“They just get on with it”: How innovating firms in a rural region navigate issues of market access

Market access is important to driving innovation, but issues related to market access are rarely addressed in the literature on innovation in peripheral areas. A few recent studies have however advocated for more empirical research on this topic, and to add context and depth to current innovation arguments and theories relevant to rural places. Based on a case study in the Cradle Coast region of Tasmania, Australia, we highlight several significant issues and propose an eclectic model for understanding innovation and market access. We argue that while rural regions can certainly be innovative, innovations generally do not reach large markets, but firms are able to engage in creative strategies to mitigate their limits to market access. • There is a need to investigate issues of market access in rural innovations. • Many rural innovations target a local context due to limited market access. • It is difficult to study small-scale innovations due to an innovation success bias. • Rural innovators apply resourceful scaling strategies to reach large markets.