The subsequent volume revolves around the Social-Fields-Approach (SOFIA) as an approach to conceptualization and operationalisation for the purpose of empirical research. It contributes a new ...perspective and approach in research on innovation. We believe that SOFIA can have implications for both academic research and practical applications in reshaping the existing instruments and governance arrangements in innovation policy. Whilst applying SOFIA, we urge researchers to leverage the plurality of different qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method approaches in innovation studies, including less conventional methods, such as QCA (Ragin, 2008). Diligent application of SOFIA can also subsequently lead to the development of high-level theoretical contributions.
The main goal of Agenda 2030, the third and current strategic document of the European Union (EU), is to steer its development in pursuit of its Sustainable Development Goals. However, both policy ...research and policy practice have revealed a relatively poor implementation record of the EU grand strategy. The implementation of Agenda 2030 may be even more challenging, since it is not only an official EU grand strategy, but, more pervasively, a document accepted by the United Nations and whose implementation has global ambitions and also encounters many obstacles deriving their origin from beyond the borders of the EU. This promises that implementation and factors contributing to successes and failures of the EU grand strategies will remain an interesting research topic. In this article we present the possible application of Cultural Political Economy (CPE) approach in this research and present its application in the framework of Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence titled Strategic Observatory for Europe 2030 (SOE2030).
The European Union is steering its development by a series of successive strategic documents, its grand strategies. While having important role, these strategies do not have a perfect implementation ...score and a score of initiatives and research is dedicated to better understand these processes. The article presents one such initiative, Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence Technologies and Innovations in Regional Development for Europe 2020, a focal point of competence on the topic. Utilising novel Social Fields approach to innovation, the centre combines original empirical research, public debates and formal and informal learning to collect and disseminate knowledge on the topic.
The main goal of the grand strategy Europe 2020 is to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Implementation of such grand strategy is an arduous process, which has so far more often than ...not resulted in implementation deficit. The article follows the Cultural Political Economy approach and is based on a premise that to successfully implement a grand strategy of Europe 2020 and its successor strategies, we need to construe the strategy as a hegemonic discourse that needs to pass the evolutionary mechanisms of variation, selection and retention. Possible mechanism of retention of Europe 2020 is the innovative educational that was developed and tested in Jean Monnet Chair project Cultural Political Economy of Europe 2020. The approach can contribute to awareness of EU grand strategies and their implementation through other programmatic documents and advance interdisciplinary EU studies dealing with the phenomenon of EU implementation deficit.
Industrial symbiosis (IS) is a term used to describe a network of diverse organizations that make use of different byproducts to improve their ability to achieve common goals, improve environmental ...conditions, and/or improve business and technical processes. In this paper, we propose a model for evaluation of the possibilities of the establishment of such IS on a regional level. This paper studied a benchmark of seven IS examples, which are used to build a qualitative multi-criteria decision model for evaluation of the development of IS network model. Through these examples, where two are the best known IS cases in the world, we demonstrate the importance of social actors’ involvement in IS in their industrial or non-industrial technological processes.
This book addresses the challenging and exciting issues of the implementation of the European Union’s grand strategies, with a particular interest in the implementation of the current Agenda 2030 and ...its Sustainable Development Goals. It provides insight into the impact of this strategic process on some of the current global issues relevant to the European Union, such as the European and global energy market, food supplies, industrial components etc. Some of the challenges have such a strong short-term impact, that already accepted strategic priorities and decisions are being questioned and re-examined. This is a particularly exciting subject, both as a research topic and as a policy issue.
In this paper, the authors propose a multi-level model for the strategic competence of territorial units, which can help explain why some territorial units manage to respond appropriately to global ...challenges and thrive while others fail. Strategic competence is defined by two components: substantive knowledge and strategic connections. This is the foundation for the development of four ideal types of strategic competences at the level of territorial actors—Conductor, Broker, Lone Wolf, or Rent Seeker—and four at the level of territorial units—Pioneers, Absorbers, Drifters, or Laggers. This multi-level model forms the basis for future research to transform the concepts into a set of measurable indicators to determine the current strategic competence of regions and territories. Additionally, it will provide the basis for research-informed policymaking for the purpose of co-designing, co-developing, co-implementing and co-measuring policy initiatives and their results.
This article represents some principal dilemmas and challenges that need to be undertaken when conducting future research on Industrial Symbiotic Networks (ISN) using existing and efficient Computer ...Software Tools (CS tools). Multidimensional networks in industrial symbiosis have involved two or more stakeholders in sharing services, utility, or by‐products/waste (material, energy, and water) in order to increase value and reduce financial and environmental costs. Multidimensional networks operate as dynamic complex networks, crossing the boundaries and are formed by natural, technical, social, and computer systems. For a better understanding, there is an outline and review of the benefits of using CS tools within managing industrial symbiotic networks.
Introduction
Media and its reporting shape public opinion, and doing this can obtain an indirect and significant influence on the course and results of the political process. In this context, media ...operates as an active element of the political process.
Methods
The authors use the Janis-Fadner coefficient of imbalance to analyze a total of 1434 media texts published in 10 different Slovenian media outlets. The texts were published between March and September 2020.
Results
The authors discover weak media plurality as the main characteristic of the Slovenian media space. The results show the majority of media reporting is strongly anti-right-wing-governmental and left-wing oriented with little pluralism. Most news coverage of web portals demonstrates a distinct ideological note, resulting in predominant expressions of centre-left and anti-center-right government views.
Discussion
Most analyzed media is significantly more unfavorable to the center-right government than the center-left opposition, taking a notable left-wing stance. Confirmed by previous conducted studies, the Slovenia's political left seems to have much stronger media support than its right-wing counterpart. For the purpose, would be important to observe whether demonstrated harsh anti-government and pro-opposition orientation changed following the establishment of a new left-wing government after April 2020 elections.
Building upon social fields theory, the authors analyze the impact of the three social forces - institutions, social networks and cognitive frames - on the social topography of regional innovation ...systems. Unlike previous studies, which focused on individual social force, the authors' fuzzy-set comparative analysis of fifteen diverse regions from four continents reveals nuanced impact of individual forces and shows that a well-functioning regional innovation system is the outcome of their combined influence. This implies a need for a coherent, reflexive, context-specific and multi-level innovation policy that supports the balanced development of an institutional framework, encourages the formation of social networks and enables supportive cognitive frames.
PDF
