Technological paths and smart specialization: analysis of regional entry and exit in Turkey

Smart specialization (SS) strategy emerged as a policy framework within the European Union’s (EU) regional policies, particularly after the 2008 financial crisis. Although a wide range of literature on smart specialization exists, there is limited empirical evidence on how the SS framework correlates with regional entrance and exit of technologies. Moreover, little is known about the connection between SS variables and technological growth paths, particularly in the context of a developing country. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between two building blocks of SS (relatedness and complexity) on technological trajectories in a developing country. Using regional patent data for Turkey’s regions at the NUTS3 level between 1978 and 2017, the study investigated patterns of regional trajectories by exploring how entry and exit are correlated within the SS framework. GDP per capita, population, the number of universities and techno-parks, Herfindahl–Hirschman Index, and complexity of regions were included in the study as control variables. The results showed that technological complexity is negatively correlated with the probability of entry, and positively correlated with the probability of exit. The results also revealed the role of technological relatedness as a tool to attract new and complementary technologies to a region. However, correlations between relatedness and probability of entry are weakened as the number of universities and techno-parks increases in a region, while the correlations between complexity and exit are enhanced, particularly with the presence of universities.