Journal of Regional Research (Investigaciones Regionales)

Call for Papers Special Issue - Industry 4.0 and sustainability in firms, clusters & industrial districts and regions
 
SPONSORED by AICO 2020/123 and AEI/FEDER EU RTI2018-095739-B-100
 
Coordinator: Professor Dr. JOSE-LUIS HERVAS-OLIVER https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=8XRfZqMAAAAJ&hl=es&oi=ao

KEY WORDS

Industry 4.0; digitization of SMEs; sustainability; regions; clusters; industrial districts

RATIONALE

This Special Issue addressed Sustainability and Industry 4.0 topics. Generally, Industry 4.0 encompasses the digitization of manufacturing, constituting the manufacturing-dedicated digitization of business and industries. Industry 4.0 is also known as the Industrial Internet of Things and refers to a new paradigm of digital-based manufacturing and industrial inter-firm connected value (e.g., Kagermann et al., 2013). The concept includes different digital enabling technologies, such as the Internet of Things, Additive Manufacturing, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and Blockchain, among others. Industry 4.0 in clusters and regions is nascent. How does Industry 4.0 shape industrial clusters and districts? What are the fundamental policy initiatives developed to fit Industry 4.0 to clusters, regional development and firm competitiveness?
In addition, sustainability constitute a critical topic in regions, clusters, districts and innovation systems. Sustainability (e.g. circular economy, SDG, eco-design, environmental impacts, etc.) are of utmost importance for shaping regions and their innovation. Thus, a cross-disciplinary approach (from business, clusters, regions, policymakers, etc.) is required to fully understand the complexity of the challenge. We believe that scholars from different perspectives meeting at the regional space stimulate discussion for cross-fertilizing.
 
This Special Issue attempts to provide a cross-fertilization of different literatures and perspectives, integrating firm innovation, competitiveness and clusters/regional literature.

POTENTIAL TOPICS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS FOR THE SPECIAL ISSUE MAY INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO

·       How   does  Industry   4.0   shape  firms   in   industrial  clusters’  and   regions’ competitiveness?
·       Industry 4.0 in cluster firms: individual and collective strategies
·       How does Industry 4.0 promote collective actions for cluster firms transition into digitization?
·       How are policymakers and policy initiatives responding to this challenge? What are the innovation policies promoting Industry 4.0 and digitization in general?
·       What are potential barriers constraining clusters adaptation to Industry 4.0?
·       How does Industry 4.0 shape collaboration for innovation in clusters and regions?
·       Place-based sustainable innovation
·       Sustainability in space and policymaking
·       Green and social innovation in regions
·       Industry 4.0 and sustainability effects
·       SDG in systems and regions

Papers presented at ERSA-2021, Rethinking Clusters 2021 and the 2021 Reunión de Estudios Regionales are special candidates for a Special Issue in Journal of Regional Research. The Journal of Regional Research – Investigaciones Regionales is the flagship journal of the Spanish Regional Science Association (https://investigacionesregionales.org/en/). The Special Issue is also open to other contributors working on those topics.

SCHEDULE

-Full paper submission through the Journal’s portal : Open from October, 1st, 2021 to December, 31st, 2021. https://investigacionesregionales.org/en/envio-de-articulos/submission-of- papers-and-others-contributions/
 

THE JOURNAL

The Journal of Regional Research (Investigaciones Regionales, in Spanish) is listed in SCOPUS (Q2 in Economics, Q3 in Geography and Development) and Clarivate (Emerging Sourcing Citation Index, Q3 in Economics according to the Journal Citation Indicator of the JCR). While being specialized in regional issues, this journal is multidisciplinary and strongly devoted to European and Latin American topics. It is an academic journal, where all papers are subject to a double and blind review process. The journal is full Open Access, free for authors and readers.

