local entrepreneurs to adapt and reinterpret these practices to fit their specific contexts. This process generated new organizational formats and legitimized professional approaches tailored to regional needs.
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Broadband provision to underprivileged rural communities
This paper describes a wireless mesh network project deployed in rural South Africa to provide affordable broadband to underprivileged communities. The authors identify major technical and socio-economic barriers—including long distances, poor infrastructure, high costs, and unreliable power—and explain how mesh network technology addresses these challenges with lower energy consumption and reduced deployment costs.
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Agricultural and Rural Entrepreneurship: Concepts for Modeling Development
Entrepreneurship—the capacity to develop sustainable enterprises individually or collectively—plays a crucial role in rural and agricultural development across Latin America and the Caribbean. The paper examines how entrepreneurship concepts support productive sector growth and proposes promoting enterprise development through agrifood chain and rural territory strategies to address long-standing regional weaknesses.
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Economic Analysis of Broadband Access for Australian Rural and Remote Areas
This paper compares the deployment costs of three broadband technologies—DSL, passive optical networks, and WiMAX—across Australian rural and remote areas. Wireless technology proves most cost-effective for sparse populations below one home per square kilometer at 20 Mbit/s speeds, while fiber-based passive optical networks become economically superior for higher speeds of 50 Mbit/s and above.
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Broadband wireless technology for rural India
Wireless broadband technology can effectively serve rural India through kiosk-based internet delivery models. The paper argues that affordable broadband requires wireless systems delivering at least 256 kbps to 200 villages within 20 km radius at under $250 per connection. While emerging WiMAX standards show promise, adapted technologies like corDECT and WiFiRe offer immediate solutions. The corDECT system has demonstrated viability in rural deployments.
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Entrepreneurship Development and Tourism in Rural African Communities
This paper examines entrepreneurship development in rural African tourism contexts. It identifies key factors influencing entrepreneurial success, including proper identification of potential entrepreneurs, recognition of tourism opportunities, political environment challenges, and skills transfer to aspiring business owners. The findings highlight critical issues project managers must address to improve tourism entrepreneurship prospects in rural African communities.
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Encouraging Entrepreneurship in Rural Communities: The University of Kentucky Entrepreneurship Initiative Program
The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service developed a program to support rural entrepreneurship by engaging existing business owners to understand their needs and help them build profitable, sustainable enterprises. The program also uses insights from established entrepreneurs to design training that encourages new business creation in rural communities.
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Mapping Innovation and Sustainability in Rural Tourism: A Bibliometric Approach
This bibliometric analysis of 94 articles reveals that innovation and sustainability research in rural tourism concentrates in Europe, particularly in China, Italy, and Spain, with most publications from the last decade. The study identifies influential researchers and research centers, maps current approaches and trends, and calls for more integrated research connecting innovation, sustainability, and rural tourism—especially in less developed regions where these tools could drive economic success.
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Digital Finance, Digital Usage Divide, and Urban–Rural Income Gap: Evidence from China
Digital finance can reduce China's urban-rural income gap, but digital usage disparities complicate this effect. Using data from 274 Chinese cities, the study finds a U-shaped relationship where digital finance initially widens the gap, then narrows it once digital adoption exceeds a threshold. Traditional financial systems moderate this pattern. The research recommends improving rural financial conditions, accelerating digital transformation of conventional finance, and strengthening rural digital education to address usage disparities.
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Optimizing renewable energy site selection in rural Australia: Clustering algorithms and energy potential analysis
This study uses clustering algorithms and genetic optimization to identify the best locations for renewable energy plants across rural Australia. Researchers analyzed solar irradiance and wind speed data to find optimal sites, then simulated energy outputs using HOMER Pro software. Solar panels consistently outperformed wind turbines. While genetic K-Medoids produced the highest energy output, it came with the highest costs, revealing a trade-off between energy production and financial feasibility.
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Impact of Digital Inclusive Finance on the High‑Quality Development of Rural Economy: Evidence from China
Digital inclusive finance significantly promotes high-quality rural economic development in China. Using provincial panel data from 2011 to 2022, the study finds that digital inclusive finance—measured through coverage, usage depth, and digitalization—strengthens rural innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and shared prosperity. The positive effects hold across eastern, central, and western regions, suggesting digital finance tools effectively address rural development challenges.
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Innovation and rural context: An exploratory case study of a small rural enterprise from the Czech Republic
Rural businesses face barriers like inadequate staffing and market volatility, yet successfully innovate by converting obstacles into opportunities. The study identifies pull factors (incentives and opportunities) and push factors (pressures for change) that drive both product and business innovation. Owner vision and strategic outlook significantly influence innovation outcomes. Rural enterprises innovate effectively by building local, regional, national, and international connections to access wider markets.
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Comparative analysis of rural communities’ tradeoffs in large-scale and small-scale renewable energy projects in Kenya
Rural Kenyan communities make complex decisions about trading land for electricity access in renewable energy projects. Using institutional analysis, the study finds that trade-off outcomes depend on land tenure systems, project scale, electricity access, traditional knowledge, and local power dynamics. Communities' diverse roles and governance structures shape whether they benefit from large-scale or small-scale renewable projects.
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Influence of social and spatial embeddedness on rural entrepreneurship in the Amazon: a study with a Brazilian tribe' enterprising Indians
Social and spatial embeddedness significantly shape indigenous entrepreneurship in the Brazilian Amazon. The study of fourteen Paiter-Suruí entrepreneurs reveals that dense social networks and deep territorial connections jointly influence business creation and development decisions. Social and spatial embeddedness reinforce each other, suggesting integrated approaches are essential for understanding and supporting rural entrepreneurship in developing economies.
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Place Identity, Social Capital, and Rural Homestay Entrepreneurship Performance: The Mediating Effect of Self-Efficacy
Rural homestay entrepreneurs in suburban Beijing achieve better business performance when they have strong social capital and high self-efficacy. Place identity alone doesn't directly improve performance, but it strengthens self-efficacy, which then drives better outcomes. Social capital directly boosts performance and also works partly through self-efficacy. These findings support rural revitalization strategies by identifying how to help farmers succeed in homestay businesses.
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Tool-based renewable energy system planning using survey data: A case study in rural Vietnam
Researchers developed NESSI4D, a decision support system for planning renewable energy systems in developing countries. The tool integrates economic, environmental, technological, and social factors tailored to local stakeholder needs. Testing in rural Vietnam showed that renewable energy alone cannot provide affordable, low-emission electrification without government financial support. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that detailed, specialized planning tools are essential for successful renewable energy implementation.
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A study on the impact of rural finance on high-quality agricultural development in China—a test based on intermediation, threshold and spillover effects
Rural finance significantly promotes high-quality agricultural development in China, with effects varying by economic growth periods and regional grain production status. Farmland scale management partially mediates this relationship. Rural finance efficiency and agricultural technician share act as threshold effects, with spillover benefits reaching neighboring provinces. Higher financial literacy strengthens the impact.
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Understanding the Impact of Rural Returnees’ Hometown Identity on Their Successful Entrepreneurship with the Operations Research Framework
Rural returnees in China with strong hometown identity achieve greater entrepreneurial success, particularly in e-commerce and live broadcast villages. Knowledge agglomeration mediates this relationship, while returnee creativity amplifies it. The study, based on field data from Jiangsu Province villages, shows that government policies supporting returnee entrepreneurs with hometown attachment can effectively revitalize rural areas and retain population.
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Capital Factors Influencing Rural, Regional and Remote Women’s Entrepreneurship Development: An Australian Perspective
This study surveyed 188 women entrepreneurs in rural, regional, and remote Queensland, Australia to understand how economic, social, and cultural capital influence their entrepreneurial engagement. Social capital emerged as the strongest driver of entrepreneurial success and engagement preferences, even more than formal qualifications or credentials. The researchers attribute this to how rural communities rely on networks as survival mechanisms. The findings offer insights for policymakers designing programs to support women's entrepreneurship in remote areas.
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Cultural industry development from entrepreneurship under the background of rural revitalization strategy
This paper develops a framework to measure cultural industry competitiveness in rural China under the rural revitalization strategy. Using projection pursuit and data envelopment analysis models, the authors evaluate regional cultural industry performance across base, dominant, and potential competitiveness dimensions. Results show strong performance metrics across all three areas, with findings offering guidance for improving cultural industry development and addressing current growth challenges in rural regions.
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Feasibility Study of a Hybrid Renewable Energy System for a Remote Rural Community Using HOMER Pro
Researchers designed a hybrid renewable energy system for a remote Philippine rural community by combining solar, wind, and existing micro-hydro power using HOMER Pro modeling. The optimal configuration adds solar panels, batteries, and a converter to the existing micro-hydro plant, costing PHP 3.98 per kW and delivering 24/7 electricity. The study provides technical specifications, cost calculations, and sustainability strategies for implementation.
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Breaking the Digital Divide in Rural Africa
Telecentres reduce the digital divide between urban and rural areas in developing countries. When properly organized and functional, with adequate awareness campaigns, telecentres enable rural populations to access digital services and information. The paper examines how these community technology hubs bridge connectivity gaps and support rural development in Africa.
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Hybrid Renewable System based Pumped Energy Storage for the Electrification of Rural Areas
This paper examines hybrid solar-pumped hydro storage systems for electrifying rural areas in Sarawak. The authors modeled an off-grid micro-hybrid system combining photovoltaic panels with pumped hydro energy storage using MATLAB Simulink. Results demonstrate that pumped hydro storage significantly improves system reliability and enables continuous power supply to rural communities, even under uncertain conditions.
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Business Model Design for Rural Off-the-Grid Electrification and Digitalization Concept
Microgrids can provide electricity to remote rural areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, but lack clear business models. This paper analyzes an integrated off-grid concept delivering renewable electricity, internet connectivity, and digital services together using a business model canvas approach. The authors propose a framework for developing sustainable rural microgrids in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Human Capital, Innovation and Internationalization of Micro and Small Enterprises in Rural Territory - a Case Study
This case study of Portugal's Tagus Valley agri-food sector reveals that micro and small enterprises leverage human capital and stable partnerships with intermediary organizations to drive innovation and internationalization. The research demonstrates that endogenous assets, particularly non-market resources, significantly boost rural competitiveness. Public institutions, regional governments, and business training centers working together on a shared agenda for developing local assets prove strategically vital for sustaining small enterprises dependent on collaborative networks.
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CIRCULAR ECONOMY DRIVEN INNOVATIONS WITHIN BUSINESS MODELS OF RURAL SMEs
Rural small and medium enterprises face low competitiveness due to limited scale, distance from markets, and weak innovation capacity. This research examines how circular economy principles can drive new business models in rural SMEs, enabling them to turn environmental challenges into opportunities while meeting consumer demand. Analysis of seven focus groups across six European countries reveals practical pathways for rural SMEs to adopt eco-efficient, waste-minimizing production models.
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The coordination program of the studies and innovation of rural schools in Catalonia
Rural schools in Catalonia face persistent educational challenges. The University of Lleida launched a coordination program (CEIER) to improve rural school quality through innovative projects, enhanced teaching practices, and research. The program combines teacher training, scientific research, and knowledge dissemination to strengthen rural education outcomes.
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COMMUNITY-BASED ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MODEL TO BOOST ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMITMENT IN RURAL MICRO ENTERPRISES
Community-based entrepreneurship programs led by higher education institutions effectively boost rural micro-enterprise development. The study finds that entrepreneurs' attitudes—particularly perceived benefits and risk tolerance—most strongly drive business development commitment. Social pressure and environmental factors have minimal influence. Perceived behavioral control and demographic characteristics like age, gender, and education significantly determine whether entrepreneurs actually implement business improvements.
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Development of rural group entrepreneurship in Indonesia: benefits, problems, and challenges
A women's business group in Central Java, Indonesia, supported by Bank Indonesia with training, tools, and market access, demonstrates that successful rural group entrepreneurship requires members with equal or complementary skills, incremental wins to maintain motivation, and careful recruitment based on members' actual motives. The group must clarify its long-term mission as either a business entity or incubator before external support ends.
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Examining the Renewable Energy Investments in Hungarian Rural Settlements: The Gained Local Benefits and the Aspects of Local Community Involvement
This study examines renewable energy investments across 748 Hungarian rural settlements, analyzing 159 municipality responses. The research finds that while renewable energy projects generate some local benefits, direct benefits remain limited. Communities receive only moderate involvement and information efforts. The study identifies significant threats that could undermine the success of these investments and hinder future renewable energy development at the local level.
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Urban-rural relations in renewable electric energy supply – the case of a German energy region
This study examines how urban and rural regions can work together to supply renewable electricity. Using a German energy region as a case study, researchers analyzed cooperation between the city of Osnabrück and neighboring rural municipalities. They found that linking urban and rural areas increases self-sufficiency in cities but decreases it in rural regions. For example, rural Landkreis Osnabrück achieved 68% self-sufficiency alone but dropped to 60% when connected to the city, while the city's self-sufficiency rose from 27% to 60%.
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PEASANT SOCIETY IN JAPAN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON RURAL LABOUR AND FINANCE MARKETS
Peasant households in Japan developed distinctive economic strategies from the seventeenth century onward, prioritizing family labor utilization and property transmission across generations. These households shaped labor and financial markets by preferring non-agricultural work within family units, creating barriers to external labor mobility. Regional industries like weaving adapted to these household preferences through putting-out systems, while rural capital accumulation and regional financial markets reinforced this pattern, fundamentally influencing Japan's economic development trajectory.
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Identifying the Conditions for Rural Sustainability through Place-Based Culture: Applying the CIPM and CDPM Models into Meibei Ancient Village
This paper examines how culturally significant ancient villages in China can achieve sustainable development by analyzing Meibei village through two cultural models: the Cultural Inverted Pyramid Model and Cultural Dual Pyramid Model. The study finds that Meibei's historical prosperity resulted from integrating cultural elements across economic, social, institutional, environmental, and cultural dimensions. The paper argues that recreating a resilient cultural ecosystem combining heritage preservation with tourism can restore the village's vitality and support rural transition.
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Key Success Factors of Renewable Energy Projects Implementation in Rural Areas of Indonesia
This study identifies six key success factors for renewable energy projects in rural Indonesia: project planning and development, community participation, active communication with beneficiaries, maintenance infrastructure and technicians, project management and institutionalization, and local government support. The research, based on interviews with project owners, managers, government officials, and communities, shows that technology performance alone cannot ensure project sustainability without these complementary organizational and social factors.
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Conceptualizing the Role of Leadership, Community Support, and Entrepreneurship Skill in the Performance of Community-Based Rural Homestay (CBRH) Programme in Malaysia
Malaysia's government promotes community-based rural homestay programs to develop rural economies through tourism small businesses. This paper identifies three key factors that influence program performance: leadership quality, community support, and entrepreneurship skills. The analysis shows how these determinants work together to help homestay operators deliver quality services and sustain their businesses despite government financial and non-financial support.
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Renewables, energy saving and welfare in Italian fragile rural areas
This study examines whether renewable energy development and energy-saving initiatives improve welfare in Italian rural areas. The research focuses on four rural regions with major energy infrastructure, analyzing how new jobs, royalties, and social cohesion from renewable energy projects affect communities facing population aging, poverty, and reduced social services. The findings combine institutional and network analysis to understand how energy transitions can address rural welfare challenges.
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Innovation in Services: The Case of Rural Tourism in Argentina
Rural tourism in Argentina succeeds when providers identify distinctive attributes through collective action and self-discovery. Because rural tourism combines multiple services, coordination among small and micro producers is essential. Public policies can facilitate this cooperation, though poor connectivity in remote areas creates obstacles. Local economic effects are significant but difficult to measure.
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Entrepreneurship as a potential driving force for the further development of rural areas – good examples from Visegrad countries
Rural entrepreneurship drives development in Visegrad countries by creating local economic opportunities and employment. The paper examines successful entrepreneurial initiatives across the region, demonstrating how business creation and innovation in rural areas strengthen communities and reduce urban-rural disparities. These examples show entrepreneurship as a practical strategy for sustainable rural growth.
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Merging Indigenous and Modern Knowledge in Agricultural Development
Merging indigenous knowledge with modern agricultural technology accelerates rural development in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Farmers adopt modern practices more readily when technologies align with local customs and culture. The paper argues that sustainable agricultural innovation in remote areas requires integrating traditional wisdom with contemporary systems, fostering cooperation and knowledge-sharing that generates locally appropriate innovations and policies.
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Innovation of organization model for integral rural development: Serbia case study
Serbia's rural municipalities need new organizational models to boost economic growth. Research in two Sumadija municipalities shows that effective rural development requires municipalities to pursue active financing, identity-based policies, and continuous education. Innovation should include initiative teams for decision-making, agricultural incubators combining business and technology support, and vertical merger systems.
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Rural Innovation Theory and Supporters for Rural Regeneration
This paper examines how endogenous development theory applies to rural regeneration in Japan. The author argues that while endogenous development theory has been influential in rural studies, it needs updating to reflect current conditions. Rural innovation theory promotes exchange between urban and rural areas, and the paper notes that young urban people increasingly move to rural areas to support regeneration. The author concludes that endogenous development approaches must collaborate with outside actors, including urban youth, to succeed.
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Understanding the place based social value created by new-start social enterprises: evidence from 10 rural UK communities
Social enterprises in rural UK communities create measurable social value for residents. This study analyzed ten National Lottery-funded new social enterprise projects across rural areas to understand how different enterprise approaches generate local social impact. The findings show that social enterprises contribute meaningfully to community regeneration and economic development in deprived rural regions.
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Remote monitoring of off-grid renewable energy Case studies in rural Malawi, Zambia, and Gambia
Remote monitoring technologies can improve how off-grid renewable energy systems perform and last longer in developing countries. The paper presents case studies from Malawi, Gambia, and Zambia showing different remote monitoring configurations and their strengths and weaknesses. These technologies help track system performance and identify problems, supporting better sustainability of renewable energy deployments in rural areas without grid access.
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The use of scientific and indigenous knowledge in agricultural land evaluation and soil fertility studies of two villages in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Researchers compared indigenous soil knowledge from 59 small-scale farming households in KwaZulu-Natal with scientific land evaluation methods. Farmers classified soils primarily by color and texture, assessed land suitability mainly through slope position, and evaluated fertility using multiple indicators including crop yield, vegetation, and soil organisms. Farmers' assessments proved more holistic than scientific approaches, yet showed strong correlation with scientific evaluations, demonstrating that indigenous and scientific knowledge systems align on soil management.
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Synergising entrepreneurship, incubated business and socioeconomic upliftment in rural India
Business incubation can drive rural entrepreneurship in India by bringing technology and resources directly to rural communities. The paper examines how rural business hubs create linkages between education, research, enterprises, finance, and government to foster sustainable enterprises. A case study of an existing hub demonstrates how incubation supports socioeconomic development and harnesses rural resources and manpower.
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Financing rural innovation with community development venture capital: models, options and obstacles
Rural regions struggle to attract traditional venture capital despite needing local company growth for economic development. Community development venture capital (CDVC) offers a viable model for overcoming geographic barriers that deter conventional investors. This paper examines the structural obstacles CDVC faces and identifies potential funding sources to support rural entrepreneurship through patient capital.
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Optimised application of hybrid renewable energy system in rural electrification
Hybrid renewable energy systems offer cost-effective electrification for remote areas where grid extension is uneconomical. This paper develops an optimization model for a hybrid energy system in rural India, minimizing costs through proper equipment sizing and load matching. Economic analysis determines capital costs, resource costs, and optimized system costs for the Jaunpur block in Uttaranchal state.
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Bridging the digital divide [rural development]
Rural African communities face significant challenges when implementing information and communication technologies for development. The paper documents obstacles to bridging the digital divide between urban and rural areas, highlighting practical difficulties in deploying ICT solutions in resource-constrained rural settings.
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Innovation and Sustainable Solutions for Mobility in Rural Areas: A Comparative Analysis of Case Studies in Europe
Rural areas across Europe face severe transport limitations that restrict access to services, education, and jobs, perpetuating socio-economic exclusion. This study examines successful mobility solutions implemented across EU countries through case study analysis and literature review. The research identifies effective practices—including door-to-door service delivery, infrastructure repurposing, and volunteer transport networks—that improve accessibility and social inclusion in rural communities by tailoring solutions to local needs rather than applying urban models.
