Rethinking Regional Innovation Systems to capture regions’ variety

Over the last few decades the concept of Regional Innovation Systems has given rise to a line of research which aims to highlight the functioning of network relationships and their importance in the innovation process at a meso-economic level. Despite limitations, this approach has thrown up some interesting reflections on the systemic nature of the process of innovation at regional level. It proposes some insights to draw an interpretive framework which includes elements for analysing disparate regions. The aim of this paper is to highlight the main aspects of the issue that might allow to go over in the debate opening up perspectives for analysing regional systems of innovation, both advanced and less favoured, so as successful and unsuccessful ones. The identification of a shared taxonomy, that will act as an optical prism through which decomposing various components, capturing virtuous dynamics, as well as mechanisms of lock-in and malfunctioning of innovative systems at a regional level, will support policy making directed to regional growth.