This monograph presents the experience in the implementation of smart specialization strategies (S3) from multilevel policy governance, as well as from the bottom-up perspectives of firms, clusters, and networks in selected European countries. The presented research focuses on relevance and feasibility of the S3 adoption, emphasizing the importance of linking policy considerations with partnerships at lower governance levels. The major contribution of the presented research rests in theoretical implications and practical recommendations relevant for the implementation of regional S3 in the European context, with the possibility of place-based adoption in other environments. The book is also valuable for synthesizing the most recent advancements in smart specialization as a policy concept and the concept of transformation and growth for territorial units and economic entities. This book aims to further diffuse and expand the academic community's learning of the new S3 approach in Europe and beyond. The book will be of interest and useful to the academic community of researchers and doctoral students focused on regional innovation development and related policy, as well as on entrepreneurship, networks, and clusters. Public sector professionals dealing with regional development, regional innovation policies, and industrial transformation will also benefit from its content.

This book contributes to the emerging research on the growth process of firms, with a focus on the expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A comprehensive approach to the issue of small firm growth draws upon empirical findings of the characteristics and economic importance of high-growth enterprises and the extant base of theoretical approaches to the growth of firms, with an emphasis on the literature of firm boundaries (scope and size). Consequently, this research adopts a deductive approach to building the conceptual framework of SME growth by integrating the resource-based view of the firm and transaction cost theory. This integrative theoretical framework was tested by using the multi-case study method to conclude with a proposal of the model of the growth process of SMEs. The model explains the choices of high-growth entrepreneurs regarding contractual arrangements, portfolio development, sources of new products, and associated governance in the expansion process. Consistent with the heterogeneity of SME expansion, the research reveals three equifinal patterns of these choices instead of only one path. This book is valuable for bridging separate and divergent streams of the literature on firms' growth, namely, entrepreneurship, microeconomics, and strategic management literature related to firm boundary decisions.