ABSTRACT
Taking the complex-systems approach as a starting point (Matteaccioli, 1992), it can be hypothesised that a territorial locality behaves like a self-organising system which, when faced with serious disruptions (technological change, globalisation of competition), can harness those disruptive processes and transform them into positive forces for change and innovation by dissipating the energy they create (destruction of old structures and modes of organisation and operation). In other words, by transforming its productive system and mode of organisation, an area can become or remain innovative. According to this hypothesis, structural adjustment at the local level arises out of the ability of individual areas to restructure and organise themselves anew.