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Bridging the divide: how agricultural technological innovation narrows the urban–rural income gap in China
Agricultural technological innovation, measured by patent applications, significantly narrows urban-rural income gaps in China. Using panel data from 280 Chinese cities (2008-2021), the study finds that innovation reduces income disparities through employment restructuring, improved factor allocation, and enhanced production efficiency. Effects are stronger in eastern and western regions, higher-level cities, and areas with better intellectual property protection and information access. The impact strengthens as urbanization and education levels increase.
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The urban‒rural income gap, green innovation and urban carbon emissions: An empirical study in the Yangtze River Delta, China
Widening income gaps between urban and rural areas in China's Yangtze River Delta increase carbon emissions by suppressing green innovation. The effect varies across regions and time periods. Market reforms and government intervention both help reduce emissions independently of income inequality. Policymakers can address income inequality and environmental challenges simultaneously through coordinated market and government action.
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Empowering women in rural India: characteristics and intentions for sustainable entrepreneurship
This study identifies factors driving rural women in India toward sustainable entrepreneurship. Using surveys of 1,250 rural women and structural equation modeling, the research finds that perceived capability, social perception, and individual competencies all directly increase women's entrepreneurial intentions. Perceived opportunities mediate these relationships. Together, these factors explain about half the variation in women's sustainable entrepreneurial intentions.
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Rural entrepreneurship as-practice: a framework for research beyond stereotypical notions of entrepreneurial agency and contextual constraints
Rural entrepreneurship research often relies on stereotypical views of rurality and how context shapes business activity. This paper proposes a new theoretical framework treating rural context and entrepreneurship as interconnected practice-material bundles. The authors identify four types of relations between entrepreneurial agency and rural context—causal, prefigurative, constitutive, and intelligibility—to better understand how they mutually shape each other. The framework bridges positivist and constructivist approaches and emphasizes analyzing practice-material dynamics as the core unit for studying rural entrepreneurship.
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Urban-Rural Cooperation for an Economy with 100% Renewable Energy and Climate Protection towards 2030 - the Region Berlin-Brandenburg
Berlin and Brandenburg can achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030 through a system based primarily on rooftop solar panels and green hydrogen production, with electricity replacing fossil fuels across all sectors. The analysis shows this transition is technically feasible and costs less than continuing with fossil and nuclear energy. Hydrogen storage emerges as a critical cost factor, and coordinating with broader German and European energy transitions could further reduce expenses.
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Techno-economic analysis of a hybrid renewable energy system integrated with productive activities in an underdeveloped rural region of eastern Indonesia
A hybrid renewable energy system combining solar and wind power was designed for an isolated village in eastern Indonesia with minimal electricity access. The system proved economically viable only with full subsidies and specific tariff rates, but integrating it with productive activities like cold storage and crop drying made the overall scheme feasible, creating local jobs and income opportunities while meeting residential and commercial energy demands.
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How rurality influences interactive innovation processes: lessons learnt from 15 case studies in 12 countries
Rural regions innovate differently based on their distance from urban centers. Analyzing 15 case studies across Europe, the authors found that remote rural areas rely on external ideas and established networks, with individual entrepreneurs driving innovation despite thin support systems and limited private funding. NGOs and producer organizations become critical support mechanisms in the most isolated regions, while the private sector can compensate for weak agricultural knowledge systems.
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An Inclusive Entrepreneurial Path Model Based on Rural Digital Entrepreneurship Data in Zhejiang Province Using Few-Shot Learning
Rural farmers in Zhejiang Province who engage in entrepreneurship rely heavily on operational resources and network connections rather than knowledge resources. Social and industrial network embeddedness significantly helps migrant workers access the resources needed to start businesses. The study recommends policies supporting farmer entrepreneurship, attracting business investment to rural areas, and providing agricultural knowledge and market guidance to boost rural employment.
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Social entrepreneurship in tourism: a chance for rural communities
Social enterprises developing tourism in rural Ukrainian communities can improve resident well-being, but success requires local awareness, sustainable resource management, and alignment with community values. The paper shows that diversified tourism approaches outperform single-activity models like ski resorts, which create economic vulnerability. Social tourism enterprises deliver greater positive social impact than conventional tourism businesses when they maximize local resources and respect traditions.
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Impacts of socio-cultural practices on family support system for rural women entrepreneurship development in Nigeria: a comparative analysis
Rural women entrepreneurs in Southwest and Southeast Nigeria receive varying levels of family support, which is significantly shaped by socio-cultural practices. The study found that cultural norms discourage women from passing businesses to their children and limit entrepreneurial growth. The research recommends that husbands challenge restrictive cultural practices to enable family business succession, sustainable economic empowerment, and poverty reduction in rural areas.
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The role of entrepreneurship, cooperation and agro-industrial integration in the development of rural areas
Entrepreneurship, cooperation, and agro-industrial integration are essential for sustainable rural development. The paper identifies organizational and economic components needed to support these activities and demonstrates that entrepreneurship drives stable agrarian economy growth through integration and cooperation. The authors forecast entrepreneurial structure development through 2025 and provide recommendations for state policies supporting agricultural sector growth and rural transformation.
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Management of Innovation of the Economic Potential of the Rural Enterprises
Rural enterprises face innovation challenges that threaten their stability and viability. This paper develops a clustering methodology to identify the economic potential of rural settlements across four dimensions: economic, social, infrastructure, and environmental. Using data from Czech municipalities, the authors create models to classify areas by their innovation capacity and define business potential through regression analysis. The method enables practitioners to identify which rural locations have suitable conditions for innovation and economic development.
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Integration and Control of Renewable Energy-Based Rural Microgrids
This paper develops a control system for rural microgrids that integrate wind, solar, and biogas energy sources. The system maintains stable frequency and voltage by automatically adjusting biogas generation to compensate for fluctuations in renewable energy supply or changes in power demand. The approach prevents excess power flow between interconnected microgrids and enables seamless switching between grid-connected and off-grid operation.
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Migration, meaning(s) of place and implications for rural innovation policy
Migration shapes how rural communities understand and value their places, which directly affects their capacity for innovation. The paper argues that rural innovation policy must account for migrants' diverse perspectives and attachments to place. Policymakers who ignore these meaning-making processes risk designing interventions that fail to engage local populations or leverage the knowledge migrants bring to rural economies.
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Designing the Structural Equation Model of Agricultural Entrepreneurship Development in Rural Areas of Iran (Case Study: Villages of Marvdasht County)
This study develops a structural equation model explaining agricultural entrepreneurship in rural Iranian villages. Using survey data from 197 households, researchers found that social capital, subjective norms, self-efficacy beliefs, and local institutions together explain 47% of variance in agricultural entrepreneurship development. The model confirms these four factors significantly influence farmers' innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactiveness, suggesting government support and institutional strengthening can boost rural entrepreneurship.
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A Network-Based Approach for Emerging Rural Social Entrepreneurship
Rural social entrepreneurship drives rural development, but remains understudied. This paper applies network theory to rural social enterprises, examining how network structure, social innovation, social learning, and value creation shape strategy and performance. The authors argue that network approaches help rural social enterprises build competitive advantages and strengthen rural economies.
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Public Finance and Rural Development in Nigeria: Empirical Evidence from the Structural Equation Modeling
Public finance systems in rural Nigeria fail to effectively fund infrastructure and social amenities that improve quality of life. The study examined nine local government areas in Benue state and found that shared revenue arrangements between state and local governments create serious obstacles to financing rural development projects. The authors recommend restructuring public finance systems at the local government level to enable more efficient and prudent allocation of resources for rural development.
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Strategic orientations and cooperation of external agents in the innovation process of rural enterprises
Market orientation drives incremental innovation in rural enterprises, while entrepreneurial orientation supports both incremental and radical innovation. Specific external partners like suppliers and consultants help with incremental improvements, whereas universities and public research organizations primarily support radical innovation. The study of 208 rural firms reveals that strategic orientations and external collaboration patterns differ from urban business models due to rural market structures and product characteristics.
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Social entrepreneurship in the rural areas - a sports club's mobilisation of people, money and social capital
A sports club in a small rural community became a social entrepreneur by taking on public responsibilities and driving community development. The club succeeded by leveraging its local credibility, geographical proximity, and ability to mobilize resources. Volunteers in the club acted as change agents, demonstrating how the voluntary sector can address gaps left by traditional public institutions in peripheral rural societies.
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Exploring the Emergence of Community Support for School and Encouragement of Innovation for Improving Rural School Performance: Lessons Learned at Kitamburo in Tanzania
A rural primary school in Tanzania achieved strong mathematics performance on national exams through community-driven innovation. Community leadership mobilized support for the school, which encouraged teachers to develop new professional practices. The study shows that community leaders, not just school administrators, can catalyze professional learning communities that improve teaching and student outcomes in remote rural settings.
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Entrepreneurship and viral development in rural Western Negev in Israel
Rural entrepreneurs in Israel's Western Negev region show willingness to cooperate through open incubators, but lack the key personal traits and business attitudes needed for viral economic growth. Only highly motivated entrepreneurs with power-seeking drive possess both required profiles. The study identifies that mavens, connectors, and salesmen—the influential few—need targeted support and attitude improvement to catalyze regional development through collaborative business initiatives.
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Techno-Financial Analysis of Energy Access through Hybrid System with Solar PV under the Various Rural Community Models for State of Uttarakhand, India
This study analyzes hybrid solar photovoltaic systems with battery storage for rural energy access in Uttarakhand, India. Researchers modeled five community-based energy systems serving remote hilly villages where grid extension is infeasible. Using HOMER simulations, they compared three hybrid configurations across different household densities and consumption patterns. Solar PV with battery storage emerged as the most cost-effective solution, offering reliable power for lighting, appliances, and mobile charging while reducing operational costs and enabling local community ownership and income generation.
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Information Network Villages: A community-focused digital divide reduction policy in rural Korea
South Korea's Information Network Village project demonstrates how digital divide policies can build sustainable rural communities. The study examines this initiative as a model for implementing community-focused digital infrastructure in small rural areas, showing how targeted policy can reduce technology gaps and strengthen local development.
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After Broadband Infrastructure Saturation: The Impact of Public Investment on Rural Social Capital
South Korea's Information Network Village project achieved 98% broadband coverage in rural areas, then shifted focus to building online social networks. Public investment in digital infrastructure increased online interaction and social capital, strengthening community attachment and reducing rural-to-urban migration. This demonstrates how sustained public investment supports rural development beyond initial infrastructure deployment.
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Design and Analyzing of an Off-Grid Hybrid Renewable Energy System to Supply Electricity for Rural Areas : Case Study: Atsbi District, North Ethiopia
This paper designs and analyzes an off-grid hybrid renewable energy system to provide electricity to rural areas in Ethiopia's Atsbi District. The system combines multiple renewable sources to address the energy access gap in remote communities where grid connection is impractical or unavailable. The analysis evaluates technical feasibility and performance of the hybrid approach for rural electrification.
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How Open & Indigenous Innovation Affects Industries International Competitiveness: An Empirical Study on Chinese Manufacturing Industries Based on the Panel Data from the Year 2000 to 2010
Indigenous innovation forms the foundation for Chinese manufacturing industries to improve international competitiveness. Open innovation strengthens this effect, particularly by amplifying how R&D investment drives competitiveness. The most effective approach combines both indigenous and open innovation strategies in balance. Data from 2000–2010 shows that industries pursuing integrated indigenous-open innovation strategies achieve greater competitive gains than those relying on either approach alone.
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Innovation centres as growth points for smaller towns and rural areas
Innovation centres and science parks in smaller towns and rural areas drive socioeconomic development beyond major cities. The authors examine a science park in Gusev, Kaliningrad region, showing how regional and municipal legal frameworks support innovation adoption. Composite development strategies integrating innovation at municipality level strengthen surrounding rural territories.
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Ambiguity and Uncertainty in the “Last Mile”: Using Sense-making to Explore How Rural Broadband Networks Are Created
Alberta's government built a world-leading fiber-optic broadband network for rural communities in 2005, yet the province ranked last in rural broadband access by 2008. Using interviews and sensemaking theory, the authors found that industry decision-makers and stakeholders created self-fulfilling prophecies about the network through collective interpretation, which paralyzed efforts to promote actual community use of the infrastructure.
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SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DETERMINANTS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AREAS IN POLAND
Rural entrepreneurship in Poland is shaped by social and cultural factors rooted in communist-era attitudes and post-1989 transformation. Polish rural residents show low entrepreneurial activity, preferring passive survival strategies over economic risk-taking. However, strong family and neighborhood ties, combined with generations of farm ownership experience, create conditions that support entrepreneurship when it does emerge. Rural enterprise thus carries both economic and social dimensions.
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Tourism management in rural innovation programs of Castilla-La Mancha
Rural innovation programs in Castilla-La Mancha invested heavily in tourism development, expanding rural accommodation, heritage rehabilitation, and cultural preservation. Using shift-share analysis, the study identifies how these European structural funds generated global, structural, and competitive effects across tourism initiatives, demonstrating significant increases in rural tourism supply and infrastructure.
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Older people as actors in the rural community, innovation and empowerment
Older people in rural communities actively contribute to social life and innovation when given opportunities for participation. This qualitative study of 53 rural residents in Catalonia, Spain found that community engagement is central to successful aging. The research identifies the need for rural-focused professionals and proposes community-based strategies that strengthen social participation systems while preserving rural character, rather than imposing urban models.
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Microfinance performance in China's rural areas: A perspective of regional differences
Microfinance significantly increases farmer income in rural China, but effectiveness varies substantially across regions. The study of 116 households across 28 provinces identifies loan size, borrower education, loan duration, and borrower gender as key performance factors. The authors recommend designing microfinance programs tailored to regional characteristics to maximize impact on farmer incomes.
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Broadband / future generation network services deployment in rural and remote areas
This paper examines broadband and next-generation network deployment across rural African regions. The authors identify deployment challenges and argue that wireless, wired, and optical technologies should all be pursued to expand rural access. They contend that wireless high-speed internet offers a cost-effective interim solution to bridge the broadband gap, enabling rural communities to access healthcare, government services, education, and business opportunities.
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Leading Community Innovation: Organizing Successful Rural Telecommunications Self-Development Projects
Five U.S. rural communities launched telecommunications self-development projects in the 1990s to revitalize declining economies. Strong public-private partnerships and decentralized project models increased success, while university-led projects performed worse. The study identifies six organizational and community processes that determine whether such initiatives succeed, offering lessons applicable to other rural development efforts.
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Rural electrification through renewable energy in Nepal
Nepal possesses significant hydropower potential but lacks rural electrical grid coverage. Micro-hydro and solar photovoltaic systems offer viable alternatives for rural electrification. Currently these renewable sources reach only 7% of the rural population. Nepal's 10th Five-Year Plan targets 10 MW from micro-hydro schemes and off-grid access for 12% of the population. Government agencies, NGOs, and private institutions collaborate through organizations like the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre to expand rural renewable energy infrastructure.
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RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: INDIVIDUAL OR COLLECTIVE PHENOMENA?
Rural entrepreneurship requires both individual initiative and collective support systems. While entrepreneurs drive firm creation in rural areas, success depends equally on strong social institutions and supportive socio-economic structures. Economic development becomes sustainable when entrepreneurial activity integrates with broader socio-cultural development, rather than relying solely on individual economic rationality.
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Unintended Benefits: Impact of Place‐Based Policies on the Rural–Urban Income Gap in China's Old Revolutionary Base Areas
Place-based revitalization policies in China's old revolutionary base areas significantly reduced the urban-rural income gap. The policies worked through improved public services, agricultural support, and digital economy development. Effects were strongest in western cities, areas with high income inequality, and regions with slower urbanization. This demonstrates that regional development policies can deliver unintended benefits for income equity in less developed areas.
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Community participation and the viability of decentralized renewable energy systems: evidence from a hybrid mini-grid in rural South Africa
Community participation strengthens decentralized renewable energy systems in rural areas. This study of a hybrid mini-grid in South Africa found that high technical and social participation improved system maintenance, trust, and resilience. However, women and community members had limited influence in decision-making and economic opportunities. Meaningful participation across governance, technical, economic, and social domains enhances legitimacy, local ownership, and long-term viability of rural energy projects.
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Is a Rural Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Conducive to the Improvement of Entrepreneurial Performance? Evidence from Typical Counties of Rural Entrepreneurship and Innovation in China
Rural entrepreneurship ecosystems in China contain multiple factors—market size, human capital, financial capital, and infrastructure—that combine in different ways to drive entrepreneurial performance. The study identifies two pathways to high performance: market-driven financing combined with talent development, and government-supported infrastructure. Market forces and government intervention can substitute for each other. Two separate pathways lead to lower performance, involving market-financing or market-government suppression.
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Exploring the Influence of Village Social Capital and Rural Development on Farmers’ Entrepreneurial Decision-Making: Unveiling the Path to Local Entrepreneurship
Village social capital significantly influences farmers' decisions to start businesses in rural China. Social trust has the strongest effect, increasing entrepreneurial odds by 16.28%, while social networks and participation boost odds by 3.96% and 5.42% respectively. Rural harmony and economic development partially explain how social capital drives entrepreneurship. The findings show that strengthening village social capital creates conditions for rural business formation.
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Transferability of hometown landholdings and rural migrants’ entrepreneurship: evidence from a pilot rural land use reform in China
A pilot rural land reform in China between 2015 and 2018 increased the transferability of hometown landholdings by raising expropriation compensation and allowing land transactions. Rural migrants from these pilot areas showed 5–7 percentage points higher entrepreneurship rates in destination cities. The reform particularly boosted necessity-based rather than opportunity-based entrepreneurship, with stronger effects on middle-aged and married migrants. The findings demonstrate how rural land policy directly influences urban entrepreneurial activity.
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Fostering entrepreneurship and development in rural mountainous regions: the role of SEZs and local economic dynamics in Gilgit-Baltistan
Special economic zones, particularly Maqpondass SEZ and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, drive entrepreneurship growth in Gilgit-Baltistan. Government incentives, access to finance, skill development, and business connections enable new venture creation. The study finds that SEZ-based industries directly support local small business expansion, with human capital development and technology adoption critical for sustained regional economic growth.
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Bridging and bonding social capital in place-based rural careers advising
Rural careers advisors in western Victoria develop place-based education programs by building social capital through local relationships and knowledge. The study finds that advisors who bridge connections across their communities and bond with local networks create more relevant and effective careers guidance. This approach helps ensure rural students access quality education needed for positive post-school outcomes.
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Investments in Renewable Energy in Rural Communes: An Analysis of Regional Disparities in Poland
Rural communes in Poland drive renewable energy transformation more actively than previously recognized, despite receiving little research attention. Eastern provinces like Lublin and Podlasie secured substantial EU funding for renewable projects, particularly solar installations. Regional disparities in investment activity are significant, with rural communes demonstrating crucial roles in Poland's energy transition that larger urban centers do not capture.
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Achieving universal energy access in remote locations using HOMER energy model: a techno-economic and environmental analysis of hybrid microgrid systems for rural electrification in northeast Nigeria
Researchers designed and modeled a hybrid solar-battery-generator microgrid system for a remote Nigerian village using HOMER software. The system achieves 99% renewable energy penetration at $0.093 per kilowatt-hour, with minimal environmental impact. Sensitivity analysis shows the system adapts well to diesel price increases and scales effectively across different population sizes, offering a practical pathway for rural electrification in underserved regions.
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International immigration and entrepreneurship in rural areas of the Spanish Pyrenees
Immigrant entrepreneurs in Spain's Pyrenees create innovative businesses in farming and tourism, introducing new products to niche markets and strengthening local sustainability values. However, their companies remain small and undercapitalized, producing limited economic impact and job creation. The study challenges the focus on retirement and low-skilled migration by documenting how immigrant professionals and lifestyle movers contribute to rural economies through entrepreneurship.
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A Comparative Study of Renewable Energy Sources for Power Generation in Rural Areas
This paper develops a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis framework to compare renewable energy sources for rural power generation. The framework evaluates solar, wind, hydro, and biomass power across economic feasibility, environmental impact, and technical feasibility. The analysis provides recommendations for selecting the most suitable renewable energy source to meet rural energy needs and reduce fossil fuel dependence.
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Optimization of a hybrid renewable energy system for a rural community using PSO
The paper designs a hybrid renewable energy system combining solar, wind, and hydro power for a rural Philippine community. Using HOMER Pro software and particle swarm optimization, the authors develop an energy management system that allocates power efficiently across the microgrid while minimizing operational costs. The system addresses intermittent renewable generation to reduce power interruptions and improve rural electrification.
