Mundane innovation in the periphery: the foundational economy in a less developed region

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the role that foundational economy (FE) actors can play in innovation in peripheral regions. We argue that research which casts peripheral regions as backwaters of innovation may inadvertently underplay the potential for innovation in such places. Drawing on the peripheral innovation literature, and emerging research on the FE, we develop the concept of mundane innovation and explore its potential for peripheral regions. We address this question through a short case-study of Carmarthenshire (Wales) and find that it may offer potential for such regions to become leaders rather than the laggards they appear in the conventional innovation literature.