Encouraging research and development collaboration amidst geographical challenges in less developed regions of the European Union: a systematic literature review

This study explores the growing literature on research and development (R & D) collabora-tion in the context of less developed regions (LDRs) in the European Union (EU) and examines the opportunities for LDRs to successfully collaborate with developed regions. A systematic review of the lit-erature shows that studies on R & D collaboration in LDRs are at the forefront of regional innovation research in the EU and that opportunities to explore this research topic are still wide open. A critical review and synthesis of the selected articles shows that LDRs have equal opportunities to collaborate and build suc-cessful relationships with developed regions by paying attention to at least five motivational drivers and critical factors to enhance the success of their R & D collaborations.