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Enhancing stability and achieving high-quality development in rural credit cooperatives through inclusive finance: evidence from Shaanxi Province, China
Rural credit cooperatives in Shaanxi Province, China improved their stability and risk-taking capacity when they adopted inclusive finance practices. The effect was strongest for cooperatives with larger corporate shareholding, though property rights reforms and community bank launches somewhat reduced these gains. The study recommends expanding inclusive finance, reforming rural commercial bank operations, and strengthening governance to better serve agricultural and rural communities.
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L’Agriculture biologique, une innovation territoriale au service du développement rural : le cas du Gers
Organic agriculture in the Gers department of France demonstrates how rural areas drive innovation through territorial anchoring. The study finds strong institutional and economic support for organic farming development, positioning it as intelligent specialization that diversifies the existing agricultural system. However, competing visions of organic agriculture among stakeholders may hinder its further development as a territorial innovation.
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Conceptual distinction between agricultural innovation and rural innovation: implications for scientific research and public policy
This paper distinguishes agricultural innovation from rural innovation as separate conceptual approaches. Agricultural innovation focuses on farming technology and competitiveness, while rural innovation emphasizes endogenous development and social change. Analysis of Mexican research trends (2014-2018) and policies (2013-2018) shows that scientific work addressed both approaches, but government policy only pursued agricultural innovation despite widespread rural marginalization. The authors argue that recognizing these distinctions improves research clarity and enables policymakers to design interventions addressing rural inequality.
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Disputed futures: rural entrepreneurship and migration in postsecondary trajectories on the Ecuador–Colombia Border
This ethnographic study examines how schools in the Ecuador-Colombia border region use rural entrepreneurship projects to shape young people's futures and align their aspirations with state priorities. The research reveals tensions between institutionalized entrepreneurship initiatives and students' actual desires for geographical and social mobility, showing how the future functions as a tool of government control over youth.
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Enacting aspirational rural schooling towards sustainable futures: exploring students’ ethnographic imaginations implications for place-based pedagogy
Rural students in Ghana have limited career aspirations shaped primarily by their immediate environment. The study shows that place-based pedagogy can improve educational outcomes by integrating indigenous apprenticeship methods and local skills with global opportunities. Teachers must become geographically sensitive and help students connect their community knowledge to broader possibilities while respecting their home cultural capital.
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The impact of system contraction on the rural youth access to higher education in Poland
After Poland's higher education system contracted post-2005, rural youth—historically disadvantaged in accessing university—gained greater entry to prestigious public institutions. The study challenges the conventional belief that system expansion reduces educational inequality. Instead, contraction forced elite universities to become less selective and more inclusive when traditional student pools dried up and state-funded places needed filling.
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“You're Poor, so You're Not Going to Do Anything:” Socioeconomic Status and Capital Accumulation as a Means to Access Higher Education for Rural Youth<sup>☆</sup>
Rural first-generation college students receive minimal practical guidance from family, school, and community members when deciding on higher education. Family educational background strongly influences whether students follow adult advice. Non-first-generation students choose selective universities primarily through family connections. State merit-based scholarships motivate rural students to attend top public universities regardless of first-generation status, with distance to campus playing a minor role in college choice decisions.
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The Data Analytics of Finance Impact on the Rural Development Combining Financial Constraint and Economic Growth Theory
Rural Commercial Banks in China drive rural economic development through agricultural lending and deposit mobilization. Analysis of D County Rural Commercial Bank shows rural deposits grew from 2.2 billion yuan in 2012 to 6.0 billion yuan in 2018. The study proposes financial innovation strategies for rural banks to sustain economic growth and demonstrates how rural finance institutions can provide new pathways for stable rural development.
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Modeling Renewable Energy Systems in Rural Areas with Flexible Operating Units
This paper develops a modeling method for designing renewable energy systems in rural areas using biomass resources like wood, grass, and manure. The approach uses flexible operating units that can tolerate varying input material ratios, enabling more accurate equipment models. Applied to a case study, the method optimizes the collection, transportation, and processing of local biomass through fermenters and combined heat and power plants, achieving 31% higher profit with reduced computational effort.
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Design of a self‐sustained hybrid renewable energy microgrid for rural electrification of dry lands
This paper designs a hybrid renewable energy microgrid for rural electrification in India's drought-prone Ramanathapuram district. The system combines solar photovoltaic and wind generation with electric vehicle battery storage to smooth power intermittency. Using real field data, the authors model a coordinated control system that manages battery state-of-charge to provide reliable, self-sustained power to dry land communities facing energy shortages.
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Social Capital, Entrepreneurship and Rural Development
Retired migrant workers returning to Arjowilangun Village in Indonesia possess strong social capital—built on kinship, trust, and mutual cooperation—that directly influences their decision to start businesses. Social network analysis identified 14 key community figures capable of spreading entrepreneurial information. Higher social capital significantly correlates with entrepreneurship uptake, which drives village development and reduces dependence on remittances alone.
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Assessing the asymmetric linkages between foreign direct investments and indigenous innovation in developing countries: A non-linear panel auto-regressive distributed lag approach
Foreign direct investment and indigenous innovation in developing countries have an asymmetric relationship. Increases in FDI boost innovation, while decreases in FDI reduce innovation output. However, FDI declines do not suppress positive innovation changes already underway. The study analyzed 20 developing countries from 1993 to 2017 using non-linear methods, revealing that policymakers must account for these asymmetries when designing development strategies.
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Policies for innovations in the new Rural Development Programs (RDP): the Italian regional experience
Italy's 2014-2020 rural development policy emphasizes knowledge systems and innovation diffusion by valuing both tacit and scientific knowledge for human capital development. The policy achieves better innovation transfer results when all chain players—farmers, researchers, and advisors—participate together. An interactive approach helps identify farm problems and develop innovative solutions. This paper examines whether Europe 2020's ambitious objectives translated into actual implementation within Italy's Rural Development Regulation and identifies ongoing problems.
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Global Networks and Innovation in China—International Linkages and Indigenous Efforts
Chinese firms leverage both international partnerships and domestic capabilities to drive product and process innovation. This special issue examines how companies balance external global networks with internal resources to enhance innovation performance. Five empirical studies using case analysis, surveys, and data analysis reveal strategies Chinese firms use to manipulate and coordinate international and domestic networks for competitive advantage.
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Planning the Electrification of Rural Villages in East Nusa Tenggara Using Renewable Energy Generation
This study evaluates the techno-economic feasibility of renewable energy systems for electrifying rural villages in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Using HOMER software to model three electrification scenarios, researchers compared diesel, solar PV, wind, and hybrid systems. Solar-powered renewable systems proved more cost-competitive than diesel across all scenarios, with levelized costs of energy ranging from $0.55 to $0.74 per kilowatt-hour, while delivering significant environmental benefits through reduced CO2 emissions.
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Broadband ecosystem elements in techno-economic modelling and analysing of broadband access solutions for rural areas
This paper analyzes Croatia's rural broadband market and proposes an extended techno-economic model to evaluate broadband access solutions for rural areas. The model incorporates ecosystem elements and allows detailed analysis of different rural contexts to identify the most efficient business strategies for fixed and mobile broadband technologies. The work addresses Europe's digital divide between rural and urban regions.
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Community-Based Entrepreneurship and Rural Development
A survey of small and medium enterprises across five Central European nations examines how local institutions and conditions shape SME performance in rural regions. The research uses municipalities as the primary unit of analysis to understand the relationship between institutional organization and entrepreneurial success in rural areas.
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Effectiveness of On-grid and Off-grid rural electrification approaches in India
India's rural electrification relies on on-grid and off-grid approaches to support agricultural development. Despite policy support, centralized on-grid systems perform poorly in rural areas. Decentralized off-grid electrification using renewable energy technologies proves more effective and successful. This paper evaluates both approaches across Indian villages and examines how off-grid mini and micro grids could evolve as alternatives to conventional grid distribution.
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Actor networks and innovation activities among rural enterprises in a South African locality
Rural enterprises in South Africa benefit significantly from actor networks that facilitate access to innovation knowledge and practices. The study finds that both private and non-profit rural businesses rely on face-to-face interactions and informal knowledge-sharing arrangements rather than formal contracts. These networks enable rural enterprises to access internal and external innovation know-how, supporting local development despite geographic isolation and resource constraints.
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Rural Retail Innovations in India: New Dimension in Marketing
Rural markets in India present significant opportunities but require different marketing approaches than urban areas. Physical distribution, channel management, poor infrastructure, and communication challenges make serving rural consumers difficult. The paper argues that rural marketers must develop creative solutions, particularly in retailing and distribution, since village retailers play a crucial role in brand success when direct consumer communication is limited.
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Comprehensive Country Ranking for Renewable Energy Based Mini-Grids Providing Rural off-Grid Electrification
Renewable energy mini-grids can bring electricity to rural areas without grid connections. The authors identify key conditions needed for sustainable business models in this sector and rank countries globally by their suitability. Rwanda and Peru emerge as top candidates with favorable conditions for deploying renewable mini-grids to rural populations. The ranking helps entrepreneurs and investors identify where to launch electrification projects.
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‘Rural Informatics’: Use of Information and Communication Technologies for the Rural Poor – From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity in Rural India
India's government is implementing ICT policies to bridge the digital divide and create opportunities for rural poor communities. The paper argues that effective ICT deployment requires coordinated action among government, private sector, and local communities. Success depends on affordable infrastructure, training programs, and integrating traditional knowledge systems into participatory development approaches that improve access to markets, health, and education.
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Examining Rural Adoption Of Broadband – Critical Realist Perspectives
Australia's National Broadband Network requires rural communities to adopt broadband technology for the project's success. This paper argues that critical realism provides a useful theoretical framework for understanding the complex social, political, and technical factors influencing rural broadband adoption. The authors introduce three critical realist frameworks and Archer's morphogenetic model as tools to examine how these factors interact in rural regions.
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Facilitating the Production of Place-Based Knowledge for Participatory Community Development in Rural Pennsylvania
This case study examines how three rural Pennsylvania communities—Selinsgrove, Sunbury, and Danville—generated local knowledge through participatory planning processes to guide community revitalization. The research shows how inclusive engagement of adults and children in identifying local assets and priorities produces place-sensitive development outcomes. The findings demonstrate that community-generated knowledge improves development practice by grounding decisions in local context and values.
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Renewable Energy Market for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries: Country Case Nepal
Nepal's renewable energy market for rural electrification relies on solar home systems and micro-hydro technology to overcome geographical barriers to grid extension. While awareness and willingness to pay for electricity have grown, a significant financial gap prevents poor households from accessing these technologies. Market expansion is uneven, with solar PV remaining unaffordable for the poorest. Stakeholders identify credit access and subsidy delivery mechanisms as critical barriers requiring innovation to reach more rural populations.
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Developing 21st Century Diverse Adult Learning: Rural and Regional Student Access, Progression and Success in Higher Education
This paper examines how rural and regional students access, progress through, and succeed in higher education during the 21st century. It addresses barriers these students face and explores strategies to improve their participation and outcomes in tertiary education, focusing on diverse adult learners in non-urban areas.
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All Things to All People: Challenges and Innovations in a Rural Community College
Rural community colleges face pressure to serve diverse adult learners with limited resources. New Mexico State University at Grants developed innovative approaches including career ladder strategies and on-site distributed learning to provide access to professional degrees in an economically distressed, culturally diverse county. These programs expand educational pathways for rural adult students.
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Broadband Internet Service Helping Create a Rural Digital Economy
Broadband internet service enables rural communities to participate in the digital economy by reducing geographic barriers to commerce and information access. The paper examines how broadband infrastructure supports rural economic development through business creation, job growth, and improved access to markets and services that were previously limited by distance and connectivity constraints.
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Making Sense of Broadband in Rural Alberta, Canada
Rural Albertans shaped how they understood and used the SuperNet, a government broadband infrastructure project. The research found that community members actively interpreted the technology through their existing internet practices and local needs. Economic, political, and cultural factors at provincial and national levels influenced how rural users adopted and creatively appropriated broadband access.
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Development status and trend of rural renewable energy in China
Rural China faces growing energy demand that commodity energy alone cannot meet. The country possesses abundant renewable resources including solar, wind, small hydropower, geothermal, and biomass energy. The paper identifies significant gaps between urban and rural energy consumption and regional disparities. It recommends improving policy frameworks, removing market barriers, increasing investment, diversifying energy sources, and establishing service systems to develop rural renewable energy.
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Managing environmental turbulence in the microfinance sector - a case study of the Aga Khan rural support programme in Pakistan
This case study examines how the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Pakistan adapted its microfinance operations when international donors shifted from providing subsidized funding to demanding institutional self-sustainability in the 1990s. The microfinance division successfully transformed from a donor-dependent organization into a commercially viable institution by restructuring its tangible and intangible organizational elements to survive competitive market pressures.
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The Rural Wings Project: Bridging the Digital Divide with Satellite-Provided Internet. Phase I: Identifying and Analysing the Learning Needs of 31 Communities in 10 Countries
The Rural Wings project investigated digital access needs across 31 rural communities in 10 European countries. Researchers found that digitally isolated communities—particularly in mainland and island highlands—lack reliable infrastructure and ICT connectivity. Communities identified multiple reasons for needing better internet access: education, language learning, government services, news, medical services, and weather information. The study maps European patterns in rural digital exclusion and identifies satellite internet as a viable long-term solution.
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Manufacturing strategy and innovation in indigenous and foreign firms: an international study
This study compares manufacturing strategy and innovation between domestic and foreign firms across 17 countries using the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey. The researchers found that while foreign firms generally outperform domestic ones in most areas, innovative firms achieve greater competitiveness regardless of whether they operate in their home country or abroad. Innovation emerges as the key driver of competitive advantage.
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<i>Rural Finance in Contemporary Times: Interface with Microfinance</i>
Indian rural finance suffers from state interventions like loan write-offs and interest subsidies that undermine banking system sustainability. Microfinance institutions reach poor clients but face regulatory neglect and cannot access commercial capital for growth. Both bankers and microfinance practitioners identified significant untapped rural markets in non-agricultural sectors like construction, handloom, and garment clusters. Removing regulatory barriers and clarifying the state's positive role could enable financial service innovations and better serve excluded poor populations.
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Increasing the Effectiveness of Rural, Regional and Remote Food Security Initiatives Through Place‐Based Partnerships—A Qualitative Study
Rural and remote organizations in Western Australia collaborate on food security through coordinated action, community consultation, and resource sharing. The study of 101 initiative leaders found 378 partnering organizations working together. Formal partnership agreements improve sustainability while maintaining flexibility for addressing complex food security challenges. Clear partnership purposes and defined roles enhance effectiveness across rural food security initiatives.
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Place-based rural development programs and the labor allocation of farm households
A rural development program in Taiwan increased labor supply among farm household members, particularly for off-farm work. Non-heads of households and female members benefited most. Subsidies supporting cultural and promotional activities produced larger effects. The study uses administrative data and instrumental variables to establish causal impacts on how households allocate labor in response to place-based development policies.
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Retaining Permanent and Temporary Immigrants in Rural Australia: Place‐Based and Individual Determinants
Australia's regional visa schemes successfully attract skilled migrants to rural areas but fail to retain them long-term, with only 40% remaining after nine years compared to over 50% for other migrant categories. Retention is higher in regions with diverse job markets and ethnic networks, but lower where housing costs are high. Less-educated and lower-income migrants, including humanitarian arrivals, stay longer in rural areas, revealing a pattern of socio-spatial inequality and labor market segmentation.
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Collaborative scheduling method of active-reactive power for rural distribution systems with a high proportion of renewable energy
This paper develops an optimization method for scheduling power in rural distribution networks with high renewable energy penetration. The authors create an evaluation model to quantify active and reactive power support capabilities, then propose a collaborative scheduling approach that minimizes power losses, operational costs, and penalty costs. They build a platform to support safe grid operation and demonstrate their method reduces overload and overvoltage problems while improving security and economic efficiency.
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Mapping the Enablers of Frugal Innovation and Firm Performance of Indigenous Innovation in Emerging Economies
Frugal innovation drives growth in emerging economies by creating resourceful solutions for resource-constrained environments. This study builds a hierarchical framework showing how five independent enablers—including resource constraints, prosocial motivation, and frugal design principles—influence frugal innovation and firm performance through linkage factors like frugal creativity and bricolage capability. The framework helps firms in developing economies achieve sustainable growth.
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Attitude toward innovation and its implications for rural community development in Mexican peasant organizations
Mexican peasant organizations show balanced attitudes toward innovation when examined through psychological and social factors. High social capital and good information access promote positive innovation attitudes, while cultural values present fewer barriers than commonly assumed. The study challenges stereotypes of rural communities as inherently resistant to change, revealing instead that innovation attitudes develop in response to territorial risks and constraints.
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Investment in community-based rural health care innovation to address health inequities in Australia
Rural Australians face higher chronic disease rates, lower life expectancy, and poor healthcare access due to distance and workforce shortages. The authors argue that investment in community-based rural health research is critical to address these inequities. They demonstrate that place-based partnerships between researchers, hospitals, and community organizations—including innovative models like community paramedicine—improve patient outcomes and reduce hospital admissions, yet receive only 2.4% of national health research funding.
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Can place-based policies reduce urban-rural income inequality? Evidence from China’s Old Revolutionary Development Program based on county-level data
China's Old Revolutionary Development Program, a place-based policy targeting underdeveloped regions, reduced urban-rural income inequality by an average of 11.2% between 2010 and 2019. The effect worked primarily through government intervention and financial development. The policy proved more effective in western and central China than eastern China, and had stronger impacts in less developed counties. This demonstrates that well-designed place-based policies can meaningfully reduce income gaps between urban and rural areas.
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On-Grid and Off-Grid Hybrid Renewable Energy System Designs with HOMER: A Case Study of Rural Electrification in Turkey
Researchers designed hybrid renewable energy systems for a rural Turkish area using solar, wind, and hydroelectric sources. On-grid systems connected to the main grid proved most economical, while off-grid systems with battery storage reduced environmental impact. Adding grid restrictions further lowered carbon emissions. Sensitivity analyses showed that increasing renewable capacity delivered both economic and environmental benefits.
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Sensitivity analysis for a hybrid off-grid PV/DG/BATT system for the electrification of rural communities
This paper evaluates a hybrid solar-diesel-battery power system for electrifying rural communities in Ecuador. Using optimization software, researchers designed a system combining 23 kW solar panels, a 27 kW diesel generator, and battery storage, achieving an energy cost of $0.359 per kilowatt-hour. Sensitivity analysis shows the system's viability depends heavily on fuel prices and component costs, with pure solar-battery systems becoming preferable when diesel exceeds $0.83 per liter.
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Modelling of a renewable energy‐based AC interconnected rural microgrid system for the provision of uninterrupted power supply
This paper models interconnected rural microgrids powered by wind, solar, and biogas to provide reliable electricity in remote areas. The researchers simulated two microgrids connected by AC lines, with one also linked to the main grid. Using PI controllers to manage frequency and voltage, they tested system stability under load changes and variable renewable power. The microgrids maintained stable frequency and voltage after disturbances, demonstrating that this renewable-based approach can deliver uninterrupted rural power supply.
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Off-grid rural electrification using integrated renewable energy sources
This study evaluates hybrid renewable energy systems for off-grid rural electrification in Nsukka, Nigeria. Researchers designed an optimal system combining solar panels, wind turbines, and biodiesel generators to meet a school's annual electricity demand. The resulting hybrid system—1kW solar, biodiesel generator, and battery storage—produces electricity at $0.0898/kWh, significantly cheaper than grid extension at $0.126/kWh. The 25-year system proves economically viable, technically feasible, and environmentally sustainable.
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Performance Analysis of Islamic Micro Finance Institutions on Sustainable Rural Development in Indonesia
Islamic microfinance institutions in Central Java strengthen agricultural and fisheries sectors, driving sustainable rural development. Service quality alone doesn't help, but accessibility and philanthropic characteristics do boost sector strength. The study of 85 farm and fishery business actors shows that stronger agricultural sectors directly improve rural sustainability, establishing a financing model for these sectors.
