Åge Mariussen is research manager and senior researcher at the Department of Regional Studies, University of Vaasa, Finland, and Nordland Research Institute, Bodø, Norway.Seija Virkkala is professor in the Department of Regional Studies, University of Vaasa, Finland.Håkon Finne is senior research scientist at SINTEF Digital, Trondheim, Norway.Tone Merethe Aasen is senior research scientist at SINTEF Digital, Trondheim, Norway.

• Introduction. Smart specialisation: expectations, challenges and solutions Åge Mariussen and Seija Virkkala PART I Entrepreneurial discovery processes and their institutional challenges 1 Self-discovery enabling entrepreneurial discovery processes Seija Virkkala and Åge Mariussen  2 Entrepreneurial discovery processes in different regional contexts. A conceptual discussion Arne Isaksen, Nina Kyllingstad, Jan Ole Rypestøl and Ann Camilla Schulze-Krogh 3 The Institutional worlds of entrepreneurial discovery. Finding a place for less developed regions Jiří Blažek and Kevin Morgan 4 Entrepreneurial discovery processes through a wicked game approach. Civil society engagement as a possibility for exploration Antti Mäenpää and Niklas Lundström PART II Collaborative micro-level arrangements creating new knowledge 5 Career mobility, hybridity and knowledge combination. A ‘third space’ perspective. Alice Lam 6 The bond, the bridge and the broker. Knowledge conversion in the university-industry nexus Håkon Finne and Tone Merethe Aasen 7 Approaching entrepreneurial discovery and knowledge conversion from a complexity perspective Tone Merethe Aasen 8 Entrepreneurial discovery processes, knowledge creation and knowledge space Seija Virkkala PART III Macro-level impacts from micro-level solutions 9 Emergence of new business areas in regional economies through entrepreneurial discovery processes Seija Virkkala and Åge Mariussen 10 Moving beyond related variety, creating firm-level ambidexterity for economic growth via the entrepreneurial discovery process Nhien Nguyen and Åge Mariussen 11 Smart specialisation and Interregional learning via thematic partnerships Åge Mariussen, Fatime Barbara Hegyi and Ruslan Rakhmatullin, PART IV Lessons from systems of innovation 12 Science-practice knowledge interaction in the Norwegian fish farming industry Tone Merethe Aasen,  Eli Fyhn Ullern and Åge Mariussen 13 The transformation of Lofoten islands into a year-round experience destination Jarle Løvland and Håkon Finne 14 Historical examples of entrepreneurial discovery. Revisiting the manufacturing history of Raufoss evolving between exploration and exploitation Asbjørn Karlsen PART V Summary and conclusions 15 Summary and conclusions Åge Mariussen and Håkon Finne