Creativity as a Key Constituent for Smart Specialization Strategies (S3), What Is in It for Peripheral Regions? Co-creating Sustainable and Resilient Tourism with Cultural and Creative Industries

Christopher Meyer, Laima Gerlitz and Monika Klein
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Christopher Meyer: Department of Business Administration, School of Business and Governance, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia
Laima Gerlitz: Wismar Business School, Hochschule Wismar, University of Applied Sciences: Technology, Business and Design, Philipp-Müller-Str. 14, 23966 Wismar, Germany
Monika Klein: Finance and Management, Faculty of Economics, University of Szczecin, 70-453 Szczecin, Poland

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-31

Abstract: Sustainable tourism is one of the key sectors in the South Baltic Sea Region (SBSR), which belongs to the role model for sustainability—the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). In this context, resilience, recovery and sustainability become key common threads calling for new approaches mitigating negative impacts, upscaling resilience capacity and boosting recovery in the post-pandemic era. The present work aims at revealing conceptual and practical pathways for policy makers and businesses in revitalizing sustainable tourism in the region by emphasizing cultural and creative industries (CCIs) as strong contributors to sustainable development and economic ecosystems, such as tourism. Tourism is also one of the key thematic areas of the smart specialization strategies (S3) in the SBSR. However, there is almost no link between CCIs’ potential for sustainable and resilient tourism and their contribution to the co-design and co-creation of S3. CCIs are rather absent agents in quadruple helix networks supporting S3 policy implementation. The literature on this topic is still premature, and represents a clear gap in knowledge. By virtue of these circumstances, the present research investigates how CCIs contribute and reveal new linkages between local assets, potential markets and societal challenges by engaging them as proven sustainable innovation and transition brokers in transnational quadruple helix partnerships following S3 policies in accordance with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), thus supporting sustainable and resilient tourism. Moreover, this paper aims at advocating for development of rural and peripheral regions, thus reducing the so-called “rural marginalization”. In addition, this paper also supports ongoing recent discussions on related vs. unrelated diversification policy within the S3 realm.

Keywords: CCIs; smart specialization strategies (S3); regional innovation strategies on smart specialization (RIS3); sustainability; resilience; South Baltic Sea Region; peripheral region; quadruple helix; transformative innovation policy; ecosystems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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