| Title | Chapter 1 |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | Local economic development, innovation, new technology, and green economies: Exploring current research trends |
| Contributor | Marius Venter(author) |
| Chané de Bruyn(author) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2025.BK566.01 |
| Landing page | https://books.aosis.co.za/index.php/ob/catalog/book/566 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Marius Venter & Chané de Bruyn. Licensee: AOSIS (Pty) Ltd. The moral rights of the editors and authors have been asserted. |
| Publisher | AOSIS |
| Long abstract | Concepts like innovation, Fourth Industrial Revolution, sustainability, smart cities, green economies and new technology all have an impact on how modern, knowledge-intensive economies operate. Research has shown that green technological innovation plays a major role in the growth and development of regional economies by facilitating the transformation of the industrial structure, optimising energy consumption and enhancing green total factor productivity. Developing countries often depend more on implementing current innovations than on developing new ones. This strategy may result in ‘path dependence’ and technological dead ends, which would reduce the possibility for long-term innovation. Current research, especially in developing countries, provides valuable insights into the challenges and potential impact of innovation and green economies on local economic development (LED) in these countries; however, it does not explicitly outline potential policy interventions to promote innovation and new technology in support of sustainability and greener economies. This chapter provides a systematic review of the current trends in research relating to innovation, new technology and green economies in LED. This can significantly aid in understanding research related to LED, focusing on innovation, new technology and green economies in developing countries by providing a comprehensive synthesis of existing studies and identifying key themes, gaps and effective ways forward. |
| Print length | 24 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
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Marius Venter is the founder and director of the Centre for Local Economic Development (CENLED) based at the University of Johannesburg since 2008. CENLED houses the PASCAL Africa Centre with Venter as the director. CENLED’s focal areas are economic development, in particular through entrepreneurship in local communities across South Africa. Venters served as the deputy chairperson of the Small Business Development Agency (SEDA). He has been the driving force in establishing a network of academics and practitioners in these fields in all South African universities, leading to the establishment of the professional body, the Economic Development Council of South Africa (EDCSA), which he chairs. He has more than 40 years’ hands-on experience in small business development and entrepreneurial activities, mainly in the local government sphere. Venter recently received a certificate of appreciation and an Honorary International Fellowship from the Centre for Neighbourhood Studies in Manila in recognition for his expertise, contribution and dedication in the field of Neighbourhood Science in pursuit of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.
Chané de Bruyn is a researcher in CENLED at UJ, South Africa. She has a PhD in Economics, with a focus on LED. She is also certified by the Economic Development Council of South Africa (EDCSA) as an Economic Developer in the field of LED. In addition, she is a member of the policymaker FutureFinance Law Hub. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, ranging across quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method approaches in international and national journals as well as at conference proceedings and book chapters. Her research focus is centred on topics relating to LED, development economics, sustainable development and tourism development.