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Rural Development Research and Policy: Perspectives from Federal and State Experiences with an Application to Broadband
Rural economies persistently face disadvantages despite changing over time. This paper examines rural development research and policy at federal and state levels, drawing on broadband work experience. The author argues that better integration among federal and state governments, academia, and the private sector is essential for solving rural economic challenges. Stronger relationships between researchers and field practitioners would help anticipate future needs and enable timely problem-solving support.
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Shaping “Digital Futures” in Alberta: Community Engagement for Rural Broadband Development
This paper examines the Digital Futures initiative in Alberta, a biannual symposium bringing together public, private, and community stakeholders to address rural broadband development. The authors show how iterative community engagement mechanisms create a productive cycle linking research and practice, demonstrating how engaged communications research tailored to local contexts can advance broadband deployment and sustainability in rural areas.
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Innovation supports for small-scale development in rural regions: a create, build, test and learn approach
Small rural manufacturers face resource constraints that limit innovation despite needing it to survive market downturns. This paper presents a support toolbox designed to help these firms develop new products through learning cycles and communicative prototyping. The approach formalizes their existing trial-and-error methods while building organizational learning capabilities into early-stage product development work.
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Improving competitiveness between EU rural regions through access to tertiary education and sources of innovation
Rural EU regions suffer from poor educational access, weak role models, and low dietary standards, creating limited social mobility and health problems. The authors propose integrating tertiary education with agricultural innovation to address these interconnected challenges. They argue that combining educational access with sector-specific innovation can improve regional competitiveness, social welfare, and economic viability in marginalized rural areas.
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EUROPEAN UNION REGIONAL POLICY SUPPORT FOR INVESTMENTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY IN RURAL AREAS OF THE MAZOVIAN VOIVODSHIP
EU regional policy funding supported renewable energy investments in rural Poland's Mazovian Voivodship, but only wind and solar projects by local governments and enterprises received support. The study finds that eligible cost ceilings and low EU funding shares forced projects to rely heavily on non-EU sources. Insufficient funding emerged as the primary barrier to rural development, causing authorities to prioritize other initiatives over renewable energy.
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Improved RLS Algorithm for Voltage Regulation of Wind-Solar Rural Renewable Energy System
Rural renewable energy systems powered by wind and solar face voltage regulation problems when connected to weak distribution networks. This paper proposes using an improved recursive least squares algorithm to control a grid-connected converter integrated with voltage compensation equipment, enabling better voltage stability despite fluctuating renewable power and irregular load conditions. Simulations demonstrate the approach effectively regulates voltage in these systems.
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Improving schooling outcomes for Latinos in rural California: A critical place-based approach to farmworkers history
A place-based education project in California's Central Valley engaged Latino and Filipino community college students in learning about the Farmworkers Movement through oral history. Students significantly improved their historical thinking skills, biliteracy abilities, and bicultural identity. The approach shows promise for improving Latino schooling outcomes at both junior college and K–12 levels in rural agricultural regions.
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Optimum Design and Techno Economic Analysis of Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Rural Electrification- A Case Study
This paper designs and analyzes a hybrid renewable energy system combining solar, wind, and biomass generators to electrify a remote rural district in India. Using HOMER software, the authors optimized the system for local load patterns and compared costs against grid extension. The results show that off-grid hybrid renewable systems can provide cost-effective sustainable power for rural electrification.
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Assessing the Impact of Off-grid Solar Electrification in Rural Peru
Engineers Without Borders-USA partnered with a rural Peruvian community to install off-grid solar photovoltaic systems, addressing electricity access that limited students' study time and device charging. A monitoring visit one year after implementation revealed the project's sustainability and identified key lessons about training, communication, socioeconomic impact, and community empowerment in rural electrification work.
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From technology transfer to innovation-based rural development: A necessary turn at the Indio Hatuey experimental station
Cuba's economic crisis in the 1990s prompted the Indio Hatuey Experimental Station to shift from technology transfer to innovation-based rural development. The station adopted a holistic, territorial approach to research and education in pasture and forage production. This transformation improved farm environmental outcomes, strengthened food security and sustainable agriculture, and created horizontal networks connecting researchers, farmers, and institutions across local and provincial levels to address climate change and rural development challenges.
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‘A whole new world opened up’: the impact of place and space-based professional development on one rural South Africa primary school
A professional development program in a rural South African primary school transformed teachers' literacy instruction practices toward more culturally responsive approaches. Students' reading skills improved as teachers deepened their pedagogical knowledge. The study identifies three key characteristics of effective professional development: it must be place-based and ongoing, treated as a continuous process, and embedded within social relationships and real material practices rather than isolated training.
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Constructing A Multi-Microgrid with the Inclusion of Renewable Energy in Oman's Rural Power System
This paper examines replacing diesel generators with wind turbines in rural Oman's Al Wusta governorate by creating interconnected microgrids. The researchers modeled these linked multi-microgrids using ETAP software to analyze voltage profiles and power flow under various scenarios. The analysis demonstrates the technical feasibility of retiring diesel power plants and transitioning rural Omani communities to renewable energy systems.
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Technical-Economic Electrification Models Rural with Renewable Energies: Systematic Review of Literature
This systematic review examines technical and economic models for electrifying rural areas using renewable energy sources. The authors analyze existing literature on how renewable energy systems can be designed and deployed cost-effectively to bring electricity to rural communities, synthesizing approaches that balance technical feasibility with economic viability.
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Cost Optimization of an Off-Grid Hybrid Renewable Energy System with Battery Storage for Rural Electrification in Pakistan
This paper designs an off-grid hybrid renewable energy system combining solar, micro-hydro, biomass, and battery storage for rural electrification in Pakistan. The system prioritizes battery discharge to meet demand, bringing biomass online only during peak hours. By reducing biomass operation through strategic battery use, the system cuts fuel consumption, lowers net present cost and electricity costs, making rural electrification economically viable and reliable.
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Review on Optimised Configuration of Hybrid Solar-PV Diesel System for Off-Grid Rural Electrification.
Solar-diesel hybrid systems effectively provide reliable electricity to remote rural areas without grid access. This review examines optimized configurations of hybrid solar photovoltaic-diesel systems deployed globally for off-grid rural electrification. The hybrid approach addresses solar radiation variability, ensuring stable power supply to rural settlements in locations where grid connection is impractical.
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Bringing Solar PV Technologies for Reliable Off-grid Power in Rural India
Solar photovoltaic technology can reliably provide electricity to rural areas without grid connection, addressing poverty and enabling economic development. The authors present a market-driven model called SELL that engages local communities in assembly, sales, service, and manufacturing of solar systems, demonstrating how localized implementation of off-grid solar solutions works in practice.
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Using critical realism and reflexivity to explain broadband non-adoption in rural Australia
Australia's National Broadband Network rollout measures success through both infrastructure provision and user adoption. This paper argues that adoption has plateaued and researchers should focus on understanding why people reject broadband rather than why they accept it. Using critical realism and reflexivity, the authors explain the mechanisms behind non-adoption decisions and propose targeted strategies to convert disinterested non-users into adopters.
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The Social Justice Framework in the Information Technology Rural Librarian Master’s Scholarship Program: Bridging the Rural Digital Divides
A scholarship program trained sixteen rural librarians in Appalachia to earn master's degrees through distance education, using a social justice framework. The program recruited paraprofessionals from Southern and Central Appalachian libraries and delivered part-time coursework synchronously online from 2010 to 2012. The initiative addressed digital divides by building local information technology capacity in underserved rural communities.
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Development of design principles of microgrid on the basis of renewable energy sources for rural settlements in Central European part of Russia
This paper develops design principles for microgrids powered by renewable energy in rural Russian settlements without access to centralized electricity networks. The authors calculate annual power consumption requirements, determine optimal combinations of solar and wind generation, and design microgrid structures that ensure reliable continuous power supply to residents.
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Design of a cost effective hybrid renewable energy system for coastal and inland rural community in Africa
Rural communities in Southern Africa lack electricity access due to distance from the grid and high connection costs. This paper designs off-grid hybrid renewable energy systems for two remote areas—one coastal, one inland—using optimization modeling. Solar-wind systems with storage work best for coastal Mbandana, while solar-biomass systems with storage suit inland Dikgomo, providing cost-effective and reliable local power generation.
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Renewable Energy Source based Hybrid Power Generation Scheme for Off-grid Rural Electrification
Hybrid renewable energy systems combining solar, wind, biomass, and biogas provide reliable and cost-effective electrification for off-grid rural areas. Single renewable sources prove unreliable due to intermittent generation. The authors developed and optimized an integrated multi-source renewable energy model using particle swarm optimization, demonstrating that hybrid schemes outperform individual renewable technologies for rural power supply.
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Techno-Economic Evaluation of the Centralized Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Off-Grid Rural Electrification
This paper evaluates hybrid renewable energy systems for electrifying off-grid rural areas in Pakistan's Baluchistan region. Using Homer software, researchers compared three scenarios: solar-only, wind-only, and hybrid solar-wind systems. The analysis shows that combining solar and wind energy provides the most cost-effective and economically viable solution for rural electrification in the region.
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Rural resilience and renewable energy in North-East Groningen, the Netherlands: in search of synergies
This paper examines whether Dutch government policies recognize renewable energy's potential to strengthen rural resilience and address socio-economic decline. The authors analyze governance at multiple levels in North-East Groningen, a coastal rural region facing peripheralization while positioning itself as an energy hub. They investigate whether formal government institutions anticipate and support renewable energy's role in rural development alongside growing local renewable energy initiatives.
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Energy Sovereignty in Rural Areas: Off-Grid Paradigm for Strengthen the Use of Renewable Energy.
This paper presents the Off-Grid Box, a containerized renewable energy system designed to provide electricity, hot water, water harvesting, and purification to isolated rural communities. The system enables energy independence and sovereignty in marginal areas while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The authors demonstrate that modular off-grid systems can support sustainable livelihoods for small family farms and local communities, creating small-scale smart grids integrated into rural territories.
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Croatia's rural areas - renewable energy based electricity generation for isolated grids
Croatia's rural areas suffer from aging electricity infrastructure and poor grid connections. This paper compares decentralized renewable energy systems for isolated grids against extending the public network to remote regions. The analysis shows isolated grids powered by renewables are often more cost-effective and faster to deploy. The authors call for better evaluation methods that account for non-monetary benefits and advocate an interdisciplinary approach to rural electrification.
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Integrated Operation of Trunk Routes and Branches of Rural Transit
Rural transit systems in China operate inefficiently when trunk and branch routes function separately. This paper proposes integrated operation where trunk routes function like urban transit while minibuses serve branch routes with flexible scheduling. Branch routes should connect to adjacent trunk routes, and multiple routes across neighboring towns should coordinate to maximize vehicle capacity and passenger flow. A case study in Pukou district demonstrates the practical benefits of this integrated approach.
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Mainstream and new‐stream patterns for indigenous innovation in China
Chinese manufacturing enterprises face an innovation dilemma that requires balancing mainstream and new-stream innovation. The paper identifies two distinct innovation patterns and argues that firms should simultaneously strengthen existing mainstream innovation while breeding new technologies as future directions. Success requires convergent innovation that integrates projects, talent, products, and markets into coordinated strategies, enabling firms to upgrade technology and escape stagnation.
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Rural Finance, Development and Livelihoods in China
This paper examines how rural financial services in China have evolved since 1949 and shaped local livelihoods. The authors trace the expansion and diversification of financial services, particularly the growth of microfinance in rural areas since the mid-2000s. They analyze key actors and dynamics, identify gaps in existing scholarship, and propose directions for better understanding how rural finance affects development and community wellbeing in China and globally.
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Selection of photovoltaic modules for off-grid rural application based on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)
Rural electrification in developing countries relies on solar photovoltaic systems for off-grid applications. This paper uses the Analytical Hierarchy Process to help select appropriate PV modules and battery technology by weighing technological parameters alongside socio-economic factors and practical constraints. The method ranks technology alternatives through hierarchical comparison and sensitivity analysis, enabling better-informed decisions about which systems suit specific rural contexts.
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Broadband internet access for rural Africa: finding a viable model
Rural Africa lacks broadband internet despite cellular growth. This paper models the relationships between market, technology, and financial factors to determine viable broadband delivery. Satellite communications emerge as the most suitable technology. The authors define a cost-effective satellite service offering and argue that innovative billing models—similar to those that enabled cellular success in Africa—are critical for financial viability and rural economic integration.
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Generator selection for rural electrification from renewable energy
This paper addresses generator selection for rural electrification systems powered by renewable energy. The authors develop detailed models of different generator types and examine how equipment faults affect system safety and performance. They provide practical guidance on selecting appropriate generators for decentralized power generation in rural areas, accounting for personnel safety on connected feeders.
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Rural Microfinance and Agricultural Value Chains: Strategies and Perspectives of the Fondo de Desarrollo Local in Nicaragua
This paper examines how the Fondo de Desarrollo Local in Nicaragua uses microfinance to strengthen agricultural value chains, particularly in dairy and meat cattle production. The authors present a 'finance plus' approach that combines financial services with broader value chain development to create livelihood opportunities for rural actors. The study demonstrates how microfinance can drive inclusive economic development when integrated with value chain strategies.
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Generators for rural electrification from renewable energy
This paper develops mathematical models for three types of generators—three-phase induction, single-phase induction, and permanent magnet generators—to power rural electrification systems using wind and biomass energy. The models account for transient responses and machine parameters to design reliable systems that handle power line imbalances and faults better than conventional approaches. Simulations in Matlab-Simulink demonstrate the generator performance.
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Bridging digital divide: The role of ICT for rural development in India
Information and communication technologies can reduce poverty and economic inequality in rural India by bridging the digital divide. The paper argues that ICT adoption requires foundational infrastructure development, particularly converting local languages into computer-compatible formats. This transformation enables rural economies and societies to access information and participate in digital development.
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ODL for Agricultural Development and Rural Poverty Reduction: A Comparative Analysis of Innovation and Best Practice in Asia and the Pacific
Open and distance learning (ODL) programs can effectively support agricultural development and rural poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific. Analysis of five case studies from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the Pacific Islands identified key success factors: strong motivation, cultural sensitivity, adequate infrastructure, stakeholder engagement, and sound teaching methods. Successful programs emphasize collaboration, public-private partnerships, technology use, gender sensitivity, and sustainability.
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Expanding broadband access in rural India: the role of alternative telecommunications networks
Rural India's 500 million people across 600,000 villages lack access to broadband and digital connectivity that urban areas enjoy. This isolation prevents rural communities from accessing agricultural best practices, market information, and economic opportunities. The paper examines alternative telecommunications networks as a solution to expand broadband access and bridge the rural-urban digital divide.
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Bridging the digital divide: how does rural digitalization promote rural common prosperity?
Rural digitalization in China significantly promotes common prosperity by improving economic and social outcomes across provinces from 2011 to 2021. Government transfer payments strengthen this effect, while strict pollution fees can weaken it. Digital rural development creates spillover benefits for neighboring regions, though these advantages decrease with distance. The impact varies substantially by region, sector, and time period.
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Integrating community assets, place-based learning, and career development through project-based learning in rural settings
Rural middle school teachers and counselors collaborated to design project-based learning units connecting STEM careers to local community needs. Three educator teams successfully engaged community members and highlighted career pathways, but struggled with consistent learning assessment practices. The study demonstrates that place-based education can strengthen rural STEM instruction when supported by sustained professional development tailored to rural educators' isolation and resource constraints.
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The Long‐term Socioeconomic Impacts of Renewable Energy Deployment: Lessons From Case Studies in European Rural Regions
Renewable energy installations in European rural regions generate long-term economic growth, employment, and population recovery. The authors built a database tracking wind and solar capacity across European regions over decades, then used synthetic control methods to measure socioeconomic impacts. Results show both within-region and between-region effects from renewable energy deployment in rural areas.
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Energy Valorization Strategies in Rural Renewable Energy Communities: A Path to Social Revitalization and Sustainable Development
Rural energy communities in Spain can help combat depopulation by adopting innovative energy valorization strategies. The study analyzed seven villages across three scenarios: self-consumption models, battery storage systems, and advanced options like hydrogen production. While no single strategy reverses depopulation alone, combining social impact principles with approaches like energy retail or unified community structures significantly mitigates rural decline and supports sustainable revitalization.
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Relying on LEADER? A place-based policy approach to the rural development of Finnish municipalities
Finnish municipalities play a modest role in rural development despite place-based policy frameworks that should empower them. This study identifies three causal factors: the ideology of responsible local communities, shrinking-municipality development policies, and projectification challenges. The research finds that increased village involvement in rural development actually discourages municipal participation, and municipalities struggle to trust rural potential when focused on economic growth. LEADER groups dominate because they face fewer projectification obstacles than other municipal projects.
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Designing a model for enhancing intention to accept renewable energy technologies in rural communities of Ilam province, Iran
Rural households in Iran's Ilam province show stronger intention to adopt renewable energy when they perceive it as useful, feel capable of using it, hold positive attitudes toward it, and experience social pressure to do so. The study surveyed 384 rural households and found these five factors—perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control—significantly predict willingness to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
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The temporalities and externalities of ancillary infrastructure in large-scale renewable energy projects: Insights from the rural periphery
Large-scale renewable energy projects require ancillary infrastructure like roads, worker camps, and water systems that create distinct social and environmental impacts separate from the power plants themselves. In rural peripheral areas of the Global South, these infrastructures can harm communities but also provide significant benefits. The authors develop a framework analyzing how ancillary infrastructure's timing and externalities affect local acceptance, using a Kenyan geothermal project as a case study, and offer policy recommendations to maximize positive outcomes.
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Navigating emergent effects in off-grid systems: Ostrom's design principles and rural energy policy implications
This study examines how Ostrom's Design Principles work in governing rural off-grid energy systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using systems thinking and feedback analysis, the research identifies emergent problems—poor infrastructure access, weak local economies, and community disengagement—that undermine the framework's effectiveness. The author maps reinforcing feedback loops driving governance failures and proposes balancing strategies to improve sustainability, concluding that integrating Ostrom's principles with broader external support is essential for long-term viability of community-owned off-grid systems.
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A techno-economic model for future deployment of fixed broadband services to stimulate development across rural Africa
This paper develops a techno-economic model for deploying fixed broadband services across rural Africa. The authors analyze capital and operating costs for terrestrial and high-altitude platform networks, then simulate deployment scenarios. They find that broadband expansion is financially feasible in rural Africa, with high-altitude platforms proving more cost-effective than ground-based networks. The model provides cost estimates per person and household.
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Rural development: People-centered and place-based approach
This paper advocates for rural development strategies that prioritize people and place-based approaches. Rather than top-down policies, the work emphasizes community-centered methods that account for local conditions, resources, and needs. The author argues that sustainable rural innovation requires understanding specific regional contexts and engaging local populations as active participants in development processes.
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Regional Planning and Optimization of Renewable Energy Sources for Improved Rural Electrification
Rural electrification in developing regions requires balancing competing interests between policymakers promoting renewable energy and power operators protecting profits. This paper develops a bi-level optimization model that accounts for investment costs, carbon emissions, efficiency, and incentives. Using Malaysian case studies, the authors show that cost minimization alone favors expanding existing plants over renewables, but strategic incentives of $1.4 million annually can shift operators toward decarbonization while meeting rural electricity demand.
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Design and Cost Analysis of a Decentralized Hybrid Renewable Energy System-based Microgrid for Insular Rural Area: Hatiya of Bangladesh as an off- grid solution
This paper designs a hybrid renewable energy microgrid combining solar and wind power with battery storage for Hatiya, a rural island in Bangladesh lacking grid electricity. The system uses a SEPIC converter to manage power fluctuations and was validated through MATLAB simulation and economic analysis using HOMER software. The design accounts for seasonal variations and weather conditions, providing a technically feasible and economically viable off-grid solution for coastal island communities.
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Design Methodology of Off-Grid PV Solar Powered Systems for Rural Areas in Ecuador
This paper presents a design methodology for off-grid solar photovoltaic systems tailored to rural Ecuador, where grid access is limited or impractical. The authors developed simulation models in Matlab/Simulink for systems combining photovoltaic modules, charge controllers, batteries, and inverters. They created a maximum power point tracking algorithm and battery control system, then built a practical sizing tool in Excel to help implement these systems in rural communities.
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Rural innovation and the green transition: The role of further education colleges
Further Education Colleges in rural areas can drive innovation addressing the green transition, particularly in agriculture. A Welsh case study shows how one college developed slurry management solutions by aligning skills training with innovation goals, distributing leadership across stakeholders, and creating experimental regulatory spaces. The findings demonstrate FECs' overlooked potential to tackle major environmental challenges while strengthening rural economies.
