First published in 1997, this volume originates from the fourth cycle of GREMI (Groupe de Recherche Européen sur les Milieux Innovateurs) research, focusing on territorial innovative processes and the competitive advantages of the complex socio-economic fabric of milieu innovateurs.

The book is divided into three parts. The first, written by the editors, deals specifically with the multi-faced dimensions of local development, placing particular emphasis on the role of territory in producing/reproducing learning processes, tacit/codified knowledge storage and government structures. The second part reports different case studies and their theoretical systematisation, carried out with the same methodology by some ten équipes working in ten different European countries. The last part is devoted to a more general view on the structural adjustment dynamics of innovative milieu, raising useful questions of strategy and policy.