Regional Specializations in Green Incumbents and Green Start‐ups in the German Transport Sector

ABSTRACT The regional variety of actors is considered a key determinant in the last decade's rich literature on the geography of eco‐innovation and green regional development. However, little is known about the extent to which regions differ in their specialization in new and established eco‐innovation actors. In this article, we propose a regional typology based on green specializations concerning both incumbents and start‐ups in the German transport sector. While many regions show green specializations in either start‐ups or incumbents, only some regions manage to specialize in both. We find that the above‐average regional specialization in eco‐innovation does not seem to be primarily a phenomenon of urban areas, but rather depends on regions' human capital endowments and technological capabilities. The observed heterogeneity in eco‐innovation specializations, both in innovation centers and lagging regions, calls for regional policies that are more sensitive to these differences.