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Shaping change locally: a place-based STEM project’s influence on rural elementary and middle grade students
A rural elementary school's place-based STEM project on wildlife-vehicle collisions shifted students' identities toward seeing themselves as problem-solvers, advocates, and community members. Students developed stronger environmental responsibility and STEM competence through authentic scientific inquiry and public advocacy. The project fostered real-world problem-solving and agency, demonstrating that locally relevant STEM education empowers rural students to engage as capable learners and active community participants.
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The roles of innovations for village development in rural-urban linkages in West Java Province
Village development in West Java depends on innovations in agriculture, horticulture, and fisheries. Rural communities successfully adopt innovations when connected to urban knowledge networks and resources. Key barriers include limited human capital, financing, and network access. Innovations that boost productivity, product quality, value addition, and digital marketing drive village economic growth.
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Review of Planning and Optimization of the Renewable-Energy-Based Micro-Grid for Rural Electrification
Renewable-energy microgrids offer a practical solution for rural electrification, addressing gaps in traditional power infrastructure. The review examines technical and economic aspects of microgrid design, sizing, and renewable energy integration. Microgrids enhance reliability and efficiency in areas lacking centralized grid access, reducing dependency on vulnerable centralized systems while supporting long-term energy stability and sustainability.
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Quadruple Helix Model in Building Communalism and Social Resilience in Handling Poverty in Rural Communities
This study examines how the quadruple helix model—involving government, business, academia, and civil society—reduces rural poverty through social resources and community solidarity. The research finds that social institutions and collective action strengthen communalism and social resilience, enabling rural communities to address poverty more effectively than structural government approaches alone.
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Integration of renewable resources into the electricity energy matrix. Practical case applied to a small rural municipality
This paper designs and manages renewable energy resources for a small rural municipality in Spain's Valencian Community. The researchers modeled how solar, wind, and other renewables could meet the municipality's annual electricity demand while maximizing self-consumption and reducing grid dependence. Results demonstrate that rural communities can achieve high renewable self-sufficiency, supporting Europe's energy transition away from fossil fuels.
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From “Data Silos” to “Collaborative Symbiosis”: How Digital Technologies Empower Rural Built Environment and Landscapes to Bridge Socio-Ecological Divides: Based on a Comparative Study of the Yuanyang Hani Terraces and Yu Village in Anji
Digital technologies can bridge rural social-ecological divides by integrating fragmented data and restructuring community engagement. A study of two Chinese villages—Yu Village and Hani Terraces—shows that digital platforms drive different empowerment pathways depending on local context. Yu Village achieved 85% participation and 25% tourism revenue growth through mobile governance apps, while Hani Terraces used cooperative-mediated engagement to reach elderly farmers and increased agricultural value by 12%. Digital tools function as catalysts for context-specific rural governance and sustainable revitalization.
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Bridging the Digital Divide: Advancing Equitable Internet Access in Rural Kenya for Sustainable Development
Kenya has achieved 85% internet penetration through cellular networks and government initiatives, but rural areas remain underserved due to infrastructure gaps, high costs, and low digital literacy. The paper evaluates connectivity models including community networks, wireless ISPs, and satellite internet, identifying affordability and regulatory barriers as persistent challenges. It proposes integrated strategies combining infrastructure investment, affordable services, and digital literacy programs through government, private sector, and community collaboration to achieve equitable rural access.
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Place-based rural health professional pre-registration education programs: a scoping review
Place-based health professional education programs train students in rural communities to address healthcare workforce shortages. A review of 138 programs across 12 countries identified four training models: short-term placements, extended placements, rural campuses, and distributed blended learning. Programs recruit local students, engage communities in selection and delivery, and evaluate graduate work locations and access outcomes. Successful programs combine widening educational access, comprehensive design, and community engagement aligned with social accountability.
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A Registered Report on Place-Based Resentment: Exploring Urban-Rural Tensions in Sweden
This Swedish study reveals significant urban-rural tensions despite the country's egalitarian welfare state and equalization policies. Rural respondents showed stronger in-group identification, greater place-based resentment, and more negative stereotypes of urban people than vice versa. However, these tensions did not translate into systematic bias when evaluating political statements from rural versus urban politicians, suggesting regional identity matters for political discourse without creating systematic partisan divides.
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The double disadvantage of rural place-based policies
Rural regions face a double disadvantage under current place-based policies: they lack the agglomeration economies and institutional capabilities that urban areas possess. This scoping review of 2008–2022 literature shows that place-based policies, particularly the urban-centric smart specialisation model, fail to address rural needs. The authors argue that effective rural policy must move beyond urban templates, strengthen rural institutions, accept that growth isn't essential, and develop genuinely tailored strategies recognizing peripheral regions as valuable assets.
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Embedding local cultural richness in English language education: a place-based dual-core approach for rural schools in China
Rural English teachers and students in China experience disconnection between language education and local culture, limiting engagement and cultural identity. The study proposes a Dual-Core approach combining institutional reforms—optimized decision-making, resource integration, and evaluation systems—with targeted teacher and student training in local cultural awareness. This framework aims to improve teaching effectiveness, strengthen community connections, and support rural revitalization.
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Building a rural medical workforce: the foundations of a place-based approach to program evaluation
A rural medical training program in Australia's Deakin University footprint admits 30 local students annually to address doctor shortages. Graduates who completed rural clinical schools, chose general practice, had rural backgrounds, and stayed in early postgraduate training were 3 to 7 times more likely to work in the target region. However, many left after three years, signaling the need for expanded rural specialty training to retain doctors locally.
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Complementarity and Substitution Effects of Investments in Renewable Energy and Global Economic Growth: Strategic Planning Opportunities for Development of Rural Areas
Renewable energy investments drive global economic growth and create jobs in rural areas where land and resources are abundant. The authors analyze how renewable energy investments complement or substitute for other economic activities and examine strategic planning approaches across countries. They find that renewable energy investment boosts economic growth and that different nations prioritize rural renewable development differently in their policy frameworks.
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Techno-economic optimization of hydrogen-based hybrid renewable energy systems for rural electrification in sub-Saharan Africa: Case study of a photovoltaic/wind/hydrogen system in Dargalla, Cameroon
Researchers designed and optimized a hydrogen-based hybrid renewable energy system combining solar, wind, and fuel cell technology to electrify a rural village in Cameroon. The optimal configuration cost USD 138,202 with energy at USD 0.443/kWh. The system works best in areas with high wind speeds and becomes increasingly cost-competitive as fuel cell and solar prices decline, offering a viable path to rural electrification across sub-Saharan Africa.
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Research on energy storage planning methods for distributed renewable energy integrated rural power distribution networks
This paper develops an optimization method for placing and sizing energy storage systems in rural power networks that integrate renewable energy. Using clustering analysis of load and generation data, the researchers create a cost-minimization model and test it on a standard 33-bus system. The optimized energy storage placement reduces operational costs, cuts wind and solar curtailment losses, stabilizes voltage, and improves overall network efficiency.
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Planning off-grid rural electrification with MicroGridsPy: The case of Dugub, Nigeria
Solar photovoltaic mini-grids with battery storage and backup generators offer the most cost-effective solution for rural electrification in remote areas. Using optimization modeling in Dugub, Nigeria, researchers found that a hybrid system with capacity expansion achieves 94.7% renewable energy penetration while minimizing costs and emissions. The study demonstrates that appropriately sized solar mini-grids are viable alternatives to grid extension when supported by policy and stakeholder engagement.
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The Role of Microfinance Institutions in Promoting Financial Inclusion and Reducing Poverty Among Smallholder Farmers in Rural Agricultural Areas
Microfinance institutions help smallholder farmers in rural areas access financial services that traditional banks deny them. Through microloans, savings accounts, and insurance, MFIs enable farmers to invest in modern agricultural techniques and increase productivity. Group lending and social collateral reduce default rates. However, high interest rates, operational inefficiencies, and limited rural outreach constrain their effectiveness. Public-private partnerships and digital solutions could strengthen MFI impact.
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Rural-Urban Pay Difference in the Microfinance Industry: Evidence from Developing Countries
Microfinance institutions across 111 developing countries pay employees significantly more in urban areas than rural areas. The wage gap stems from agglomeration effects, higher urban living costs, and greater urban productivity. Larger and financially stable MFIs pay higher wages regardless of location. The findings suggest policymakers should intervene to address rural-urban pay disparities and help MFIs retain talent in underserved areas.
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Assessment of rural credit in the Brazilian Amazon: role of the Northern Constitutional Financing Fund in rural development
Rural credit from Brazil's Northern Constitutional Financing Fund (FNO) does boost agricultural production and rural income, but the money concentrates in a few municipalities along the expanding agricultural frontier in Pará, Tocantins, and Rondônia. Western Amazonian regions remain financially isolated due to structural and institutional barriers. The FNO fails to reduce financial inequality across northern municipalities, suggesting that credit alone cannot drive development without infrastructure, technical support, and improved banking access.
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Unveiling the Spatial Coupling Dynamics and Coordination Mechanisms Between Digital Inclusive Finance and Rural Industrial Integration Development
Digital inclusive finance and rural industrial integration in China show strengthening coordination from 2011 to 2021, though industrial integration lags behind financial development. Eastern and northeastern regions lead in coordination levels, while central and western regions lag significantly. Regional disparities are narrowing due to spatial spillover effects and clustering patterns. The study recommends expanding digital finance in rural industries, reallocating resources to underdeveloped areas, and strengthening regional coordination mechanisms.
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SOCIETY 5.0 AND ITS IMPACT ON AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS AND INNOVATION: A NEW PARADIGM FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Society 5.0 integrates advanced technologies like IoT, AI, and robotics into agriculture to balance economic growth with social benefits. The paper analyzes how this technological shift transforms agricultural practices and business models for rural development. It introduces the Agricultural Business and Rural Development Potential index to forecast three scenarios—optimistic, conservative, and pessimistic—for agricultural innovation and rural outcomes.
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Building research capacity at a rural place‐based community service organisation in southwest Victoria, Australia
Rural community service organizations lack evidence about their outcomes, limiting policy decisions for rural populations. This paper describes implementing an embedded researcher model at an Australian family and youth services organization to build research capacity and establish monitoring, evaluation, and learning practices. The embedded researcher, positioned on-site and jointly funded by the service organization and a university, works with staff to develop a place-based framework for generating local evidence and improving service outcomes.
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Access of rural youth to higher education: An international perspective
Rural youth worldwide view higher education as a path to social advancement, but face significant barriers including limited academic offerings in rural areas and disconnects between rural culture and higher education systems. Scholarships alone cannot address these inequalities. The paper argues for a differentiated higher education model that respects rural socio-cultural capital, offers location-appropriate programs, and connects learning to local contexts rather than forcing cultural assimilation.
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Impact of digital inclusive finance development on rural industry revitalization—Observations of rural China
Digital inclusive finance development significantly promotes rural industry revitalization in China, according to analysis of provincial data from 2012-2021. The effect operates primarily through depth of use and digitization rather than coverage breadth. Digital finance drives rural revitalization by fostering integration across primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. Regional variation exists, requiring tailored development strategies suited to local conditions.
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Analysis of transportable off-grid solar power generation for rural electricity supply: an application study of Sanliurfa, Turkey
This paper designs and models a transportable off-grid solar power system for rural electricity supply in Sanliurfa, Turkey. The researchers developed a 60.75 kWp photovoltaic system with battery storage and diesel backup, then simulated its performance over 24-hour cycles. They evaluated the system's financial viability, technical efficiency, and battery performance, demonstrating that mobile microgrids can deliver sustainable, cost-effective electricity to remote areas without grid access.
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Scope economies from rural and urban microfinance services
Microfinance institutions serving both rural and urban markets experience different cost outcomes depending on their business model. Loan-only MFIs gain cost advantages from diversification across markets, achieving 16.6% scope economies. However, savings-and-loan MFIs face 11.7% scope diseconomies, suggesting they perform better by specializing. Over time, loan-only MFIs improved at serving harder-to-reach clients while savings-and-loan MFIs reduced their cost disadvantages from diversification.
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Sisyphus’s Broadband: Exploring models of rural community participation in digital infrastructure and connectivity
Rural communities face persistent digital divides in infrastructure and internet access. This paper develops a set of models describing different approaches rural communities use to build local internet connectivity. The models aim to help communities understand their options and challenges when pursuing community-led digital infrastructure initiatives, addressing a gap in empirical evidence about which approaches work best.
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Teachers’ Professional Development and Its Influence on Teaching Innovation in Rural Schools
Teachers in rural Indonesian schools who participate in continuous professional development—particularly in ICT integration, contextualized pedagogy, and curriculum adaptation—become more innovative in their classrooms. The study found that teachers engaged in professional learning communities and supported by their institutions adopt student-centered and culturally responsive teaching methods. Sustainable teacher development policies are essential for fostering educational innovation in under-resourced rural areas.
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Do natural environmental protection, regional innovation climate, entrepreneurs’ cognition of green development positively influence the sustainable development of small rural businesses
A study of 439 rural entrepreneurs across 17 Chinese provinces found that environmental protection alone does not drive sustainable development in small rural businesses. Instead, a supportive regional innovation climate and entrepreneurs' understanding of green development significantly boost sustainability. Technological innovation partially mediates these relationships. The findings challenge assumptions about environmental regulation's direct impact and offer guidance for developing countries pursuing green rural transitions.
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The Three Levels of the Rural Digital Divide in China: Spatial Patterns and Regional Disparities
China's rural digital divide operates across three dimensions—access, usage, and outcomes—with significant regional disparities. Eastern coastal regions show the strongest digital development but face outcome gaps, inland areas struggle with usage, and northwestern regions lack basic access. Coastal areas benefit from multiple reinforcing factors, while inland regions depend on single factors, creating exclusion risks. The study recommends region-specific policies to address these distinct challenges.
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Digital rural development and the alleviation of the urban-rural digital divide: An analysis based on the theory of co-production
Digital village initiatives in China significantly reduce the urban-rural digital divide through multi-actor collaboration involving institutional reform, resource allocation, and adaptive governance. Analysis of 30 provinces from 2013–2021 identifies three effective pathways: service-space optimization, digital-infrastructure resilience, and digital-industrial co-evolution. Success requires balancing technology with institutional equity and spatial rebalancing, particularly in central and western regions.
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Transforming education in a rural ecosystem: school libraries as hubs for teaching-learning innovation
School libraries in rural South African schools function as innovation hubs that improve teaching and learning outcomes. The study found that functional libraries enhance lesson preparation, encourage learner-centered teaching, help teachers overcome resource scarcity, and develop students' critical thinking and research skills. The authors recommend prioritizing school libraries through curriculum policy to strengthen rural education systems.
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Reimagining Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in Rural Bihar: A Case for Contextualised Teacher-Led Innovations.
Teachers in rural Bihar lack training and resources for quality early childhood education. This paper adapts a successful teacher training model from Kashmir to Bihar's context, emphasizing collaborative training, local materials, reflective teaching, and child-centered methods. The framework empowers teachers to innovate locally while aligning with national policies, offering a replicable approach to strengthen early education in underserved regions.
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Age-friendly Rural Communities: A Multi-Case Study on Public Space Innovations for Active Aging
China's rural areas face aging populations while traditional public spaces neglect elderly needs. This study examines three rural communities to identify age-friendly design principles for public spaces. Researchers found that accessibility, safety, comfort, social interaction, and digital infrastructure significantly improve elderly quality of life, health, and social participation. Success requires policy support, community-specific design approaches, and active elderly involvement in the design process.
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Storying the FEW Nexus: A Framework for Cultivating Place-Based Integrated STEM Education in Rural Schools
Rural schools often teach STEM disconnected from students' lives and communities. This paper presents Storying the FEW Nexus, a framework combining food, energy, and water resource education with place-based learning for K-12 rural students. The approach integrates STEM with local narratives and social sciences to help students develop sustainable solutions to environmental challenges specific to their communities, grounding abstract knowledge in authentic rural contexts.
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Place-based resources as a means for local economic development – local planning in shrinking rural areas
Local planning in shrinking rural areas can actively shape economic development by engaging with place-based resources and global economic demands. Using a Swedish municipality case study, the authors show how planning functions as a proactive, socio-materially distributed practice rather than simply reacting to external pressures. Local planning agencies directly influenced spatial and economic transformation through their engagement with resource extraction projects.
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The spatial interplay between productive and destructive entrepreneurship: do institutions meet expectations in rural areas?
In rural Colombia, destructive entrepreneurship (coca cultivation) and productive entrepreneurship (coffee cultivation) directly displace each other. Despite the presence of coffee-supportive institutions like extensionists, these institutions fail to prevent destructive entrepreneurship from crowding out productive activities. The study reveals that institutional support alone is insufficient to control this substitution effect in weak institutional environments.
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Defence innovation ecosystems and rural economic development: pathways to sustainable growth and military adaptation
Latvia is integrating rural regions into its defence innovation ecosystem to strengthen military capabilities and economic development. The study finds that while government investment and policy frameworks exist—including test sites in Latgale and dual-use technology grants—rural participation remains limited by infrastructure gaps, weak SME involvement, and unequal funding distribution. The authors recommend targeted policies to boost rural innovation capacity while aligning with NATO and EU standards.
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An Empirical Test of the Impact of Sci-Tech Finance Development on Rural Industrial Convergence
Science and technology finance significantly boosts rural industrial integration in China, with stronger long-term effects than short-term impacts. However, its contribution to industrial convergence remains modest, indicating substantial room for improvement. The study recommends expanding science and technology finance supply, increasing rural demand-side adoption, strengthening infrastructure platforms, and improving policy support mechanisms.
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Rural Broadband Architecture For Efficient Service Delivery
Rural broadband connectivity transforms lives in developing countries by enabling education, healthcare, agriculture, banking, and disaster preparedness. Existing siloed architectures have failed to bridge the digital divide. This paper proposes a novel broadband service delivery architecture that leverages existing infrastructure, supports multiple technologies, includes a common service layer, and deploys a lightweight rural digital marketplace. The platform targets widespread ICT adoption across rural populations while respecting economic and social diversity.
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Planning for Rural Broadband
Rural broadband expansion programs receive insufficient uptake because communities lack awareness and planning capacity. This study examines university-community partnerships in two Florida counties that successfully facilitated broadband planning discussions. The researchers identify how local partnerships mobilized community resources and planning practices, then recommend strategies for replicating community-based broadband planning approaches in other rural areas.
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Local Economic Resilience: A Qualitative Study of Development Innovation in Rural Areas
This qualitative study examines how rural areas build economic resilience through development innovation. The research shows that rural communities strengthen their economies by adopting sustainable practices, leveraging digital technologies, and fostering community-based innovation. Local adaptation strategies and government support play key roles in helping rural areas respond to global economic trends and create new opportunities for business growth.
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Bridging the Digital Divide: The XGain Knowledge Facilitation Tool for Rural Connectivity
The XGain Knowledge Facilitation Tool helps rural communities bridge the digital divide by providing decision-making support for digital infrastructure deployment. The tool integrates socio-environmental and techno-economic assessments with business model proposals, enabling rural stakeholders to make informed choices about telecommunications technologies. This approach addresses rural connectivity challenges and promotes resilience and competitiveness in digital transformation.
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Innovation of Cultural Education Mode in Agricultural Higher Vocational Schools from the Perspective of Rural Revitalization
Agricultural higher vocational schools in China should redesign cultural education to support rural revitalization. The paper proposes a new model combining local characteristics, agricultural culture, industrial culture, and social culture. This approach improves students' cultural literacy and vocational skills while strengthening talent pipelines for rural development and agricultural advancement.
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Place-Based Collaborative Action as a Means of Delivering Goods and Services in Rural Areas of Developed Economies
Rural communities in developed economies deliver goods and services through household, community, and third-sector provision alongside market and state actors. The paper identifies three types of place-based collaborative action, driven by different motivations. Using Scotland as a case study, it demonstrates that community-led initiatives in land management, renewable energy, and social care can succeed when supported by effective public policy, challenging assumptions that such efforts cannot overcome class-based constraints.
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Inclusion of Namibian rural communities in green energy access and use: Requirements elicitation or community-based-co-design?
