Driving Regional Sustainability through Smart Specialization: Insights from Podlaskie Voivodeship
Purpose: The aim of this article is to characterize the areas of smart specialization selected by the Podlasie region and to assess their impact on the competitiveness of this region. Design/Methodology/Approach: The article is based on information from secondary sources, mainly from the Entrepreneurship Development Plan, based on smart specialisations of the Podlaskie Voivodeship for 2015-2020+ and national and international legal documents and literature on the subject under study. The study also uses public statistics data published by the Central Statistical Office. The Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI) 2022 published by the European Commission and data on the GDP of the regions were used for the assessment. Findings: As it results from the conducted research, the identified smart specialisations in the Podlaskie Voivodeship have only a small impact on the development of the region. Practical Implications: Although the indicators reflecting the development of the region are growing, the research results do not indicate a connection between the growth of the discussed indicators and smart specialisations. Originality /value: Smart specialisations of the Podlaskie province do not have a direct impact on the development of the region.