SELECTED REFERENCES
Ahmed, R. O., Al-Mohannadi, D. M., & Linke, P. (2021). Multi-objective resource integration for sustainable industrial clusters. Journal of Cleaner Production, 316, 128237.
Bellandi, M., de Propris, L., Santini, E., 2019. Industry 4.0+ challenges to local productive systems and place- based integrated industrial policies, in: Transforming Industrial Policy for the Digital Age. Edward Elgar Publishing., pp. 201–218. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788976152.00016
Bellandi, M., Plechero, M., & Santini, E. (2021). Forms of place leadership in local productive systems: from endogenous rerouting to deliberate resistance to change. Regional Studies, 1-10.
Bellandi, M., Santini, E., Vecciolini, C., de Propris, L., 2020. Industry 4.0: Transforming local productive systems in the Tuscany region, in: Industry 4.0 and Regional Transformations. Routledge
Corradini, C., Santini, E., & Vecciolini, C. (2021). The geography of Industry 4.0 technologies across European regions. Regional Studies, 1-14.
De Propris, L., & Bailey, D. (2021). Pathways of regional transformation and Industry 4.0. Regional Studies.
de Propris, L., Bailey, D., 2020. Industry 4.0 and Regional Transformations, Industry 4.0 and Regional Transformations. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429057984
De Steur, H., Temmerman, H., Gellynck, X., & Canavari, M. (2020). Drivers, adoption, and evaluation of sustainability practices in Italian wine SMEs. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(2), 744-762.
Hervás-Oliver, J. L. (2021b). Industry 4.0 in industrial districts: regional innovation policy for the Toy Valley district in Spain. Regional Studies, 1-12.
Hervas-Oliver, J. L., Di Maria, E., & Bettiol, M. (2021a). Industry 4.0 in firms, clusters and regions: The new digital imperative. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, 31(1), 1-11.
Hervas-Oliver, J.L., Estelles-Miguel, S., Mallol-Gasch, G., Boix-Palomero, J., 2019. A place-based policy for promoting Industry 4.0: the case of the Castellon ceramic tile district. European Planning Studies 27. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2019.1642855
Jankowska, B., Di Maria, E., & Cygler, J. (2021). Do clusters matter for foreign subsidiaries in the Era of industry 4.0? The case of the aviation valley in Poland. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 27(2), 100150.
Martinelli, A., Mina, A., & Moggi, M. (2021). The enabling technologies of industry 4.0: Examining the seeds of the fourth industrial revolution. Industrial and Corporate Change, Forthcoming.

The RSPP Workshop on Pandemics, Location and Mobility mobilizes members of the Editorial Team, Guest Editors and Editorial Board of the journal and is open to the participation of participants that want to take part in the workshop and submit a paper to a special issue of the journal.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on human activities around the world. Mobility, the vehicle of social interaction par excellence, was the first sector to be affected, given its close and critical link with the spread of the pandemic. The consequences for mobility and the subsequent limitations of the range of movements continue today at variable spatial scales, according to the progress on vaccination programs and the health indicators/dashboard of the moment. Clearly, the links are complex and the causalities are at this stage difficult to establish.
This structural pattern has had an impact on mobility practices at international, regional and local levels, changing the volume, geography and modes of travel used. International travel has fallen drastically. Public transport has been penalized in relation to individual modes, especially the car, although walking and cycling are increasing in some cities, also benefiting from new urban planning policies (tactical urbanism measures). The COVID-19 pandemic also seems to be having an impact on the long-run location of households and businesses, which is likely to change urban forms.

Submissions

International Conference on Territorial and Inter-Organizational Cooperation’2021 will take place in Brenna, Poland from 22.09 to 24.09.2021. The Conference is addressed to researchers and practitioners, dealing with different aspects of territorial and inter-organizational cooperation in the context of local, regional and international dimension.

The Conference is characterized by its interdisciplinary approach resulting from raising multiperspective scientific problems and innovative formulas. The Conference’s main aim would be networking and forming international, interdisciplinary scientific teams working together on new scientific challenges. My intention is for the Conference to become an international platform of scientific cooperation represented by different academic centres and practitioners, who should take full advantage of the research results.

The Conference attendance is free of charge thanks to the ‘Regional Initiative of Excellence’ project funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The costs of travel and accommodation are covered by participants. I believe that establishing continuous scientific cooperation with Research Institute on Territorial and Inter-Organizational Cooperation, which I run, would bring benefits for each Conference participant in the form of joint projects and scientific publications.

https://wsb.edu.pl/icotic2021 

The College of Built Environments (CBE) at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle is inviting applications for the position of Chair of the Runstad Department of Real Estate (RDRE). This full-time academic appointment will be tenured at the Associate Professor or Professor level, depending on qualifications. The base academic appointment is for nine months with two additional months while serving as Chair, with salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. The start date for this position is negotiable, but may be as early as July 1, 2022. The Chair role is a three-year renewable term, with the typical length of this administrative appointment being six years. After serving as Chair, the individual will be a full-time faculty member in the department.