This paper compares two approaches—requirements elicitation and community-based co-design—for advancing green energy access in an off-grid rural Namibian community. The authors find that both methods have limitations and argue for a more elevated, provocative approach that enables innovative and unorthodox energy solutions tailored to rural African contexts, moving beyond standard energy access projects.
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Feasibility Study on an Off-Grid Solar-Hydro Hybrid System for Rural Electrification in Ranau Sabah Malaysia using HOMER
This study evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of an off-grid solar-hydro hybrid microgrid system for rural electrification in Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia. Using HOMER Pro software, researchers assessed site conditions, load requirements, and system design incorporating solar panels, hydropower, batteries, and inverters. The analysis demonstrates that a self-sustaining hybrid system can reliably meet community energy needs in remote areas with limited grid access.
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Hybrid power system options for off-grid rural electrification in northwestern region of Nigeria
This study evaluates off-grid hybrid power systems for rural electrification in northwestern Nigeria. Researchers modeled and compared solar-wind-diesel hybrid systems and standalone diesel generators for two locations using optimization software. Results show that a PV-wind-diesel hybrid system meets electricity demand most cost-effectively, with lower energy costs than Nigeria's grid tariff. The authors recommend adopting this hybrid approach to support rural education, healthcare, and economic development.
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Enterprises’ response strategies towards a mission-oriented innovation initiative – a reflection on China’s indigenous innovation
Chinese enterprises adopt distinct response strategies to government-led mission-oriented innovation initiatives. The study examines how firms engage with indigenous innovation policies, revealing differentiated approaches based on firm characteristics and sectoral contexts. Enterprises balance compliance with policy objectives against competitive pressures, demonstrating varied levels of commitment to state-directed innovation goals.
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The Impact of Microfinance on Rural Women's Lives and Local Development
Microfinance in India enables rural women to overcome financial barriers and pursue self-employment through Self-Help Groups, which build entrepreneurial skills and community solidarity. The programs improve household economic stability, health outcomes, and women's decision-making power while stimulating local economic growth and raising living standards. Tailored microfinance with ethical practices drives sustainable rural development and women's empowerment.
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Impact of Microfinance on Rural Development through Joint Liability Groups
Microfinance through Joint Liability Groups significantly drives rural development in Kerala, India. The study surveyed 385 beneficiaries and found that microfinance explains 99.6% of rural development outcomes. Five factors—social development, economic development, financial development, employment generation, and financial inclusion—mediate this impact. Microfinance breaks down barriers to formal finance, enabling economic empowerment for excluded populations.
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Rural Financial Landscape in Bangladesh: Who is More Convenient for Rural Enterprises—Banks or Microfinance Institutions?
Rural enterprises in Bangladesh rely more on microfinance institutions than banks for credit and savings, despite preferring banks. MFIs reach remote areas more effectively through accessible lending methods, but face funding constraints. Banks remain distant and their officials' attitudes create barriers to rural access. Both institutions offer poorly designed products that fail to serve diverse rural needs adequately.
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Empirical Study on the Development of Digital Inclusive Finance on Narrowing the Consumption Gap between Urban and Rural Areas--Taking Shanxi Province as an Example
Digital financial inclusion in Shanxi Province narrowed the urban-rural consumption gap between 2011 and 2020 by lowering barriers to financial access. However, uneven regional development created disparities in effectiveness, with southern areas benefiting more than northern regions. Broader financial service coverage reduced consumption gaps more effectively than deeper usage, while increased digitization paradoxically widened gaps by creating a digital divide.
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Research on the Impact of Digital Inclusive Finance on Rural Economic Development
Digital inclusive finance in rural China shows a strong negative correlation with primary industry value added, according to fixed effects modeling. The paper argues that despite digital technology's potential to improve financial service efficiency and accessibility, current implementation has not boosted agricultural economic output. The authors recommend governments coordinate digital and financial development simultaneously to build comprehensive rural economic systems.
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Features of Funding Rural Communities and Territories Development Financed by EU Common Budget
EU budgetary policy funds rural development through structural funds and national budgets, addressing challenges like demographic decline, poor infrastructure, unemployment, and limited services. The paper argues that integrated approaches combining European and local cooperation, efficient resource use, infrastructure investment, and innovation support create conditions for sustainable rural development and improved quality of life.
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Research on the Mechanism and Effects of Digital Inclusive Finance in Promoting the Development of Rural Revitalization: Based on Spatial Spillover Effects
Digital inclusive finance significantly promotes rural revitalization in China, both directly and indirectly through agricultural technological innovation. The effect varies by region, with strong impacts in eastern and western areas but weaker effects in central regions. Digital inclusive finance also generates positive spatial spillover effects that benefit neighboring areas' rural development.
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ENABLING INNOVATION IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Rural development requires innovation to achieve sustainable development goals, but rural areas face resource constraints that limit their capacity for change. The paper proposes a three-dimensional model combining pro-social technological innovation policy, rural innovation governance, and dynamic networks connecting rural and urban innovation systems. Frugal, inclusive, and social innovation types suit rural contexts better than traditional approaches. Examples from China demonstrate how rural areas can leverage urban technologies, networks, and resources to create new economic growth engines.
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Agricultural Chambers in the Process of Transfer of Knowledge and Innovations for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas in Poland
Agricultural chambers in Poland function as part of the EU's Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System, facilitating technology and knowledge transfer to farms. Research across Polish regions shows these chambers significantly influenced EU Rural Development Program fund absorption. However, Polish chambers prove less effective at driving agricultural development than counterparts in other EU countries. The study recommends chambers strengthen their roles in policy formation, income stabilization, information dissemination, and farmer advocacy.
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Study on the Strategy of “Double Innovation” Education in Universities to Serve Rural Development in the Context of Rural Revitalization
Chinese universities must redesign innovation and entrepreneurship education to develop talent for rural revitalization. The paper argues that a comprehensive system with four key drivers—treated as mechanism guarantees—enables higher education institutions to produce innovative entrepreneurs who can support China's rural development strategy.
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Research on the Innovation of Institutional Mechanisms for Urban-Rural Integration Development in Henan Province in the Context of New Urbanization
This paper evaluates urban-rural integration development in Henan Province, China during 2010–2020 using an indicator system and entropy weighting method. The analysis shows the integration index rose from 0.15 to 0.86, with strong coupling between new urbanization and rural-urban development systems. The authors recommend institutional innovations tailored to local conditions that integrate production and urbanization to improve coordinated growth efficiency.
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A FRAMEWORK FOR GOVERNMENT POLICY, ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP, AND MANAGEMENT INNOVATION THAT EFFECT TO THE SUCCESS OF SMES IN CHINA'S RURAL COMMUNITIES
This paper develops a framework showing how government policy, entrepreneurial leadership, and management innovation work together to drive success for small and medium-sized enterprises in rural China. The analysis identifies how these three factors interact and provides recommendations for policymakers and business owners to improve rural SME performance and support sustainable economic development in rural communities.
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Place-based generosity during the pandemic: Innovative rural philanthropic organizations’ responses to COVID-19 and (re-)building resilient rural communities in Canada
Rural philanthropic organizations in Canada adapted their operations during COVID-19 to address emerging community vulnerabilities. Interviews with leaders across Atlantic Canada, Ontario, and British Columbia reveal that these place-based organizations pivoted services and developed innovative strategies to meet changing rural needs. The findings highlight their commitment to building resilient communities and offer insights for strengthening philanthropic sustainability and rural recovery policy.
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Study on the Design of Rural Homestays Based on the Memory Place Theory: Take Weipo Village of Luoyang as an Example
This paper examines how to design rural homestays in Weipo Village, Luoyang, using memory place theory and local cultural symbols. The authors extract traditional decorative patterns from the region and integrate them with modern design to create culturally distinctive spaces. The approach improves living conditions and service quality while preserving Central Plains cultural heritage, offering a model for developing culturally characteristic rural homestays.
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Techno-Economic Modeling and Analysis of Off-Grid Microgrids for Rural Electrification in China
This paper develops a techno-economic model for off-grid microgrids using renewable energy to electrify remote rural areas in China. The authors model microgrid system structures, generation units, economic costs, and rural electricity consumption patterns including household and agricultural use. They apply the model to three Chinese villages, using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to simulate renewable energy output, and recommend suitable generation technologies and capacities based on village characteristics and local policies.
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From technology transfer to indigenous innovation in China
China's development since 1978 combined government investment in human capital and infrastructure with foreign technology learning to build indigenous innovation capacity. The paper identifies three main pathways: joint ventures with foreign multinationals, global value chains, and repatriation of advanced technologies. It demonstrates successful indigenous innovation in computing, automotive, and communications sectors, showing how Chinese firms leveraged foreign learning to compete globally.
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Bridging the gap or widening the divide? Municipal decision-makers’ perceptions of healthcare digitalization in shrinking rural regions
Municipal decision-makers in shrinking rural Finnish regions view healthcare digitalization as a potential solution for aging populations, but worry it may deepen inequality rather than improve access. The study examines whether digital healthcare actually bridges gaps or widens divides in rural communities, considering both local accessibility and broader regional development impacts.
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Digital Divide and Gender Disparities in Educational Technology Access Among Rural Tamil Nadu Households: A Multi-theoretical Analysis
This study of 378 rural Tamil Nadu households found stark gender disparities in educational technology access: 68% of boys but only 35% of girls had access. Female gender reduced access odds by 79% even after controlling for other factors. The research identified four mechanisms perpetuating inequality: gendered risk perceptions, time constraints from domestic chores, strategic resource allocation favoring boys, and gendered technology identity. Maternal education emerged as the strongest protective factor. The authors recommend multilevel interventions addressing infrastructure, school programs, maternal schooling, and household attitudes.
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Learning with Surrounding Heritage: Education, Innovation and Rural Empowerment Along European Pilgrimage Routes
Heritage education along European pilgrimage routes drives rural development by addressing digital skills and tourism management gaps. The study across seven European countries reveals that inclusive, place-based learning strengthens local identity and community resilience. Pilgrimage routes function as learning landscapes that promote cultural sustainability and reduce territorial disparities through heritage-led tourism innovation.
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Low-Cost Innovation Models for Delivering STEM Education in Rural Sabah
This study identifies low-cost innovation models that successfully deliver STEM education in rural Sabah despite geographical isolation and limited infrastructure. The research examines modular STEM kits, offline digital platforms, blended learning, and locally contextualized instruction. Key success factors include teacher training, community partnerships, low-bandwidth technology use, and culturally responsive teaching. Cost-effective, context-sensitive approaches significantly improve STEM access and learning outcomes when supported by sustainable policies and collaborative implementation.
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Evaluating Integrated Care Innovations: NICHE Anchor Institute’s Impact on Overcoming Constraints in Tackling Health Equity in Rural Coastal Communities
The NICHE Anchor Institute in Norfolk and Waveney, England, developed integrated care models to address health disparities in rural coastal communities facing workforce shortages and isolation. Using participatory evaluation methods with over 50 healthcare professionals and community groups, the institute improved service delivery accessibility, strengthened workforce resilience through leadership training, and built community ownership of healthcare solutions. Early evidence shows improved return on investment and workforce retention, offering a scalable model for addressing health inequalities in rural areas.
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Enhancing Resilience and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Microgrids in Rural Africa from an Interdisciplinary Design Perspective: Driven by Community Engagement and Technological Innovation
This study develops an interdisciplinary framework combining social science, engineering, and environmental methods to design resilient renewable energy microgrids for rural Africa. Testing the approach in Tanzania, researchers found that strong community engagement significantly improves social acceptance and operational efficiency, while modular energy storage solutions enhance system resilience during extreme conditions. The framework provides practical guidance for sustainable microgrid implementation across rural African regions.
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Beyond Replication: Rural EFL Teachers’ Sense Making of Place‐Based Pedagogy in China
Rural English teachers in China adapt place-based pedagogy to their local contexts rather than copying Western models. They navigate tensions between national policies, test-focused schools, and community needs by connecting English learning to rural identity, moral education, and community development. Teacher agency emerges as crucial for translating global pedagogical ideas into locally meaningful practices that address educational equity.
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Roots and reach: Place-Based processes for polycentric governance in rural South Africa
Civil society organisations in rural South Africa's former homelands enable polycentric governance and systemic change through nine interconnected place-based processes. Research with seven established organisations reveals a core trajectory from focused effort to credibility-building to learning, amplified by feedback loops and shaped by tensions between autonomy and embeddedness. The study demonstrates these organisations function as crucial nodes for rural agency and innovation, requiring sustained investment.
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Place as a microcosm: Community-based citizenship education approaches among schools and rural low-density communities
This study examines how rural schools in Portugal's border regions teach citizenship through community-based approaches. Researchers analyzed 29 schools' educational projects, interviewed teachers, and surveyed students. Schools led diverse initiatives engaging local communities to promote well-being and cultural values. The findings show how schools, stakeholders, and young people collaborate to strengthen community well-being and social cohesion through place-based citizenship education.
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Localising the Sustainable Development Goals. A Place‐Based Analysis of Sustainable Development in Rural and Urban Areas
This paper creates a Sustainable Development Index for rural and urban areas in Ireland using 33 indicators across 13 SDGs. Using high-resolution geographic data and GIS analysis, the authors find that rural areas near cities show the strongest sustainable development outcomes, while remote rural areas and major cities perform worse. The research demonstrates that examining rural-urban connections matters for achieving the SDGs and supports using geographic methods to design targeted, place-based policies.
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Place-Based Economic Development as a Strategy for Rural Revitalization: An Assessment of Saskatchewan’s Policy Environment and the OECD’s New Rural Paradigm (1990—2024)
Saskatchewan's rural policy from 1990 to 2024 lacks a coherent place-based development strategy despite its potential for revitalizing struggling communities. The province relies on sector-specific, market-driven approaches managed through municipal revenue funds rather than integrated place-based policies aligned with OECD frameworks. Political considerations and failure to separate rural policy from other sectors have undermined effective rural revitalization efforts.
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If you build it who will come? Widening access through a place-based Rural Training Stream to address local medical workforce shortages
Deakin University's Rural Training Stream for medical education, expanded in 2024 to an end-to-end program allowing students to remain in rural communities, successfully increased enrollment from rural areas in Western Victoria from 5% to 28% of medical students. The program attracted mature-aged women and health professionals returning to study. This place-based approach addresses rural medical workforce shortages by embedding students in their communities during training.
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Symbolic Production and Emotional Conflict in Rural Tourism from the Perspective of Media Sense of Place: A Computational Communication Analysis Based on Ctrip Tourist Reviews
Rural tourism drives economic development in China, but tourists' perceptions are shaped by digital media rather than physical experience. Analysis of 12,000 online reviews reveals that positive sentiment centers on mediated natural landscapes and cultural symbols, while negative sentiment reflects concerns about commercialization destroying authentic place identity. The study identifies a fundamental conflict between tourists' desire for authenticity and the modernization demands of rural destinations.
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The Role of Leadership Styles in Fostering Teacher Collaboration and Educational Innovation: A Comprehensive Review of Urban and Rural School Contexts
This review examines how different leadership styles affect teacher collaboration and innovation in both urban and rural schools. The authors synthesize research on transformational, distributed, and situational leadership approaches, finding that while leadership research is extensive, gaps remain in understanding context-responsive practices that work across urban-rural divides. The review identifies key contextual factors affecting leadership effectiveness and proposes research directions to support equitable educational outcomes.
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Modeling and Simulation of an Off-Grid Hybrid Microgrid System: A Case Study of a Kavalur Rural Social Community
Researchers designed a hybrid microgrid system for Kavalur, a rural community in Tamil Nadu, India, combining solar, wind, diesel, and battery storage. Using HOMER Pro software, they optimized the system for cost and reliability, finding that a configuration with 80% PV derating and 50-meter hub height achieved the lowest net present cost of $340,287 and energy cost of $0.247 per unit, meeting the area's electricity needs sustainably.
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Optimizing Off-Grid Solar Photovoltaic Systems for Rural Communities: A Case Study of Ketane Village, Lesotho
This paper designs and optimizes an off-grid solar photovoltaic system for Ketane village in Lesotho, a remote community without grid access. Using HOMER Pro software, researchers sized an 84.15 kW solar array with 28.8 kWh battery storage to meet local energy demand. Financial analysis shows the system is technically feasible and economically viable, with sensitivity testing confirming robustness. The optimized design provides a replicable model for rural electrification across Southern Africa.
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Design and optimization of an energy storage system for off-grid rural communities
This paper designs and optimizes an off-grid microgrid system for rural Pakistan using solar energy combined with three energy storage technologies: lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and hydrogen storage. Using HOMER Pro simulation, the researchers find that sodium-ion batteries deliver the best economic performance, achieving the lowest net present cost and levelized cost of energy while maintaining 100% renewable energy fraction. Sensitivity analysis confirms the system's robustness against uncertain parameters.
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Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Off-Grid Solar Systems: Implications for Energy Equity in Rural Communities
Off-grid solar systems in rural communities contain cybersecurity vulnerabilities that threaten energy equity by undermining accessibility, affordability, and reliability. The paper identifies specific vulnerable components and attack types, then argues that effective security solutions must be tailored to each community's unique context rather than applied universally. Context-appropriate approaches are essential to protect energy justice in rural electrification programs.
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Reimagining rural transit: model-based insights into demand-responsive transportation
Demand-responsive transportation (DRT) can reduce rural car dependency and improve service quality in low-density regions. A model of a German rural area shows DRT achieving 14% modal share, with stronger uptake in peripheral zones. While DRT increases overall road traffic slightly by shifting from other transit modes, it remains economically viable at roughly double current transit fares and significantly improves accessibility in areas with poor traditional public transit.
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Modeling the Demand for Demand Responsive Transit Service in Shrinking Rural Areas
Demand responsive transit (DRT) offers a flexible alternative to traditional transit in shrinking rural areas. Using survey data from South Korea, the study finds that younger people, higher-income households, and tech-savvy residents are more likely to adopt DRT. However, residents in severely declining areas show lower adoption rates. Service efficiency, cost, and travel time significantly influence mode choice. The research recommends targeted service design, infrastructure improvements, and financial incentives to make DRT viable in rural regions.
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Financing Specialized Property Development in Rural Southwestern Nigeria: A Source Analysis
This study examines financing sources for specialized property developments in rural southwestern Nigeria. Researchers surveyed three states and found that property owners primarily fund these distinctive, custom-built projects through commercial banks, followed by merchant banks, mortgage institutions, and insurance companies. Owners consistently contribute personal equity throughout development lifecycles. Most borrowed funds come as long-term loans, giving owners adequate repayment periods.
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Cooperative Finance and Sustainable Development Goals: The Contribution of PACCS to Inclusive Rural Development in Tamil Nadu
Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies in Tamil Nadu provide short-term loans, Kisan Credit Cards, and Self-Help Group financing that improve rural credit access and strengthen livelihoods. These cooperatives reduce poverty, enhance food security, promote gender equality, create employment, and reduce inequalities through transparent governance and mandatory audits. The study confirms that cooperative societies function as effective grassroots institutions driving sustainable rural development.
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Role Co-operative Movement in Economic Development and Rural Finance in India
India's cooperative movement drives rural economic development by enabling rural women's empowerment and providing large-scale finance to farming communities. Cooperatives bring people from different sectors together to start businesses with shared capital, creating employment and raising living standards. In western Maharashtra, cooperatives and rural finance have generated substantial employment and investment growth in agricultural and farming sectors.
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How is RuralGoing Digital? Using Community-BasedResearch to Understand Rural Broadband Use
Rural Manitoba communities used community-based research to examine how they currently use broadband and digital technologies, and to identify future applications. The research shows that digital technologies can help rural areas overcome distance and density challenges, but communities must align technology adoption with their own development plans. Community-led research proved effective for exploring both current digital use and local opportunities.
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Innovation Mode of Rural Agricultural Product Branding in Fengxian District, Shanghai Under the Concept of Sustainable Development
Rural agricultural product branding in Shanghai's Fengxian District faces weak market awareness and intense regional competition. The study finds that emphasizing ecological and green attributes, combined with strong visual identity system design, effectively drives brand innovation and market expansion. Integrating multimedia promotion and communication strategies can strengthen brand influence and support sustainable rural economic development.
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Achieving Sustainable Development Goals Through Trunthung Music: From Rural Heritage to Urban Innovation in Indonesia
This study examines how Trunthung music, a traditional Indonesian art form, transforms as it moves from rural to urban contexts. Rural communities use the music as a social activity rooted in local resources, while urban settings have made it more professional and income-focused. The research shows traditional music can adapt to modern demands while preserving cultural identity, contributing to sustainable communities and social cohesion across different environments.
