Territorial Innovation Models: A Critical Survey

MOULAERT F. and SEKIA F. (2003) Territorial innovation models: a critical survey, Reg. Studies 37 , 289-302. This paper provides a critical review of the literature on territorial innovation models (industrial districts, milieux innovateurs , new industrial spaces, local production systems, etc.). The review is organized in two stages. First, the main features of each of these models and their view of innovation are compared. Second, their theoretical building blocks are reconstructed and evaluated from the point of view of conceptual clarity and analytical coherence. It is found that despite some semantic unity among the concepts used (economies of agglomeration, endogenous development, systems of innovation,…