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The measurement of regional competitiveness is becoming essential for policymakers to address territorial disparities, while considering the issue of correlations among indicators. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to measure regional competitiveness using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) by considering different distance measures and two levels of analysis to provide a comparative and comprehensive measurement of regional competitiveness in Europe.

The authors apply TOPSIS based on three different distance measures (the Manhattan, the Euclidean and the Mahalanobis distance measures) to the regions of the EU Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI) 2019, which is taken as the frame of reference.

The authors replicate the RCI by using TOPSIS with a less preferred choice of distance measure, indicating TOPSIS as a valuable method for policymakers in the analysis of regional competitiveness. The authors argue in favour of the Mahalanobis distance measure as the best of the three, as it considers correlations among macro-economic indicators.

This study aims to make three contributions. Firstly, by replicating the RCI by means of TOPSIS with a less preferred choice of distance measure, the paper provides a benchmark for future research on regional competitiveness. Secondly, by suggesting the use of TOPSIS with the use of the Mahalanobis distance measure, the authors show how to measure regional competitiveness by taking into account correlations among pillars. Thirdly, the authors argue in favour of considering clusters of regions when measuring regional competitiveness.

This paper studies digitalization projects aiming to increase the share of regional food in the hospitality sector and communal catering. The focus is set on influencing factors and underlying feedback structures that arise through the digitalization of regional food supplies. The results can guide stakeholders to get a better understanding of key influencing factors and complexities from a holistic perspective.

A systems thinking approach is employed to model regional food networks. The influencing factors were found in the literature and in two model regions. Feedback loops and underlying structures were explained and validated through semi-structured interviews. Findings are visualized in causal loop diagrams (CLDs) and are used for theory development.

The presentation in CLDs helps understanding the influence of digital logistics platforms on the entire system of regional food supply and not just on isolated parts. Among others, cooperation, trust and digital solutions were identified as key success factors when aiming to increase the share of regional food in the hospitality sector and communal catering.

The work focused on the underlying feedback structures occurring in regional food supply in two, rural Bavarian regions in Germany with their unique geographical settings. Findings may, consequently, not be entirely transferable to other regions with varying characteristics. Further research needs to be done to see how much these regional parameters influence digital logistics platforms.

The paper contributes to the existing scientific literature by showing the impact coming from digital logistics platforms on regional food supply systems. Developing CLDs provides a basis for future work and facilitates discussion for researchers and practitioners to support future real-world implementations.

There is growing recognition that transformation of healthcare systems towards health and well-being systems requires a continuous learning process. This explorative study aims to gain insight into the experiences with and investment in these learning processes within regional partnerships for health and in what they need to enhance their learning capacity to use the learning for transformation.

17 interviews were held with programme managers, data scientists, trusted advisors and a citizen representative, all involved in the learning process on a regional level in ten Dutch regional partnerships. The interviews were inductively and thematically analysed, focusing on the experiences and perceptions underlying the learning processes.

Regional partnerships invest in learning processes by organizing interactions between different groups of stakeholders and by reflecting on specific themes or on a region-wide level. Difficulty was found in region-wide reflection and in enhancing the learning capacity within the partnerships. Further enhancing the learning capacity required: (1) Investment in (the use of) expertise for translating learning outcomes into concrete action; (2) Leadership for change, underpinned by a shared sense of urgency to learn for transformation and (3) A facilitative environment for change which is both based on facilitative system structures and a basis of trust and commitment to learn and adapt.

The study highlighted the difficulty of learning on a region-wide level and the struggle to apply this learning for transformation. It provides insights into how learning processes and learning capacity can be further improved.

Can regional economic complexity improve the employment effect, and is the employment structure also affected by heterogeneity? In order to solve these doubts, this paper plans to carry out systematic theoretical analysis and quantitative tests on these problems.

Based on the macroeconomic data of 129 countries from 1995 to 2022, this paper empirically studies the impact of economic complexity on the employment effect and its mechanism channel by building relevant models.

The results show that regional economic complexity can significantly improve the employment effect of society. At the same time, regional economic complexity has an indirect positive role in promoting employment from two aspects: accumulating fiscal surplus and increasing the working-age population. The former can stimulate employment policies by increasing the government’s tax sources, while the latter can increase production specialization and complexity by stimulating demand and increasing employment. In addition, regional economic complexity will lead to job market differentiation, making the boundary between the service sector and the labor market between industry and agriculture and between the informal employment market and the formal employment more obvious, thus triggering the substitution effect of employment.

The possible innovations and marginal contributions of this paper are as follows: First, there are many studies on the influencing factors of employment or unemployment, and this paper provides a new research direction for the literature on the influencing factors of employment effect by using the concept of regional economic complexity for the first time. Second, this paper broadens the research perspective of the employment effect of regional economic complexity, divides the employment substitution effect of various sectors from the perspective of industrial structure and further analyzes the employment promotion effect of regional economic complexity.

