Path Dependency and Regional Port Authorities: Case for Innovation Network Leadership?

In a recent case study of Burnie Port, in Tasmania, Australia, the Regional Development Platform Model (RDPM), which is a new approach to regional development, is utilised and adapted to identify opportunities for potential development in a local region. In this particular case the RDPM is linked to the role of the local port and its potential to drive regional growth centred on the local innovation network. Port authorities, by assuming the role of network leader, can shape the local innovation network and create new development trajectories through their links to various levels of government and the wide range of stakeholders that utilise the port facilities. The inherent tensions in this role and the competing possibilities of path creation and path dependence to create value for a wide network of stakeholders is challenging. In this role the port authority may demonstrate that institutional structures do matter but, additionally, leadership is critical. The paper investigates the use of the RDPM and ways that port authorities can influence development strategies for mutual benefit in this context. The case study, utilising desktop research, interviews, an expert panel and industry roundtable aims to demonstrate that the RDPM has the potential as an approach beyond analysing the main sources of path dependency in a local region. By following the adaptation of the RDPM, it is argued that the trajectory of path dependency can be interrupted, for example by a port authority or a local innovation network, enabling the potential for new paths to be created.