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The economic effects and model innovation of rural e-commerce development in the rural revitalization strategy
Rural e-commerce drives economic growth through integrated 'industry plus e-commerce' models, as demonstrated in Cao County. The sector faces critical barriers: inadequate logistics, talent shortages, and low agricultural product standardization. The paper recommends infrastructure investment, logistics optimization, workforce development, product standardization, and business model innovation to enable sustainable rural e-commerce growth and support rural revitalization.
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Does Industrial Integration Development Drive Rural Innovation? An Empirical Study under the Perspective of Rural-urban Linkage
Industrial integration at the county level significantly drives rural innovation in China, according to analysis of 1,837 counties from 2014 to 2021. The mechanism works primarily through increased labor mobility between sectors. The effect is strongest in eastern and central regions but absent in western regions. These findings support county-level industrial integration as a strategy for rural revitalization.
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AI-Empowered Cultural Tourism Development: Innovation Paths and Strategies for Rural Revitalization
AI integration with cultural tourism drives rural revitalization by creating smart platforms, diverse tourism products, and digital infrastructure. The approach enhances visitor experiences, supports modern agriculture, improves governance, and preserves intangible cultural heritage through AI-powered talent training. This model generates new economic productivity and enables sustainable rural development.
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Rural Innovations in Action: Implementing Sustainable Development Goals at the Village Level
This study examines how village governments in Central Java, Indonesia allocate and manage funds to support sustainable development goals. Researchers analyzed planning, implementation, and accountability processes across villages using a decision-making framework. Priority programmes focused on economic recovery, health, education, and poverty reduction. The findings show that villages can better align financial management with national and global sustainability targets by following core principles of humanity, justice, and equity.
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Research on the Innovation of Rural Food Tourism Development Model from the Perspective of Big Data: A Case Study of Guizhou Province
Digital technologies are transforming rural food tourism in Guizhou Province. The paper proposes a new development model centered on big data, cloud computing, and Internet of Things technologies to modernize rural food tourism. This approach reshapes how food tourism operates on both supply and demand sides, enabling digital transformation and higher-quality rural development.
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From Rural Underdevelopment to Innovation: The Strategic Role of Skilled Labor in the South-East Development Region of Romania
Romania's South-East Development Region struggles with rural skilled labor shortages and uneven human resource development across its six counties. Constanța and Galați have stronger educational infrastructure and labor market connections, while Tulcea and Vrancea lag in vocational training and youth employment. The region underperforms compared to Romania's Centre Region, which has successfully implemented dual education and public-private partnerships. The paper identifies factors affecting skilled labor availability and proposes strategic directions for balanced regional development.
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High Quality Development of County-Level Rural E-Commerce: Exploration of Collaborative Innovation Path in Pingyi County
Pingyi County in Shandong Province developed high-quality rural e-commerce by combining characteristic industrial clusters with e-commerce public services through collaborative innovation. Government policy and funding, enterprise-led product innovation, and social organization support created deep synergy. The county faces challenges in technological innovation, logistics costs, talent shortages, and supply chain coordination. Solutions include dedicated R&D funding, cold chain logistics expansion, school-enterprise partnerships, and data-sharing platforms to strengthen multi-stakeholder collaboration.
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Research on the Impact of Rural E-Commerce Development on Rural Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Rural e-commerce significantly promotes rural innovation and entrepreneurship by narrowing the urban-rural income gap, creating more favorable economic conditions for rural business development. The effect is strongest in western counties with higher innovation levels and developed industrial structures. The study recommends strengthening agricultural innovation and rural scientific services in economically underdeveloped areas.
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From the "digital divide" to the "digital inclusion": the dilemma and breakthrough of the digital transformation of rural education
Rural education in China faces a shift from physical access gaps to intelligent application gaps in digital transformation. Research across 18 counties reveals three core problems: smart classrooms used only for display, teachers lacking digital competency, and students unable to apply technology creatively. The study proposes a four-part ecosystem approach combining infrastructure upgrades, localized digital literacy training in local languages, community-based resource systems, and supportive policies. Pilot programs show 40% gains in teacher efficiency and 34% improvement in student cultural identity.
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From “Digital Divide” to “Digital Inclusion”: Rural E-Commerce Participation Paths and Support Measures
Rural e-commerce in China faces technological exclusion, cultural disconnection, and unequal benefits. This study identifies three practical pathways: adapting technology through cultural adjustment, activating local social networks to modernize traditional resources, and creating localized value. Collaborative governance involving government, enterprises, and communities provides culturally sensitive solutions to bridge the digital divide and reshape rural economies.
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Bridging the Digital Financial Divide: Trust Formation and Fintech Adoption Intentions in Rural Vietnam
This study examines how rural Vietnamese consumers form trust in fintech services and decide to adopt them. Using surveys of 486 rural consumers across six provinces, the researchers found that perceived usefulness and social influence drive trust formation, while institutional support strengthens the link between trust and adoption. Strong institutional backing can offset weak technological confidence. The research identifies four different pathways to high adoption, showing that multiple combinations of factors achieve the same outcome in collectivist societies.
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Rural Development: Using Digital Technologies to Bridge the Urban-Rural Divide, Promote Economic Opportunities, and Support Sustainable Livelihoods
Digital technologies including broadband, mobile applications, e-commerce, and precision farming can bridge the urban-rural divide by reducing transaction costs, expanding market access, and decentralizing knowledge and finance. The paper argues that targeted digital interventions reverse traditional urban bias and create economic opportunities and sustainable livelihoods in rural areas.
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Path Design for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Education in Ethnic Regions to Serve Rural Revitalization
Entrepreneurship and innovation education can drive rural revitalization in China's ethnic regions. The paper designs pathways for integrating such education into rural development strategies, grounding the approach in government policies, cultural foundations, and the interdependence of agriculture and industrial development. Implementation requires addressing significant challenges but offers substantial value for economic growth and social stability in ethnic minority areas.
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Community Based Tourism Product Innovation and Economic Sustainability for Rural Community Wellbeing, A Case of Tourism Cooperatives in Musanze District Rwanda
Community-based tourism entrepreneurs in Rwanda's Musanze District innovate their tourism products to achieve economic sustainability and improve rural wellbeing. The study finds that community empowerment practices stimulate innovation in redesigning competitive and profitable tourism offerings. When tourists consume these products, rural communities generate income that enhances wellbeing. The research recommends that government, park managers, and stakeholders create platforms for collaboration and information sharing to support these enterprises.
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Primary Care Rural and Frontier Clinical Trials Innovation Center (PRaCTICe): Co-designing research with communities
PRaCTICe is a research initiative that engages rural primary care clinics and communities in co-designing studies aligned with local health priorities. The program uses regional engagement specialists, community needs assessments, listening sessions, and an advisory board to build lasting research infrastructure across rural networks in the Pacific Northwest. Year 1 results show successful clinic-specialist relationships, identified research needs, and community-prioritized health topics.
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Design for rural innovation through university community services
Universities can sustain rural innovation through community service projects by building expanded networks of human and non-human actors rather than simply transferring knowledge. The paper analyzes rural market design projects using Actor-Network Theory, showing that innovation adoption happens through dynamic interactions among multiple stakeholders, and that long-term success requires ongoing network expansion and learning spaces beyond initial project implementation.
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Bridging Tradition and Innovation: Indigenous Knowledge, Technology, and Rural Development under State Governance in Sabah, Malaysia
This study examines how indigenous knowledge and technology adoption shape rural development in Sabah, Malaysia under state governance. Researchers surveyed 150 rural households across three districts and interviewed community leaders and elders to understand technology use, agricultural productivity, and socio-economic outcomes. The findings reveal how traditional practices like tangaa farming knowledge integrate with modern innovation to drive community development.
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Place-Based Approach to Rural Development: Ethiopia in Context
This study analyzes rural development in Ethiopia using panel data from 2018/19 and 2021/22, applying a place-based framework that accounts for unique socioeconomic features shaped by human and institutional interactions. The research finds that both rurality and entrepreneurial ecosystems significantly affect rural development outcomes. The findings challenge Ethiopia's policy approach, which relies too heavily on geographic factors while ignoring the complex socio-spatial formations that actually drive rural development.
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Formation mechanism and configuration pathways of rural tourism destination residents’ subjective well-being: Based on the mediation effect of host-guest interaction and the moderating effect of place attachment
Rural residents' well-being in tourism destinations depends on how they perceive tourism's impacts. Positive perceptions directly boost well-being, while negative perceptions reduce it. Host-guest interactions partially mediate both effects. Place attachment moderates these relationships differently: it weakens the positive perception effect but strengthens the negative perception effect. The strongest well-being outcomes occur when residents experience high positive impact perceptions combined with strong place attachment.
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Reflections on rural spatial construction based on place identity: A case study of spatial reconstruction in Xiaoshi village, Pengzhou
Rural areas in China lose local distinctiveness and community identity during urbanization. This study examines how place identity—encompassing cultural significance, economic functions, and spatial imagery—can be reconstructed through integrated approaches. Using Xiaoshi village as a case study, the authors show that reshaping public spaces, innovating industrial models, and expressing local character through coordinated spatial, economic, and cultural activation effectively rebuilds place identity and stimulates rural revitalization.
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Navigating Rural: Place-Based Transit Solutions for Rural Canada | Parcourir Le Milieu Rural: Des Solutions de Transport en Commun en Milieu Rural Canadien
Rural Canada faces significant transportation challenges due to low population density and geographic dispersion. This paper examines place-based transit solutions tailored to rural communities' specific needs and contexts. The authors analyze how customized transportation approaches can improve mobility and connectivity in rural areas, supporting economic development and quality of life while accounting for local conditions and resources.
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Functional Index–Based Central-Place Hierarchy and Typology for Rural Spatial Strategies - Evidence from Three Counties in Jeollanam-do, Korea -
This study maps service imbalances across rural settlements in three South Korean counties using a functional index measuring ten life services: childcare, education, healthcare, welfare, culture, sports, administration, transport, commerce, and recreation. The analysis reveals severe concentration, with top-ranked centers controlling 41–54% of total service capacity while half of rural units rank lowest. Three service factors explain most variation, with population strongly linked to infrastructure and welfare but not culture. The authors propose tailored strategies for different settlement types to rebalance service provision and sustain rural populations.
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Place-Based Rural Development: A Role for Complex Adaptive Assemblages?
Rural development programs often improve measurable indicators without making residents feel their lives have actually improved. Using ethnographic research in Cornwall and Southwest Virginia, this paper develops the concept of complex adaptive region assemblages to explain this gap. The author finds that revitalization systems work better when they strengthen connections between local residents and help them navigate their communities more effectively.
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“Do you know what's underneath your feet?”: Underground landscapes & place‐based risk perceptions of proposed shale gas sites in rural British communities
Rural communities in the United Kingdom perceive risks from proposed shale gas exploration through deep, place-based knowledge rooted in generations of connection to their local landscapes, including underground features. Residents' understanding of subsurface geology shapes their concerns about how extraction threatens the distinctiveness of their places. The study shows that effective risk management for underground energy projects must incorporate local, place-based knowledge alongside technical assessments.
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Improving teacher retention in rural Alaska: an experiential place-based model
A partnership between the University of Alaska, Bristol Bay Foundation, and four rural school districts created a place-based experiential learning program to retain teachers in Alaska's Bristol Bay region. The program achieved a 95% teacher retention rate, far exceeding the regional average of 66%. The model connects educators with local culture and community, offering a replicable approach for rural districts facing persistent teacher turnover.
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Place-based rural development: building capacities, multi-actor collaborations and making sense of the local ‘place’
Place-based rural development succeeds when local actors collaborate and deliberately build capacity to connect external knowledge with local circumstances. A case study of Nova Scotia's wine industry shows how multi-actor collaboration and intentional interventions created a new industry from scratch in a region lacking initial endogenous capacity. The findings demonstrate that rural regions can develop entirely new industries through strategic knowledge recombination and coordinated capacity building.
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Place-Based Strategies for Economic Resilience in Rural Northern Maine
Rural communities in northern Maine have adapted standard development tools to address their unique challenges following the closure of Loring Air Force Base. The research examines five interconnected development areas: housing and land use, broadband connectivity, industry recruitment, downtown revitalization, and adaptive tourism. Transportation emerges as a fundamental constraint shaping all development opportunities in these extremely rural contexts.
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Rural Teachers’ Experiences with a Place-Based Gifted Curriculum
Rural teachers implementing a place-based language arts curriculum for gifted students in an Appalachian school district faced significant barriers that prevented full curriculum delivery. The study of 16 elementary teachers across eight schools found that existing rural school challenges—including resource constraints and structural limitations—reduced student access to the gifted program. The findings highlight how rural context directly shapes curriculum implementation and student opportunity.
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Place-Based Arts Education for Rural Revitalization: A Case of the “She” Ethnic Minority Theater in Ningde, China
A theater in Ningde, China dedicated to She ethnic minority culture functions as a place-based learning space that teaches traditional music, dance, and rituals. The theater strengthens community identity, enables intergenerational knowledge transfer, and boosts local tourism. Place-based arts education effectively bridges formal schooling with community learning while preserving cultural heritage and supporting rural revitalization.
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Innovation and inclusion in multigrade settings: A case study in a secondary rural school in Catalonia
A rural secondary school in Catalonia implements pedagogical renewal through multigrade classrooms using active methodologies, democratic structures, and ICT integration. The study identifies how the school achieves educational innovation and social inclusion through personalized learning, reflective teaching, and community engagement. The research confirms alignment between the school's innovative discourse and actual classroom practices that promote inclusion.
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ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP AND HYBRID LEARNING IN REDUCING EDUCATIONAL EXCLUSION: A STUDY OF SERVICE INNOVATION FOR OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN IN RURAL INDONESIA
Adaptive leadership combined with hybrid learning models can reduce educational exclusion for out-of-school children in rural Indonesia. The study examines how responsive leadership and service innovation expand educational access in Brebes Regency, where geographic, economic, and cultural barriers prevent enrollment. The research proposes a scalable framework connecting leadership adaptability, service innovation, and technology-enhanced learning to create culturally relevant, inclusive education systems for marginalized learners.
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RURAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH ACCESS, EQUITY, AND CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION FOR THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
South Africa's higher education system excludes rural students through inadequate schooling, poor digital infrastructure, and limited financial support. Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies worsen these inequalities unless policies prioritize equity. The paper proposes universities serve as rural innovation hubs and recommends embedding bursaries, rural campuses, entrepreneurial curricula, and community partnerships to transform higher education and advance rural development.
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A multi-objective optimization method based on internal search algorithm for wind energy access to rural microgrid power supply grid architecture
This paper develops a multi-objective optimization method using an internal search algorithm to improve rural microgrid power supply architecture that integrates wind energy. The approach outperforms conventional methods by better handling dynamic power fluctuations and delivers superior optimization across economic and operational metrics. The method enhances power supply quality and reduces operational risk in rural microgrids.
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Assessing the Economic Effects of Energy Access Inequalities between Rural and Urban Areas in Egypt Based on the Random Forest Algorithm
Rural electricity access drives industrial growth in Egypt far more than urban access, according to machine learning analysis. The study found that rural electrification increases industrial sector growth by 85%, compared to 15% from urban electrification. Both rural and urban electricity access show positive relationships with industrial expansion, but rural access proves critical for supporting small-scale manufacturing projects and broader economic development across Egypt.
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Off-Grid Energy Access Solution for Rural and Underserved Regions
Researchers designed and evaluated a photovoltaic off-grid power system for a rural Nigerian village of 100 households. Using HOMER PRO optimization and MATLAB simulations, they calculated the levelized cost of electricity at $0.3305/kWh over 20 years. The PV-battery microgrid costs slightly more than conventional alternatives but delivers environmental benefits and technical feasibility for remote electrification in high-irradiance regions.
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The hybrid renewable energy community approach (HyRECA): Synergising electricity access with bush encroachment mitigation in rural Southern Africa
Hybrid renewable energy systems using encroacher bush biomass can provide affordable electricity to rural off-grid communities in Southern Africa while simultaneously addressing bush encroachment. Off-grid PV/biomass/battery systems achieve the lowest costs and zero emissions, though grid-connected systems dominate where cheap electricity exists. Over 70% of households can afford medium-power appliances. Sustainable biomass harvesting could electrify 1.35 million people across Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa using less than 1% of encroached land.
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Access to electricity and development in rural Senegal : the case of solar energy in the Kolda-Vélingara-Médina Yoro Foulah (KVM) concession
Rural Senegal faces severe electricity access challenges, with over 4 million people lacking power despite strong solar potential. This study examines solar electrification efforts in the Kolda-Vélingara-Médina Yoro Foulah region through national and local analysis. Findings reveal that the Senegalese rural electrification agency (ASER) struggles with coordination among multiple actors, creating governance fragmentation that undermines project success. While households adopt solar solutions, they lack sustained, equitable implementation. The research argues for territorial, inclusive approaches that prioritize social appropriation over market logic to achieve universal electricity access by 2030.
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Feasibility Study of Off-Grid Rural Electrification in Iraq: A Case Study of the AL-Teeb Area
This study evaluates off-grid electrification options for the Al-Teeb area in eastern Iraq, which lacks grid connection despite economic importance. Researchers modeled three hybrid energy scenarios combining photovoltaics, wind turbines, diesel generators, batteries, and converters. A hybrid system using all five components proved most cost-effective, with a levelized cost of energy of $0.155/kWh and net present cost of $14.2 million. The optimal configuration requires 1,215 solar panels, 59 wind turbines, 13 generators, and 3,138 batteries.
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Viable System Model for Off-Grid Solar-Powered Electricity Operation in Indonesian Rural Communities
This study applies the Viable System Model to improve off-grid solar electricity systems in rural Indonesia through the 'Berbagi Listrik' program. Training residents, forming management committees, and using decentralized governance significantly enhanced system functionality and durability. The research demonstrates that VSM principles—decentralization, adaptability, and community engagement—effectively address operational and maintenance challenges in remote electrification projects.
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Integrated Off-Grid Resource Sharing and Energy Network Optimisation for Several Co-Located Rural Communities in Namibia
This paper develops an optimization model for off-grid hybrid power systems serving multiple rural communities in Namibia. The system combines solar, batteries, diesel generators, and biomass resources (animal dung, crop residue, fuel wood) to generate reliable electricity. When seven communities share resources and excess energy, the integrated network reduces costs by 61.6% and carbon emissions by 73.6% compared to individual community systems.
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Off the Grid: Rural Identity, Environmentalism, and Renewable Energy Policy in Rural New England
Rural New England residents with strong environmental values still oppose renewable energy development and land-use regulation at higher rates than urban counterparts. The study of 1,400 residents reveals that rural identity itself predicts lower policy support, even among environmentalists. Place attachment combined with resentment toward cultural displacement drives opposition. Opposition stems not from economic concerns alone, but from symbolic factors: identity, belonging, and desire for local autonomy.
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Lcoe Reduction in African Off-Grid Rural Microgrids: a Systematic Approach Using Dsm and Innovative Bchp Integration
This paper presents a framework for designing cost-effective off-grid microgrids in rural Africa by combining demand-side management, consumer clustering, and biomass-based combined heat and power systems. The approach reduces electricity costs while enabling microgrid expansion to serve more customers. By strategically applying energy management to productive uses while protecting household consumption, the method maintains affordability and reliability as systems grow, offering practical guidance for rural electrification projects.
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Financial, Infrastructural, and Institutional Barriers to Renewable Energy Adoption in Nigeria’s Off-Grid Rural Communities: Policy Implications and Strategic Solutions
Financial constraints and poor infrastructure significantly block renewable energy adoption in Nigeria's off-grid rural communities, while policy clarity and community participation drive it forward. The study finds that targeted financing, infrastructure investment, capacity building, and coherent regulatory frameworks are essential to accelerate rural energy transitions and achieve energy equity across Nigeria.
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Optimal Design of Rural Off-Grid Power Systems in Japan with Green hydrogen Production and Sales
This paper develops an optimization model for designing 100% renewable off-grid power systems in rural Japan that produce and sell green hydrogen. Using a case study in Hokkaido, the authors show that selling surplus hydrogen—even at zero price—reduces energy costs compared to self-consumption-only designs by lowering required storage capacity. The findings demonstrate that infrequent sales via vehicle transport remain economically viable, offering practical guidance for rural communities pursuing energy independence.
