Title
Governance entrepreneurship in regional economic development: individual agency in Austria
Author
Abstract
Scholars increasingly highlight the role of individual agency for economic development in areas facing socioeconomic transformations. Based on an analytical framework of governance entrepreneurship, this paper explores how entrepreneurial individuals influence local decision-making and alter governance arrangements when implementing new economic development projects. It provides a case study analysis of two peripheral towns in Austria in order to gain a deeper understanding of individual relevancies and behaviour in regional economic development. The findings demonstrate how entrepreneurial individuals (re)arrange governance by (re)combining horizontal and vertical pipelines, mixing informal and formal practices, seeking individual legitimization, and promoting regional rescaling. The analysis also reveals the temporal nature of governance entrepreneurship and suggests differentiating between a long-term governance transition and a temporary governance shift. Overall, the paper provides a middle-range theory of governance entrepreneurship that might contribute to a deeper understanding of agency in regional economic development.
Keywords
governance entrepreneurshipregional governanceagencyregional economic developmentinstitutional entrepreneurship
Object type
Language
English [eng]
Persistent identifier
Appeared in
Title
Regional Studies, Regional Science
Volume
7
Issue
1
ISSN
2168-1376
Issued
2020
From page
550
To page
567
Publication
Informa UK Limited
Version type
Date issued
2020
Access rights
Rights
Rights statement
© 2020 The Author(s)
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