Innovation Systems in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Territorial Challenge of the Campania Region

The cognitive objective of the work is to underline the strategic importance of knowledge and collaboration networks in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In support of these considerations, the process of innovation in the new technological paradigm will be described, with the aim of highlighting that the better the level of human capital, the greater the chances of increasing competitiveness. The reflection will be followed by the evolution of the concept of the Innovation System, with reference to the actors and the network model, as well as to the policies that help shape a suitable context for the diffusion of the knowledge economy. The systemic approach will be found in the Campania Region, which although not starting from favorable positions in the ranking of the most innovative territories, is striving to face the territorial challenge. Although many parties agree with the need to govern change and the idea that technology should only play a role in supporting and enhancing human activity is making headway, in reality there remains a considerable distance between the declared intentions and the real practices followed in the era of digital transformation. The importance of this study lies in the observation that in the face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is not enough to simply de-linearise the possible impacts of enabling technologies in forecasting terms, but it is necessary to enter into the merits of the paths of change, in order to identify to use the appropriate ways to guide and accompany them, which should be governed by an innovation systems governance that guarantees the participation of all stakeholders