This book includes studies on regions, industries and tendencies of industrial change and spatial concentration of competences and industrial potentials. The chapters in this volume provide for discussions concerning a wider understanding of situations related to Industry 4.0 and digitization.

Ulrich Hilpert is Professor of Comparative Government at the University of Jena, Germany; Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, London; Senior Fellow of the Hans-Böckler-Foundation, Düsseldorf, and has been visiting professor at a dozen universities in Europe and the United States. His main areas of research are comparative studies in technology, innovation, regional development, global networking, and skilled and university trained labour.

Introduction - spatial evolution in the light of innovative transformation: the impact of policies and institutions in divergent situations 1. Regional selectivity of innovative progress: Industry 4.0 and digitization ahead 2. The impact of Industry 4.0 on supply chains and regions: innovation in the aerospace and automotive industries 3. The transition of regional innovation systems to Industry 4.0: the case of Basque Country and Catalonia 4. The growing inequalities in Italy - North/South - and the increasing dependency of the successful North upon German and French industries 5. How does Industry 4.0 affect the relationship between centre and periphery? The case of manufacturing industry in Germany 6. Glowing cities and the future of manufacturing in the US and Europe: How digitalization will impact metropolitan areas depending on sectoral dominances and regional skill distribution 7. The Korean approach to Industry 4.0: the 4th Industrial Revolution from regional perspectives 8. Industry 4.0/Digitalization and networks of innovation in the North American regional context 9. Industry 4.0 as a 'sudden change': the relevance of long waves of economic development for the regional level Conclusion - the complexity of reorganizing industries and value chains: challenges and selectivity of Industry 4.0 and digitization