Regional Specializations in Green Incumbents and Green Start-ups in the German Transport Sector

Abstract

The regional variety of actors is considered a key determinant in the last decade's rich literature on the geography of eco-innovation and green regional development. However, little is known about the extent to which regions differ in their specialization in new and established eco-innovation actors. In this article, we propose a regional typology based on green specializations concerning both incumbents and start-ups in the German transport sector. While many regions show green specializations in either start-ups or incumbents, only some regions manage to specialize in both. We find that the above-average regional specialization in eco-innovation does not seem to be primarily a phenomenon of urban areas, but rather depends on regions' human capital endowments and technological capabilities. The observed heterogeneity in eco-innovation specializations, both in innovation centers and lagging regions, calls for regional policies that are more sensitive to these differences.