Are rural peripheries also innovation peripheries?

Abstract

The mainstream theory of innovation production implies that urban centers and agglomerations are predominantly the main areas of innovation. By reviewing the literature, we answer the research question of whether innovation can be considered as a major activity of centers and urban regions. The conclusion is that the vast majority of research on the process of innovation focuses on centers, although it can be found on the periphery as well. However, peripheral innovation activity is slow, hidden and based on local traditions and capabilities in many cases. Innovation can thus be concentrated in centers, but may also be present in peripheral, rural areas. Innovations are less noticeable on the periphery because the final phases of the innovation process may be connected to cities. For this reason, the position that innovations are created exclusively in urban centers requires further elaboration and investigation. The peripheral innovation process is an under-researched area. The spatial mapping and understanding of innovation value chains is to be developed further. The theoretical approach that innovation is produced by networks (and the concentration points of these) could mean a common theoretical ground for further research, integrating the scientific body of literature examined in this paper.