Technologies and innovations in regional development : the European Union and its strategies / Borut Roncevic and Victor Cepoi (eds.).

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Social- Fields- Approach (SOFIA) to Research on Social Change: Innovations as Social Fields (Borut Rončević, Dolores Modic, Tea Golob) -- EU, Grand Strategies, and Policy-Making -- The EU Strategies and Policies on Artificial Intelligence and Their Impact on Fundamental Values (Petra Kleindienst) -- Clusters vs Networks: A Dilemma for Regional Innovation Policy (Cristian Gangaliuc) -- Innovation 2.0 for Smart, Inclusive and Sustainable Growth in Regional Context -- Open Innovation and Its Impacts on Interorganisational Stability: A SOFIA Perspective Addressing the Sustainable Growth in Regional Context (Tamara Besednjak Valič) -- Is Open Innovation (2.0) Leading to the Circular Economy (2.0)? (Urška Fric) -- Technologies, Innovations and Regional Policy -- Technologies, Innovation and Regional Policy – It Is Not All About Business (Alenka Pandiloska Jurak) -- Innovation Process in the Framework of Social-Fields-Approach (SOFIA): A Qualitative Assessment for Ireland and Slovenia (Victor Cepoi)

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.