Knowledge drivers, business collaboration and competitiveness in rural and urban regions

Many rural regions are characterised by low technology-intensive activities. Their predominant focus is often on primary, agri-food, and natural resources and services sectors, and there is a competitive gap with respect to urban regions. The objective of this article is to determine the contribution of the innovation system to regional development, distinguishing between rural and urban regions. Qualitative comparative analysis was used to study 256 EU NUTS 2 regions. The analysis helped identify 'recipes' of drivers of regional competitiveness in rural and urban regions. These innovation recipes consist of varying combinations of private and public R&D expenditure, the presence or absence of top-ranked universities and the percentage of SMEs that collaborate in innovation activities. In rural regions, excellence in higher education combined with strong public and private R&D offers an important recipe for regional competitiveness. Alternative pathways include the presence of business collaboration as a driver of competitiveness.