The purpose of this study is shed light on the underlying forces behind entrepreneurship within a regional innovation system (RIS) in a remote rural region. The authors examine the following questions: Which are the main underlying forces behind the entrepreneurial process in a rural RIS characterized by traditionally low-tech, small-scale businesses? How can the development of a low-tech regional innovation system be conceptualized?

The design of the study is based on entrepreneurship theory. Data analysis followed practices used in phenomenography, a research approach used to analyse and identify commonalities and variations in populations' perceptions of a certain phenomenon. Data are composed using semi-structured interviews and a database composed of company information of all firms in the population.

A proactive mobilization of regional stakeholders and resources can be an important driving force behind the entrepreneurial process and generation of a rural RIS. Innovation can be generated within low-tech industries turning the rural context into an asset. An RIS in a remote rural context can be initiated and orchestrated by regional authorities, but knowledge brokering and orchestration can also be managed by networks of small-scale businesses brought together by mutual benefit and common interests.

Regional innovation systems theory is most often used to study high-tech industries. But by combining regional innovation systems with rural entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship context theory is a fruitful avenue to understand the role of rural entrepreneurship in regional development, even in remote and peripheral regions. Innovation does not need to entail high-tech international environments; it can appear as the result of efforts in low-tech industries in rural and remote environments. The authors’ findings need to be scrutinized; therefore, the authors call for more research on regional innovation systems in rural environments.

It is possible for regional authorities to orchestrate a development process through the actions of a strong regional agent but also by supporting the creation of networks of small businesses that are built on trust and common interests.

This study contributes to the literature with a new perspective to the study of entrepreneurship and of regional innovation systems. Entrepreneurship research with focus on rural contexts most often highlight limits to entrepreneurship and see entrepreneurship as “just running a business”. A perspective that starts from innovation and innovative behaviour, despite the rural context and embedded resources, helps to generate new knowledge that can enrich the understanding of entrepreneurship and also be the foundation for more precise business development policies in rural settings.

The study conceptualises universities as “cities of flows” to examine the East-West University Partnership (EWUP) in China, which is a pioneering initiative of cross-regional university collaboration linking over 220 institutions across China since 2001. The study explores the strategic enhancement of connective and collaborative capacity of universities to facilitate diverse flows of talent, knowledge and other resources within the broader context of China's sustainable development in higher education.

The study employs a qualitative single-case study design to investigate the EWUP within its real-life context using participant observation and documentary research. As an analogical inquiry, the study merges the insider and outsider perspectives of the researchers to identify patterns between theoretical constructs and empirical evidence.

The EWUP as a policy entrepreneurship has significantly contributes to coordinated, inclusive and sustainable development. Its spatial dynamics consists of structural, temporal and collaborative dynamics. They are characterised by centrality, connectivity and adaptability which are generated through the interplay among the nodes, linkages and fields of influence within the EWUP network. These dynamics showcase EWUP as a novel approach to managing long-term university partnerships between more and less developed regions.

The study reimagines universities and higher education systems through vivid analogies of cities and transportation networks and elucidates connectivity as a pivotal dimension of sustainability. It advocates for reexamining spatial theories in higher education, deepens insights into the dynamics of cross-regional university partnerships in coordinating educational and territorial development, and enriches discussions on Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD).

In Finland, tourism policymaking is centralised in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, without a specific tourism minister. Tourism policymaking and implementation are much influenced by networks and collaboration of tourism experts on governmental, regional, and local levels. Despite the efforts of involving different stakeholders in tourism policymaking, the process includes wicked problems and occasionally conflicts of interest between the levels. Finnish tourism policymaking relies on various ministries, indirect laws, and working groups on the governmental level; and on regional councils, cities, municipalities, and destination management or marketing organisations (DMO) on the regional level, before reaching the operative level in tourism organisations. At every level, workshops, and other means to engage stakeholders are utilised. On a regional and destination level tourism is governed based on the strategies of each city, municipality, and regional councils, with varying collaboration and stakeholder engagement. The coordinator may be a regional council, DMO, or another stakeholder, such as a cluster of tourism enterprises and institutions of higher education. The different levels of governance are finally followed by enterprises, with their own interests, strategies, and visions. This chapter discusses Finnish tourism policymaking, focussing on the region of Satakunta, the city of Pori, and the Yyteri coastal area. Furthermore, the chapter discusses the strategic decision to focus on developing the Yyteri coastal area to meet the needs of locals and visitors, and how appointing a Senior Advisor for Yyteri beach and coastal area is sought to provide practical improvements also on an enterprise level.

