Evidence revisited: literature on smart specialisation calls for more mixed research designs

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present an overview of the applied research methods that have been used to examine smart specialisation. For this review, papers from various sources were collected and reviewed multiple times. The findings show that only a few papers applied mixed research methods. Primarily, there are more qualitative than quantitative methods used among papers concerning smart specialisation. More efforts to use mixed methods in smart specialisation could yield findings that are applicable to knowledge-based policymaking. To further illuminate the research discipline of smart specialisation, applying advanced, quantitative research techniques would enrich future efforts of all quadruple helix stakeholders engaged in smart specialisation.