Putting agents in agency: The role of patriotic capital in local and regional development

Recent regional development research increasingly emphasises agency, yet the role of investors as active agents of territorial transformation remains underexplored. This paper introduces and develops the concept of patriotic capital, defined as the propensity of local capital owners to prioritise investment within their home region even when higher returns may be available elsewhere. Building on evolutionary economic geography, regional innovation systems approach and capital theory, the study conceptualises patriotic capital as a multi-dimensional form of agency operating through instrumental, strategic, and philanthropic motivations. The paper advances an analytical framework that examines how these motivations intersect and how investments generate conversions among economic, social, symbolic, and institutional forms of capital. Such capital combinations can produce embedded regional advantages, strengthen local innovation systems, and anchor firms structurally and socially within regional economies.