Інноваційний розвиток підприємств креативних індустрій через смарт-спеціалізацію регіонів

The relevance of the study is determined by the profound transformations of the modern economy caused by digitalization, globalization, and the urgent need for Ukraine’s post-war recovery. Under these conditions, cultural and creative industries (CCIs) acquire strategic importance as drivers of innovation and regional competitiveness. The purpose of the research is to provide theoretical and methodological justification of the role of CCIs within the smart specialization framework and to identify mechanisms for their integration into regional innovation ecosystems. The study design is based on a systemic approach, which made it possible to identify interrelations between CCIs, innovation development, and regional policy. Comparative analysis was applied to examine EU and Ukrainian experience, statistical methods were used to assess development indicators, and generalization methods were employed to formulate conclusions and recommendations. The main hypothesis assumes that creative industries integrated into smart specialization strategies may become a crucial factor in regional recovery and sustainable economic growth in Ukraine. The methodological foundation consists of concepts of innovation development, smart specialization, and EU regional policy. Systemic, comparative, and statistical methods were applied, along with case studies of selected regions. The research provided an analysis of international and domestic approaches to CCI development, examples of smart specialization in Catalonia and Flanders, and Ukrainian practices (Lviv, Poltava, Odesa). Key barriers were identified (financial, institutional, human capital, infrastructural) as well as prospects (digitalization, international integration, clustering). Recommendations were formulated for integrating smart specialization instruments (clusters, innovation vouchers, public–private partnerships, EU programs) into regional strategies. The theoretical significance of the study lies in the advancement of approaches to understanding CCIs as elements of regional innovation ecosystems. The practical value consists in the applicability of the developed recommendations to regional recovery and development strategies. The originality of the study is in combining the concept of smart specialization with CCI development in the context of Ukraine’s post-war recovery, thus treating them as a factor of socio-economic resilience. Further research prospects relate to developing indicators for monitoring the effectiveness of CCI integration into regional strategies and analyzing the role of international partnerships in their development. Type of article – theoretical–empirical.