The new chair will engage both the academic and professional community in an effort to expand the department’s local, national, and global contributions. The department offers a Bachelor of Science degree with a Major in Real Estate, a Real Estate Minor, a Master of Science degree in Real Estate, and two Graduate Certificates (Graduate Certificate in Real Estate and Graduate Certificate in Housing Studies). The department currently consists of four full-time faculty members and 19 affiliated lecturers. It has expanding undergraduate programs, and a strong and stable graduate program with a global alumni network.

The CBE is a key unit within the University of Washington–which is a world-renowned Research 1 public university set within the striking natural environment of the Puget Sound region. In carrying out its mission, the CBE engages processes for planning, designing, and investing in environments by welcoming the expertise of citizens, community members, and others with diverse backgrounds and a wide range of lived experiences.

A detailed leadership profile is available at this link.

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, 1) a letter of application, 2) curriculum vitae, 3) statement of research and teaching interests, 4) statement of administrative philosophy and experience, 5) a diversity statement that describes your experience related to diversity, inclusion and equity, as well as your potential to contribute to the CBE diversity mission. Additional materials may be requested from candidates as the search process progresses. For fullest consideration, application materials should be received by November 16, 2021.

The University of Washington is using Interfolio's Faculty Search to organize the application processes for this search. Applicants to this position will need to create a free Dossier account to submit all application materials. For more information and to set up a Dossier account, go to: https://apply.interfolio.com/93321. For more information on signing up, accessing your account, or submitting your application, please review Interfolio's help and support section or contact them via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or phone: (877) 997-8807.

WittKieffer is assisting the University of Washington in this search. Nominations and inquiries can be directed to Ryan Crawford and Julia Bradley at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.

Regional Science Policy & Practice (RSPP)

Call for Papers for a Special Issue on:

Pandemics, Location and Mobility

Submission of Titles and Abstracts to: Louafi Bouzouina, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., before September 30, 2021, with feedback before October 7, 2021.

Submission of complete papers to: https://rsaiconnect.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17577802, for the Special Issue on: Pandemics, Location and Mobility until December 31, 2021, with foreseen publication of accepted papers online in 2022, and the special issue compiled before December 2022. Contact for details This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Motivation and features

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on human activities around the world. Mobility, the vehicle of social interaction par excellence, was the first sector to be affected, given its close and critical link with the spread of the pandemic. The consequences for mobility and the subsequent limitations of the range of movements continue today at variable spatial scales, according to the progress on vaccination programs and the health indicators/dashboard of the moment. Clearly, the links are complex and the causalities are at this stage difficult to establish.

This structural pattern has had an impact on mobility practices at international, regional and local levels, changing the volume, geography and modes of travel used. International travel has fallen drastically. Public transport has been penalized in relation to individual modes, especially the car, although walking and cycling are increasing in some cities, also benefiting from new urban planning policies (tactical urbanism measures). The COVID-19 pandemic also seems to be having an impact on the long-run location of households and businesses, which is likely to change urban forms.

The consideration of accessibility for mobility in times of pandemic and the return to the prominence of concepts such as the "quarter-hour city" is probably not inconsistent with the hypothesis of a rising popularity of peri-urbanization. Periods of containment have been conducive to a renewed interest in single-family homes and the attractiveness of out-of-city areas. The development of digital technology and the possibility of working from home, although they create social divide, are facilitating factors. Large-scale experimentation with telecommuting has led some companies to review their real estate and location strategies with a view to reducing office costs.

This Special issue of RSPP welcomes contributions that address all aspects of pandemic-related effects on location and mobility, including:

• The role of mobility on the spread of COVID-19 pandemic
• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mobility behavior
• COVID-19 pandemic and household location choices
• COVID-19 pandemic and firm location strategies
• The impact of teleworking on long-term travel behavior & location choice
• The impact of E-commerce on shopping trips & logistics organization
• Location, mobility and digital divide
• Land use and transport policies during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Pandemics and resilient cities & regions
• Social interaction and the ‘new mobility’
• Urban planning and policy in a post-pandemic world

The RSPP Guest Editor for the Special Issue on: Pandemics, Location and Mobility is:

Louafi BOUZOUINA

University of Lyon, France

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Visiting professor, Open University, The Netherlands

Addendum

Authors whose Abstracts have been preselected for the Special Issue of RSPP will be invited for presentation of their draft paper at a workshop in Ponta Delgado in the Azores on November 1-2, 2021, with a financial support for a few days accommodation.

