In recent decades, innovation research has played an important role in exploring the drivers of local and regional economic development. Nowadays, it is part of the generally accepted scientific canon that various forms of innovation (technological, business and social innovation) play a defining role in the economic development and competitiveness of cities, regions and countries. The context above points out that innovation is an important factor in the spatiality of society, but at the same time geography, more precisely geographical distance or proximity, is a determining element of innovation. In the present study, we provide an overview of the latest theoretical and empirical research developments in the “geography of innovation”, more precisely in the “geography of social innovation”, with application in Hungary.
Keywords: social innovation, social innovation geography, regional development, geographical proximity