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Dynamic Capability a Strategic Management Perspective for Creating Rural Off-Grid Base of Pyramid Energy Market in India
This paper applies dynamic capability theory to develop off-grid energy solutions for low-income rural markets in India. The authors examine how strategic management approaches enable companies to create and deliver energy innovations to underserved populations in remote areas, addressing both market opportunity and energy access challenges in rural India.
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Optimization of Transit Route and Frequency for Integrated Urban–Rural Transit Network
This paper develops a mathematical model to optimize integrated urban-rural bus transit networks by simultaneously adjusting routes and frequencies. The model minimizes both passenger costs and operator costs. Testing shows integrated networks reduce transfers and passenger travel time compared to separate urban and rural systems, though operating costs significantly influence outcomes. The approach provides trade-offs between passenger convenience and operator efficiency.
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Advancing Rural Mobility: Identifying Operational Determinants for Effective Autonomous Road-Based Transit
Autonomous public transport can address rural mobility challenges by offering flexible, cost-effective options. A survey of 273 residents in South-East Queensland reveals that different vehicle types serve distinct purposes: small shuttles work best for leisure trips, minibuses improve first-mile and last-mile connectivity, and standard buses suit high-capacity school transport. Hybrid systems combining autonomous and conventional buses outperform full automation, while autonomous taxis raise equity concerns. Integration with mobility platforms enhances service delivery for special events.
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The framework of building indigenous technological innovation capabilities: A conceptual study focused on Saudi Arabia
This paper develops a four-stage model for building indigenous technological innovation capabilities in developing countries, with focus on Saudi Arabia. The model progresses through technology initiation, imitation, improvement, and innovation stages. The authors identify environmental factors and key actors influencing this process and analyze how the framework applies to Saudi Arabian firms and the broader Middle Eastern context.
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The southern initiative: How indigenous values inspire social innovation and impact
The Southern Initiative, a unit within Auckland Council, demonstrates how Māori values transform public sector management and drive social innovation. The organization uses indigenous principles like mana (prestige) and whānau-centered design alongside distributed leadership to co-create place-based solutions that improve community wellbeing. This case study shows that embedding indigenous values into bureaucratic structures produces systemic change, social justice outcomes, and community resilience.
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Research on the influence effect and optimization strategy of digital inclusive finance on urban and rural integrated development under the power of new quality productivity
Digital inclusive finance significantly boosts urban-rural integration in China, with a positive effect coefficient of 0.427. The mechanism works partly through new quality productivity, which mediates 38.6% of this relationship. Digital financial products improve how rural areas access finance and optimize resource allocation between urban and rural regions, supporting integrated development and shared prosperity.
Media stories — 31
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From Estevan to Drayton Valley: How Rural Tech is Bridging Skills Gaps
Estevan's Southeast Tech Hub is sharing its innovation model with other rural communities, including Drayton Valley, to address digital skills gaps and youth out-migration. The hub's programs, particularly computer science training through Southeast College, connect young people with local industry problems while helping businesses adapt to technological change. The model demonstrates how rural communities can retain talent and support entrepreneurship through collaborative, community-driven initiatives.
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Urban-Rural Innovation Divide: New Metrics Reveal Rural Regions Excel
New granular metrics reveal that while innovation activity concentrates in urban European regions, over 20% of rural areas outperform the EU average in R&D investment, patents, trademarks, and industrial designs. Rural excellence clusters around specialized industries, public research facilities, and proximity to urban innovation hubs, demonstrating that place-based policies recognizing territorial diversity can unlock rural innovation potential.
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Needs Art: Reimagining Rural Innovation (Part 1)
Rural businesses receive less than 1% of venture capital despite representing 12% of U.S. firms, with funding concentrated in five major metros. Rural founders innovate at equal rates to urban peers when controlling for size and sector, but lack institutional support. AscendRural proposes place-based accelerators designed for rural realities, prioritizing local relationships and community-defined outcomes over urban-focused models.
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Reimagining Rural Innovation, Part 2
AscendRural operates a startup accelerator designed specifically for rural communities, matching early-stage companies with local pilot partners like schools and health systems. Unlike urban accelerators, the program emphasizes sector specialization, community-centered design, and pilot partnerships as primary validation. The model prioritizes relationships and trust over capital alone, enabling startups to test solutions in underserved markets while communities receive tools addressing their actual needs.
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Rural Innovation Hub takes root in Georgetown, Delaware
Delaware's Rural Innovation Hub opened in Georgetown in December, providing coworking and collaboration space for entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and remote workers in underserved Sussex County. The hub addresses a long-standing gap in infrastructure south of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, offering shared desks, offices, and meeting facilities to organizations historically clustered in northern Delaware.
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Smart Village Dialogue Advances South Africa's First Indigenous Knowledge-Led Initiative
South Africa's Nyandeni Smart Village initiative held its second conference to advance implementation of an indigenous knowledge-based rural development model. The project integrates traditional knowledge systems with Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to create jobs, improve livelihoods, and revitalize rural communities while protecting indigenous knowledge under the 2019 Protection Act.
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Africa Prize 2026 Shortlist Signals Strong Growth for African Innovation and Local Solutions
The Royal Academy of Engineering announced 16 African innovators from 11 countries selected for the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. The shortlist includes solutions addressing healthcare, education, clean energy, and transport across the continent. Winners receive mentoring, training, and access to networks; the programme has supported 165 businesses over 12 years, creating over 40,000 jobs.
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Top 7 African Countries Using Partnerships for Rural Internet
Seven African countries—Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Morocco—are expanding rural internet access through public-private partnerships. These collaborations deploy solar-powered towers, satellite internet, fiber optics, and mesh networks to connect remote schools, healthcare centers, and businesses. The initiatives improve digital literacy, education, healthcare delivery, and economic opportunities in underserved communities.
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Rural Tourism, Afro-Tourism and Cultural Experiences Highlight Minas Gerais Presence at WTM Latin America 2026
Minas Gerais state government is promoting rural and Afro-tourism at WTM Latin America 2026, launching an expanded Rural Tourism Experiences Catalog with 266 itineraries and establishing the Quilombo São Domingos Afro-tourism route. The initiative emphasizes local empowerment, cultural preservation, and sustainable tourism development across regional territories.
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New narratives for rural transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean: towards a renewed measurement and classification of rural areas
CEPAL presents new methods for defining and measuring rurality in Latin America and the Caribbean, moving beyond outdated agricultural-focused definitions. The study recognizes that rural areas now encompass diverse economic and social activities shaped by rural-urban interactions. These redefined measurement approaches enable governments to design innovative rural development policies better aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Connected countryside: smart tech is recharging rural Europe
The EU-funded AURORAL project deployed a shared digital platform across seven rural regions to help communities build smart services tailored to local needs. From school transport apps in Finnish Lapland to dairy farm monitoring in Italy and biomass energy coordination in Catalonia, the open-source infrastructure lets rural areas innovate without building systems from scratch, improving efficiency and sustainability.
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Fostering rural innovation ecosystems: inspiring examples from Catalonia
Catalonia demonstrates how rural innovation ecosystems combat youth emigration, aging populations, and economic decline in peripheral areas. The region uses smart specialization strategies, quadruple helix partnerships, and operational groups to fund collaborative pilot projects. Since 2015, 293 agri-food and forestry projects have received €30 million, creating place-based solutions through university-industry collaboration and bottom-up governance.
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New EU Data Reveals Rural Regions Emerging as Innovation Leaders
EU research from the Joint Research Centre reveals that while cities dominate R&D investment and patents, rural regions are emerging as unexpected innovation leaders in specialized sectors. Rural areas with strong industrial clusters, proximity to urban hubs, or niche manufacturing—such as parts of Germany, Austria, and Finland—exceed EU averages in patents, trademarks, and industrial designs, suggesting place-based policies can unlock rural innovation potential.
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Europe's rural regions bridge innovation gap
A European Commission study reveals rural regions host innovative startups across diverse sectors including agri-food, robotics, energy, and semiconductors. While cities dominate with 76% of EU startups, some rural areas exceed national averages in startup density and firm creation rates. Place-based policies targeting skills, finance, digital infrastructure, and entrepreneurial networks can unlock rural innovation potential and reduce urban-rural disparities.
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New Loan Program Targets Rural Innovators in Essex County and Chatham-Kent
WEtech Alliance, Community Futures Essex County, and Community Futures CK launched the Rural Growth & Commercialization Loan program, pairing flexible financing with commercialization support for innovation-driven companies in rural Essex County and Chatham-Kent. The program addresses a funding gap for rural businesses with proven products seeking to scale beyond their initial markets, offering capital for product development, market entry, and IP protection.
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Local Roots, Global Reach
Canadian Innovation Week 2026 will celebrate how local innovation across Canada scales to global impact. The theme highlights that powerful ideas emerge from community knowledge and lived experience, grow through collaboration between researchers and entrepreneurs, and reflect Canada's geographic and cultural diversity. Events run May 11–15, 2026.
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Agricultural Technology Ecosystems in East Africa: Taking Stock – Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda
This report examines agricultural technology ecosystems across Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, assessing the current state of agtech adoption and innovation in East Africa. It provides a regional overview of how farmers and agribusinesses access and implement new technologies to improve productivity and sustainability in the region.
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Regions across England and Wales set to receive up to £20 million each in fresh government funding to accelerate innovation and drive local economic growth
The UK government is distributing up to £20 million per region through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to boost regional innovation and economic growth. Funding targets sector-specific strengths: the South West focuses on autonomous technologies, Oxford-Cambridge on vehicles and space tech, Greater Lincolnshire on agri-tech and defence, Wales on energy and materials, and northern regions on clean energy and decarbonisation. The programme aims to translate research into commercial outcomes and build self-sustaining regional innovation ecosystems.
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Nordic countries join forces to map and strengthen their innovation ecosystems
Six Nordic and Baltic innovation organizations are collaborating to map and benchmark startup ecosystems across Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Estonia. Using an updated analytical framework, they will analyze policy, finance, research, support services, industry engagement, and startup activity across the region. Results will be presented at TechBBQ in August 2026 to mobilize cross-border innovation collaboration.
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The most recent Nordic innovations and innovation campaigns kicking off 2026
Forum Nordic surveys 18 recent innovations across Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Iceland announced in the past six weeks. Highlights include Norway's subsea fibre sensing for ocean monitoring, Finland's quantum computing breakthroughs, Denmark's AI pregnancy screening spinout, Sweden's tech strategy roadmap, and Iceland's responsible AI policy. The roundup showcases university-industry collaborations, deep-tech spinouts, and national innovation ecosystem developments across the Nordic region.
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Central and Eastern Europe join forces to advance sustainable bioeconomies through the BIOEAST initiative
Eleven Central and Eastern European countries launched BIOEAST to build sustainable, knowledge-based bioeconomies in rural areas. The initiative develops national bioeconomy strategies, strengthens research capacity, and creates value-added chains across agriculture, forestry, energy and food systems. Working groups and digital platforms connect governments, researchers and local actors to drive rural innovation and job creation.
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New opportunities for rural areas under Horizon Europe in 2026-2027
The European Commission released the Horizon Europe work programme for 2026-2027, featuring funding calls designed for rural development. Two calls directly target rural areas: one supporting innovation to boost rural competitiveness beyond agriculture, and another strengthening rural communities' resilience to economic, environmental, and climate shocks. The programme allocates over €14 billion across multiple clusters.
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MSU-IIT Research Team Presents Smart Village Readiness Study at International Conference in Tokyo
Researchers from MSU-IIT presented findings on smart village readiness in Iligan City barangays at an international sustainability conference in Tokyo. The study examined how digital innovations can improve local government operations and public service delivery. Researchers identified gaps in digital infrastructure, governance mechanisms, and community participation that must be addressed to advance smart village initiatives.
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New data confirms EU's urban-rural innovation divide
EU research shows innovation funding concentrates in cities, with rural regions receiving only 12% of R&D investment despite housing 21% of the population. Rural areas average 1.6% of GDP in R&D spending versus 2.4% in urban zones. Regional leaders demand tailored support to prevent rural innovation gaps.
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Technology, Innovation, Digital Transformation: Vietnam's Triple Push in 2026
Vietnam's Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs is accelerating digital transformation in 2026, shifting from planning to measurable results. The ministry is building integrated ethnic and religious databases, streamlining 25 public services, and developing AI tools for minority language translation. Officials emphasize equal focus on science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation, with proposals for remote community economic models and disaster-resilient technologies.
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Vietnam: Technology Driving Smart Rural Transformation
Vietnam is deploying digital technology to transform rural communities into smart, liveable areas. Pilot communes like Giao Ninh have established digital government services, smart classrooms, intelligent camera networks, and remote healthcare platforms. The government aims for 80% of communes to meet new-style rural standards by 2030, integrating technology with agriculture, local commerce, and sustainable development while preserving cultural identity.
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Rural connectivity in Mexico
Rural Mexico faces severe internet connectivity gaps, with only 66% of rural residents having regular access compared to 85.5% in urban areas. LEO satellite technology, particularly Starlink's $89.8 million contract to provide free internet through 2026, is emerging as a solution to reach remote southern regions like Oaxaca and Chiapas. Competition from AWS Project Kuiper and OneWeb is accelerating deployment across the country.
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How China advances sustainable and balanced rural revitalization
China is modernizing rural areas through agricultural technology adoption and regional clustering strategies. Solar power, livestock farming, and drone use are boosting village incomes while addressing urban-rural divides. The 15th Five-Year Plan emphasizes regular poverty prevention measures and attracting educated young people back to farming through improved living conditions and business opportunities.
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From Smart Villages to Systemic Uptake: Shaping Policy Pathways for Rural Innovation
AEIDL is hosting the second EU Rural Innovation Forum on 9 June 2026 to help rural innovation pilots achieve lasting system-level change across Europe. The online event brings together EU institutions, policymakers, and rural innovation actors to discuss governance and ecosystem conditions enabling Smart Villages and other approaches to scale and embed across diverse territories, informing post-2027 EU programming.
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What's happening in my country: France
France implements smart villages through its Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan and LEADER programme, supporting digital capacity building, co-working spaces, and rural innovation platforms. The French Rural Network conducts research on smart villages and publishes practical guides for municipalities. National initiatives include a Digital Agency promoting high-speed internet, 'territory factories,' and 'Maison France Service' centres delivering public services in rural areas.
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From rural Spain to war: Binéfar becomes a European benchmark in military robotics
A military robotics plant in the small Spanish town of Binéfar has become Europe's largest manufacturer of ground robots for defence applications, exporting to over 20 countries. The facility employs 150 workers with plans to expand to 300, reversing rural depopulation and establishing the town as a technological hub while the parent company decentralises operations across Spain's regions.
Organizations — 13
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Center for Economic and Community Development
Penn State's Center for Economic and Community Development conducts applied research to strengthen local and regional development in Pennsylvania and beyond. The center works directly with communities to address economic and demographic change, government policy, community capacity building, and social inequality. It produces research outputs including economic impact analyses, demographic profiles, and community engagement projects focused on food systems, active transportation, and inclusive economic development.
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Rural Development Institute
The Rural Development Institute is a research centre at Brandon University that conducts community-based projects addressing rural development challenges. It works directly with rural partners and communities to build capacity, support regional development, and inform policy makers on rural solutions. The institute focuses on topics including digital technologies, wellness, and community development in rural contexts.
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Crawford School of Public Policy
Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University conducts research on public policy challenges including rural development and livelihoods. The school examines rural youth futures and development practices in regions like South Sulawesi through collaborative research projects. It educates policy leaders and professionals while engaging in policy-driven solutions across interdisciplinary areas.
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Smart Rural 21 Project
Smart Rural 21 was a European Commission-funded initiative that ran from December 2019 to November 2022, supporting 21 villages across Europe to develop and implement smart village strategies. The project worked directly with rural communities to design and execute strategic actions addressing local challenges, from digital infrastructure to community services and cultural heritage. Through regional workshops, cross-village visits, and policy engagement, it generated evidence and recommendations to inform future EU policy on rural development.
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Rural Pact
The Rural Pact is a European platform that convenes stakeholders to address rural revitalization and development across the EU. It facilitates place-based innovation initiatives, connects rural entrepreneurs to wider innovation ecosystems, and supports policy development for rural areas. The platform publishes research on rural entrepreneurship, good practices, and policy recommendations to strengthen economic, social, and environmental outcomes in rural communities.
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The Mill Workspace
The Mill Workspace operates a coworking space and entrepreneurship hub in Historic Downtown Dyersburg, Tennessee, serving Northwest Tennessee's rural business community. The organization provides tailored programs, services, and physical workspace to help rural entrepreneurs start and grow businesses across nine counties in the region. It offers coworking facilities, conference room rentals, and regional entrepreneurial support services.
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Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group
The Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group partners with rural community development practitioners and funders to strengthen rural development systems across the United States. For 40 years, the organization has worked to build regional collaboration and center equity in rural communities historically overlooked by philanthropy and policy investments. Aspen CSG emphasizes community-led development that focuses on protecting and developing the people in rural regions rather than extracting resources, and convenes diverse leaders across sectors to address shared challenges like workforce development, broadband access, and climate resilience.
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OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities
The OECD Centre provides comparative statistics, analysis, and policy advice on regional development, including a dedicated working party on rural policy. It convenes national governments, local leaders, and development practitioners through multiple initiatives and networks focused on inclusive growth and local economic development.
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AEIDL (European Association for Innovation in Local Development)
AEIDL is a Brussels-based association that fosters community-led innovation to revitalize local communities across Europe, with particular focus on rural development and smart rural futures. The organization learns from and supports local initiatives while providing policy analysis and evaluation of EU policies affecting rural and territorial development. AEIDL coordinates networks and projects addressing sustainable local development, territorial development, employment, and support to territorial authorities and businesses.
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United Nations Development Programme
The UN agency that helps countries reduce poverty, build democratic governance, and respond to climate, recovery, and crises. UNDP's rural innovation work spans the Sustainable Development Goals — supporting smallholder agriculture, rural livelihoods, energy access, and digital inclusion in remote communities across more than 170 countries.
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European Commission Joint Research Centre
The European Commission's in-house science service, providing independent evidence-based scientific advice to support EU policy. Its rural innovation work includes the Knowledge Centre for Territorial Policies, the Smart Rural 21 programme, and quantitative analysis of urban-rural innovation gaps across EU regions.
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Ryan Institute, University of Galway
Research institute at the University of Galway focused on the intersection of environment, marine sciences, and energy. Affiliated with the Whitaker Institute and other Galway centres, the Ryan Institute hosts research on rural development, peripheral economies, and sustainable communities — particularly in the Atlantic margin and rural Ireland.
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The Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development
Memorial University of Newfoundland's centre for regional policy and development research, dedicated to research, education, and public engagement on the development of Newfoundland and Labrador. Coordinates regional workshops, convenes research on rural innovation, and publishes evidence-based reports on rural communities in the province.
Events — 3
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Innovate Rural
Innovate Rural is Canada's leading rural innovation conference bringing together researchers, innovators, policymakers, and creative professionals to showcase place-based economic development and rural innovation. The 2026 edition features three integrated streams—Technology, Academia, and Arts—with keynotes, panels, workshops, and networking sessions designed to turn regional strengths into national outcomes. The event convenes multiple stakeholders including the Institute for Research on Public Policy, Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance, and Southeast College to demonstrate how rural innovation drives Canada's success.
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International Conference on Innovation in Rural Regions (ICIRR)
This interdisciplinary conference examines social and technical practices in rural regions, exploring how innovations are imagined, facilitated, contested, and materially shaped. Rather than treating rural areas as peripheral spaces, the conference reframes them as complex socio-technical systems where global challenges manifest in concentrated ways. The event brings together researchers and practitioners from fields including design science, HCI, CSCW, ICTD, and STS to analyze and shape rural innovation dynamics and challenge dominant narratives.
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NRHA's 49th Annual Rural Health Conference and 11th Rural Hospital Innovation Summit
NRHA's largest annual gathering of rural health professionals convenes in San Diego with over 80 innovative sessions addressing cost-saving solutions and best practices in rural healthcare delivery. The conference includes the 11th Rural Hospital Innovation Summit and associated events focused on raising standards for rural health across the country. Attendees engage with rural health leaders, thought leaders, and exhibitors to strengthen connections and explore solutions for rural healthcare challenges.