RSPP Call for Papers for a Special Issue on Emerging Technologies and Regional Development

Following the 17^th PRSCO Summer Institute conference, we invite submission of the papers to https://rsaiconnect.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17577802 for the Special Issue on Emerging Technologies and Regional Development. We welcome both papers presented and not presented at the conference for this issue. The submission deadline is January 31, 2022 and the special issue is expected to be published in late 2022. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you need more information.

Motivation

Technology has been changing the business landscape, challenging status quo, yet, creating opportunities to business leaders for innovative ways of thinking and potential growth. Financial Technology – FinTech – refers to technological innovations in the areas of banking and finance, facilitating the interactions among market participants and promoting the efficiency of transactions. Until now, many applications of FinTech have been widely available to users around the world.  At the same time, blockchain and distributed ledger technology have risen to one of the hottest topics in regional development as several blockchain solutions have been adopted in various sectors such as public, financial, business, technology and education.  In addition, new technologies create more opportunities for less developed countries to make significant leaps that will put them on par with more developed countries.

According to Czvetkó, Honti and Abonyi (2021), the five main dimensions of regional development in this new high-tech era include higher education and lifelong learning, labour market, technological readiness, innovation and investment that are interrelated to the Triple Helix actors including academic, industry and the government. All these dimensions aim to strengthen the competitiveness and development of a region.

From the higher education and lifelong learning perspective, a new market demand has been created whereby the industry requires a more skilled workforce with new skillsets due to digital transformation and innovation. For the labour market, the transition to a more technology-driven economy has both created new jobs and displaced many other jobs. However, the pressure is there for governments and institutions whereby new skill development models are required to ensure job opportunities. Investment and innovation are tightly linked to each other since financial incentives play an important role in innovation. However, the innovation and equipment of businesses might not be sufficient to determine the level of technological readiness in a region and a high degree of flexibility is required to form a basis for digital culture and skills.

This Special Issue of RSPP welcomes contributions that address all aspects of emerging technologies and regional development, including but not limited to:

• Blockchain solutions in regional development
• Big Data in regional development
• FinTech and its impact on regional development
• FinTech/Blockchain regulatory framework
• Industry 4.0 and regional development

The RSPP Guest Editors for the Special Issue on Emerging Technologies and Regional Development:

Professor Budy Resosudarmo, Australian National University, Australia

Professor Rachel Franklin, Newcastle University, the U.K.

Professor Soushi Suzuki, Hokkai-Gakuen University, Japan

Associate Professor Thai Nguyen, RMIT University, Vietnam

Associate Professor Vikash Ramiah, University of Wollongong, UAE

Please find attached the call for papers from NECTAR Cluster 5 (Leisure, Recreation and Tourism) for an international workshop on "Smart Transport for Sustainable Tourism". This meeting will be held in Évora (Portugal) during September 12-14, 2022. 

The deadline for submission of abstracts is July 15, 2022.

More information can be found in the attached call.

The 44th annual conference of ANZRSAI will be hosted by the European Union Centre at RMIT University.

The venue is the RMIT City Campus in Melbourne.

The dates are 6-7 December 2021.

The ANZRSAI Council was disappointed to postpone our 44th Annual Conference last yearThe ANZRSAI Council was disappointed to postpone our 44th Annual Conference last yearbecause of the COVID-19 outbreak, but is delighted that the European Union Centre at RMIThas offered to host the conference in December. This will be a hybrid conference, with optionsto attend in person or on-line through Microsoft Teams. If your work involves regions, pleasejoin us for our 43rd Annual Conference at RMIT, Melbourne. ANZRSAI welcomes proposals forcontributed papers, for themed panels, or for special sessions, on any topic related to regions.For those who can attend in person, the venue is the City campus of RMIT on Swanston Streetin the heart of the City of Melbourne. More information is available at: www.anzrsai.org 

The First Call for Papers is available here.

Further information about the conference is available here.