The role of social innovation for a knowledge-based local development: insights from the literature review

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive structured literature review of papers published with a focus on 'social innovation for knowledge-based local development'. The papers published in journals in the range 1997-2019 are analysed to derive insights and implications about the role of social innovation for local development according to a knowledge-based perspective. The analysis of the literature highlights the lack of a homogenous investigation of the relationships between social innovation and knowledge-based local development. However, findings show the growing importance of the theme and underline some relevant research streams: 1) Dynamics of social innovation for territorial development; 2) Promoting participatory development processes for interactive learning, networking and knowledge exchange; and 3) The role of institutions to promote, sustain and develop knowledge-based territorial development systems. The paper concludes with a discussion of the open questions for future research.