Stakeholders and their dynamics are often neglected in innovation system literature. The importance of the bioeconomy is growing due to its implications for addressing environmental challenges, shaping economic decisions, markets, and sustainable development. This paper analyses stakeholders’ dynamics for knowledge creation and innovation to transit from unsustainable practices to the sustainable use of biological resources—the bioeconomy. The originality of this paper is the creation of an analytical framework to characterise the interactions of stakeholders and how these interactions reshape innovation systems to create a new narrative and knowledge-base platform for innovation. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through surveys between 2022 and 2024. We explored the dynamics of 29 stakeholders involved and collaborating in R&D activities from the biotechnology sector in Caldas, Colombia. Our findings show that dynamics towards the bioeconomy are occurring only at the discursive level. Stakeholders carry out research activities to generate income rather than for innovative purposes, overlooking informal interactions that create novel ideas that could translate into solutions, services, and products. We conclude that the bioeconomy transition needs a systemic disequilibrium with a new institutional infrastructure that enables stakeholders, including civil society, to create a structural change for embracing innovation dynamics.

A nivel global el análisis desde varias perspectivas ha señalado que las deficiencias en los procesos de planificación de la utilización del espacio urbano y rural, ha generado desarrollos espaciales desiguales con sus consecuentes problemas sociales y económicos (Bi et al., 2022 Bi, G., Yang, Q., & Yan, Y. (2022). Rural settlement reconstruction integrating land suitability and individual difference factors: a case study of Pingba Village, China. Land, 11, 1724. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ land11101724 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ land11101724... ). La susceptibilidad a las presiones medioambientales, especialmente bajo las condiciones de cambio climático plantean un reto especial en la planificación en zonas urbanas como rurales. Ante este panorama se vienen planteando propuestas como las soluciones basadas en la naturaleza -NBS- que ante la necesidad de resiliencia a través de la adaptación, consideran diferentes interacciones entre las actividades humanas y el medio natural, tomando en consideración espacios como las cuencas hidrográficas y los ecosistemas (Banzhaf et al., 2022 Banzhaf, E., Anderson, S., Grandin, G., Hardiman, R., Jensen, A., Jones, L., Knopp, J., Levin, G., Russel, D., Wu, W., Yang, J., & Zandersen, M. (2022). Urban-rural dependencies and opportunities to design nature-based solutions for resilience in Europe and China. Land, 11(4), 480. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land11040480 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land11040480... ), o la estrategia de evaluación de espacios de producción, de vida y servicios ecológicos (PLE) como mecanismo base para la planificación y la superación de conflictos de uso del suelo en zonas rurales (Zhao et al., 2022 Zhao, T., Cheng, Y., Fan, Y., & Fan, X. (2022). Functional tradeoffs and feature recognition of rural production-living-ecological spaces. Land, 11, 1103. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land1107110 https://doi.org/10.3390/land1107110... ).

This work evaluates the economic efficiency of coffee growers and the decision-making processes in the configuration of their production systems and agronomic practices over time. For these purposes, information from 136 coffee growers in the department of Caldas was analyzed. These growers systematically recorded and constructed their production costs for seven years (2015–2021) within the framework of the Business Management Program of the Departmental Committee of Coffee Growers of Caldas. Additionally, through a survey, more information on the socioeconomic types, production systems, and decision-making processes in the implementation of practices and use of technologies was obtained. Stochastic frontier analysis demonstrates that on average, these coffee farmers had an economic efficiency of 89%. The group of coffee growers with efficiency levels equal to or higher than 90% comprised 80 producers (59%). These results indicate that for the period of analysis, there are no structural inefficiencies that cannot be corrected; that is, these coffee growers can increase their efficiency and productivity levels with the available technologies.

Stakeholders and their dynamics are often neglected in innovation systems literature. The importance of bioeconomy is growing for its implications on addressing environmental challenges, shaping economic decisions, markets and sustainable development. This paper analyses stakeholders’ dynamics for knowledge creation and innovation to transit from unsustainable practices to the sustainable use of biological resources - bioeconomy. The originality of this paper is the creation of an analytical framework to characterise the interactions of stakeholders and how these interactions reshape the innovation systems to create a new narrative and a new knowledge base platform for innovation. Using a qualitative approach, data was collected through surveys between 2022 and 2024. We explored the dynamics of 29 stakeholders involved and collaborating in R&D activities from the biotechnology sector in Caldas, Colombia. Our findings show that dynamics towards bioeconomy are only at the discursive level. Stakeholders carry out research activities as a means to generate income rather than for innovative purposes, overlooking informal interactions which generate novel ideas that could translate into solutions, services, and products. We conclude that bioeconomy transition needs a systemic disequilibrium by a new institutional infrastructure that enables stakeholders, including civil society, to create a structural change for embracing innovation dynamics.

El objetivo de esta investigación es evaluar los factores determinantes de la competitividad del clúster de la construcción en Medellín, Colombia y proponer estrategias para su mejora. La metodología combina análisis cuantitativos y cualitativos, incluyendo modelos de regresión espacial y entrevistas con actores clave del sector. El estudio reveló la influencia de externalidades positivas contribuye a explicar la aglomeración espacial y la variación de ritmos de crecimiento entre sectores y regiones; también se identificó que las empresas que priorizan su ubicación resaltan la importancia de las economías de aglomeración en su competitividad, a pesar de que sus beneficios sean moderados. Sin embargo, es fundamental reconocer que tanto el territorio como los procesos de aglomeración son indispensables para reducir costos, fomentar la innovación y aumentar la productividad en el sector, a pesar de los desafíos estratégicos que plantea la concentración empresarial en el centro urbano. Se recomienda que debe existir una política pública con un enfoque integral, que promueva la colaboración y mejore la infraestructura, en aras de potenciar la competitividad del clúster de la construcción en Medellín, Colombia.