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Diverse diversities—Open innovation in small towns and rural areas

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  • Rahel Meili
  • Richard Shearmur

Abstract

It is generally accepted that cities and other forms of geographic agglomerations are conducive to innovation because their density and variety of firms, sectors and individuals create a diverse environment. However, a growing body of work shows that innovation also occurs in peripheral regions and small towns. Furthermore, work on rural social networks shows that diversity is multidimensional, and that along certain dimensions networks developed in rural areas are more diverse than those observed in cities. In this paper, we develop these arguments, then report our observations of seven successful firms in Swiss small towns. These firms benefit from at least three types of diversity: internal diversity; multiplexed interactions between workers at different hierarchical levels; and external diversity as firms reach beyond the region. We conclude that diversity conducive to firm‐level innovation is not a specifically urban attribute: at least some of its dimensions are present in small towns and more peripheral areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Rahel Meili & Richard Shearmur, 2019. "Diverse diversities—Open innovation in small towns and rural areas," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 492-514, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:50:y:2019:i:2:p:492-514
    DOI: 10.1111/grow.12291
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    Cited by:

    1. Sameeh Alarabi & Fawaz Alasmari, 2023. "Challenges and Opportunities for Small Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Study of Expert Perceptions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Benoit, Florence & Belderbos, René, 2024. "International connection, local disconnection: The (heterogeneous) role of global cities in local and global innovation networks," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    3. Doloreux, David & Shearmur, Richard, 2023. "Does location matter? STI and DUI innovation modes in different geographic settings," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    4. Mayer, Heike, 2021. "Wirtschaftliche Entwicklung und Innovationsdynamiken in Kleinstädten," Forschungsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Steinführer, Annett & Porsche, Lars & Sondermann, Martin (ed.), Kompendium Kleinstadtforschung, volume 16, pages 140-154, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.
    5. Stefania Oppido & Stefania Ragozino & Gabriella Esposito De Vita, 2023. "Peripheral, Marginal, or Non-Core Areas? Setting the Context to Deal with Territorial Inequalities through a Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-36, July.
    6. Patrycjusz Zarębski & Małgorzata Czerwińska-Jaśkiewicz & Maria Klonowska-Matynia, 2022. "Innovation in Peripheral Regions from a Multidimensional Perspective: Evidence from the Middle Pomerania Region in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    7. Qin Ye, 2021. "The impact of knowledge depth and breadth on the geography of analytical industry technological networks: Evidence from China’s biotechnology industry," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 2238-2255, December.
    8. Jakob Eder & Michaela Trippl, 2019. "Innovation in the periphery: compensation and exploitation strategies," PEGIS geo-disc-2019_07, Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    9. Eleni N. Arvaniti & Agapi Dima & Chrysostomos D. Stylios & Vagelis G. Papadakis, 2022. "Introducing Research Loop to Achieve Open Innovation for Research Centers in Quintuple Helix," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-15, November.
    10. Ron Boschma & Rune Fitjar & Elisa Giuliani & Simona Iammarino, 2024. "Unseen costs: the inequities of the geography of innovation," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2428, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2024.
    11. Lu Zhang & Renyan Mu & Shuhua Hu & Quan Zhang & Song Wang, 2021. "Impacts of Manufacturing Specialized and Diversified Agglomeration on the Eco-Innovation Efficiency—A Nonlinear Test from Dynamic Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-27, March.
    12. Markus Grillitsch & Mikhail Martynovich & Rune Dahl Fitjar & Silje Haus-Reve, 2021. "The black box of regional growth," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 425-464, July.
    13. David Doloreux & Richard Shearmur & Igone Porto‐Gomez & Jon Mikel Zabala‐Iturriagagoitia, 2020. "DUI and STI innovation modes in the Canadian wine industry: The geography of interaction modes," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 890-909, September.
    14. Sverre J Herstad & Marte CW Solheim & Marit Engen, 2019. "Learning through urban labour pools: Collected worker experiences and innovation in services," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(8), pages 1720-1740, November.
    15. Jose-Maria Garcia-Alvarez-Coque & Norat Roig-Tierno & Mercedes Sanchez-Garcia & Francisco Mas-Verdu, 2021. "Knowledge Drivers, Business Collaboration and Competitiveness in Rural and Urban Regions," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 9-27, August.

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