Negrea Alina Petronela

The Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE)

negrea_alina_petronela@yahoo.com

Valentin Cojanu

The Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE)

cojanu@ase.ro

Supporting Regional Competitiveness Through Innovation.

Case Study: Sud Muntenia

Abstract: The present research underlies on the idea that recently, in both governmental long term strategies and economic theories, regions are considered as centres of economic growth and as hubs in knowledge spill-over of and that innovation is a key component of long-term economic prosperity. The analysis focuses on discovering how regional competitiveness can be supported by innovation, emphasizing also the role that economic agglomeration and clusters have in this process. The study is based on a Romanian region, Sud Muntenia, and presents an image of the innovation support structures, academic environment, innovation partnerships and clusters allocation in the region in comparison to the national level. The used methodology relies on quantitative and qualitative instruments, information being processed from statistical data, focus groups and questionnaires applied on the main regional actors involved in the innovation process.

Keywords: competitiveness, regional development, innovation, clusters, Sud Muntenia.

JEL Classification: O31, R11.