The sensitivity and fragility of the construction industry’s economic system make the economic resilience of the construction industry (ERCI) a key concern for stakeholders and decision-makers. This study aims to measure the ERCI, identify the heterogeneity and spatial differences in ERCI, and provide scientific guidance and improvement paths for the industry. It provides a foundation for the implementation of resilience policies in the construction industry of developing countries in the future.

The comprehensive index method, Theil index method, standard deviation ellipse method and geographic detector model are used to investigate the spatial differences, spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and the influencing factors of the ERCI from 2005 to 2020 in China.

The ERCI was “high in the east and low in the west”, and Jiangsu has the highest value with 0.64. The Theil index of ERCI shows a wave downward pattern, with significant spatial heterogeneity. The overall difference in ERCI is mainly caused by regional differences, with the contribution rates being higher by more than 70%. Besides, the difference between different regions is increasing. The ERCI was centered in Henan Province, showing a clustering trend in the “northeast-southwest” direction, with weakened spatial polarization and a shrinking distribution range. The market size, input level of construction industry factors, industrial scale and economic scale are the main factors influencing economic resilience. The interaction between each influencing factor exhibits an enhanced relationship, including non-linear enhancement and dual-factor enhancement, with no weakening or independent relationship.

Exploring the spatial differences and driving factors of the ERCI in China, which can provide crucial insights and references for stakeholders, authorities and decision-makers in similar construction economic growth leading to the economic growth of the national economy context areas and countries.

The construction industry development is the main engine for the national economy growth of most developing countries. This study establishes a comprehensive evaluation index on the resilience measurement and analyzes the spatial effects, regional heterogeneity and driving factors on ERCI in the largest developing country from a dynamic perspective. Moreover, it explores the multi-factor interaction mechanism in the formation process of ERCI, provides a theoretical basis and empirical support for promoting the healthy development of the construction industry economy and optimizes ways to enhance and improve the level of ERCI.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of Law No. 11 of 2018 on Islamic Financial Institutions in Aceh, Indonesia. It also aims to understand the balance between the economic rights of individuals under Shariah law and the broader concept of God’s rights, as interpreted by this legislation. In addition, the research argues that the implementation of Law No. 11 of 2018 is untimely, with a focus on examining its influence on the cumulative abnormal return (CAR) of Shariah banks and its slight contribution to the direct economic impact.

This study adopts a mixed-methods approach that integrates qualitative and quantitative analyses. The qualitative aspect uses a black-letter law approach for legislative scrutiny, whereas the quantitative aspect assesses economic indicators and firm performance using an event study analysis. The study also includes a two-tailed assessment to test hypotheses related to the law’s direct impact on institutional performance.

The study reveals that Law No. 11 of 2018 had minimal impact on national-scale corporate performance and a notable increase in poverty indices in Aceh, indicating a potential misalignment between the law’s intention and its economic consequences. The results also show the law’s ineffectiveness in significantly influencing the CAR of Islamic banks, highlighting a clash of norms and a lack of substantial economic substance in the implementation of Shariah compliance.

This research is geographically and legally focused on Aceh, Indonesia, with a short-term analysis that may not fully capture the long-term impacts. It primarily considers the stock price performance of specific institutions for quantitative analysis and identifies potential clashes and disharmony-in-law implementation from a qualitative perspective.

The findings suggest the need for legal frameworks that better comply Shariah principles with economic realities. Regional governments should consider modifying policies to balance religious values and economic objectives.

This research highlights the importance of balancing religious obligations with economic rights, indicating that strict interpretations of religious law can lead to adverse socioeconomic effects.

This study is unique in its comprehensive analysis of the convergence between religious law and economic rights, offering insights into the challenges faced in implementing Shariah-based economic policies in diverse economies, such as Indonesia.

The purpose of this paper is to present the learnings of a broker organization that started a new Population Health Management initiative in two regions in the Netherlands. The research focusses on the role of the broker organization itself in supporting stakeholders in the region to adopt a new implementation strategy designed by the broker organisation itself. The basis of this model was to organize, finance and monitor differently to improve the overall health of the population.

An action research approach was chosen to support the endeavours of the broker organization and to acquire practical knowledge on the role of a third-party in PHM implementation. Qualitative data were collected from documentary analysis, focus groups, logbooks and observational data from team meetings.

The main result is that the role of the broker organization to implement PHM was subject to change during the more than two years of the research. Several themes emerged that influenced these role changes, both internal and external, showing the complexity of providing PHM implementation support as a third-party to regional stakeholders.

We hypothesize that the role of a third-party changes depending on the maturity of the regional collaboration. The complexity of the transition in healthcare calls for constant adaptations, and thus learning and reflection, from all involved. Action research is a strong tool for this.

This paper is one of the first to report on the role of a third-party in PHM implementation. The action research methodology offered the right amount of flexibility to adhere to the complexity of the context and provided rich insights.