Research profile

My research interests span the fields of economic geography and regional studies and much of my work is related to regional economic path development with a focus on the ways in which structural conditions, governance arrangements and different forms of agency shape development trajectories over time. My current research examines how regional opportunity spaces are constructed and contested by firms, intermediaries and public actors, and what this implies for innovation and long-term development trajectories. I am particularly interested in how system-level functions and governance arrangements shape path development.

A second area of interest is territorial innovation models, territorial knowledge dynamics and knowledge anchoring. My previous research has examined how firms, intermediary organisations and public actors organise learning and innovation in regional and multi-locational networks, and how local interactions relate to extra-regional linkages. A recurring theme is how knowledge shared across organisational and sectoral boundaries, including the roles that intermediaries play in supporting cross-sectoral recombination. This work also considers implications for public policy, especially in relation to education, skills and innovation.

Finally, I also work on sustainability and transition challenges, with a particular focus on the tourism sector, where there are tensions between environmental limits, community impacts and growth-oriented business models. I am interested in how sustainability is defined, negotiated and enacted by businesses, destination management organisations and local communities, and I have engaged in various  debates about sustainability in tourism such as sustainable work, and sustainability in place branding. Most recently, through the EU Horizon project CROCUS, I have been working on sustainable business model innovation in cultural and creative tourism, working with local stakeholders in cross-border living labs.