For much of the last three decades, the dominant narrative was that geography mattered less and less. Capital moved freely across borders. Supply chains stretched across continents. Digitalisation appeared to make physical location increasingly irrelevant. The assumption was that competitiveness would be determined primarily by technology, scale and access to global markets.
Today, that assumption is being reconsidered.
Across Europe and beyond, a different pattern is emerging. Energy systems, industrial capacity, digital infrastructure, talent attraction, defence production and capital formation are increasingly becoming regional questions. Globalisation is not disappearing, but it is being complemented by a growing emphasis on resilience, trust and strategic capability. The ability of places to organise themselves is once again becoming a source of competitive advantage.
This development has profound implications for cities, regions and nations. Economic success is no longer determined solely by the performance of individual companies. It increasingly depends on the quality of the ecosystems that surround them. The places that succeed are often those that can connect institutions, universities, businesses, infrastructure and capital into coherent systems capable of adapting to change.
That observation formed the starting point for our work on The Nordic-Baltic Edge, a forthcoming book exploring why the Nordic–Baltic region continues to perform so strongly in areas ranging from innovation and entrepreneurship to competitiveness, sustainability and quality of life.
The book project began in 2024 as an attempt to understand why some places consistently outperform their size. As the project evolved, it became increasingly clear that this question was gaining new relevance. The world’s largest economies were beginning to lead a gradual rollback of globalisation, placing renewed emphasis on security, supply chains, industrial policy, technological sovereignty and strategic resilience. In such a world, the ability of places to organise, innovate and cooperate becomes a decisive source of competitiveness.
The answer, we found, rarely lies in a single policy initiative, flagship investment or successful company. More often, it emerges from the interaction between institutions, trust, leadership, infrastructure, competence and long-term collaboration. Successful places develop capabilities that accumulate over time. They build systems rather than isolated successes.
Across the Nordic–Baltic region, there are numerous examples of this dynamic. In Vaasa, decades of engineering competence have evolved into a broader platform for electrification and energy technology. In Medicon Valley, cross-border collaboration between Denmark and Sweden has created one of Europe’s most successful life-science environments. In Estonia, digital governance has become a foundation for innovation, cybersecurity and international competitiveness. In Stockholm, a combination of telecommunications, software, media and digital infrastructure helped create one of the world’s most productive technology ecosystems.
Although these examples differ significantly, they reveal several common characteristics. They build on existing strengths rather than fashionable trends. They connect actors across institutional boundaries. They identify and address missing links in value chains and innovation systems. And they combine local identity with global connectivity.
Perhaps most importantly, they demonstrate that competitiveness increasingly depends on orchestration. The challenge is not simply to possess resources, talent or capital. The challenge is to align them.
The importance of orchestration is perhaps most visible when it is absent. Even places with world-class assets can lose momentum if institutions, businesses, universities and public actors cease to align around a common direction. Kista Science City in Stockholm was once regarded as one of Europe’s most promising technology clusters, associated with the pioneering ambitions of the telecommunications era and the emergence of 5G and future digital infrastructure. Yet the subsequent loss of momentum illustrates how competitiveness can erode gradually when collaboration, scaling and long-term coordination weaken. Successful places are rarely defined only by their assets; they are defined by their ability to continuously organise around them. Pro-active place management.
This observation feels particularly relevant today. Europe is discussing technological sovereignty, artificial intelligence, energy security, defence capabilities and industrial policy with an intensity not seen for decades. Questions that were previously regarded as technical are increasingly recognised as strategic. Access to energy, computing capacity, financing, skills and trusted institutions has become central to long-term competitiveness.
This also places new demands on business leadership. Public-private partnerships require active participation from both sides. Governments can create frameworks and incentives, but long-term competitiveness depends equally on the willingness of business leaders to engage in shaping the future of places, regions and industries. Collaboration cannot be delegated; it must be exercised.
In many respects, the Nordic–Baltic region enters this period from a position of strength. It benefits from high levels of trust, well-functioning institutions, sophisticated capital markets, advanced digital infrastructure and a long tradition of cooperation. Yet important challenges remain. Markets are still fragmented. Scaling capital is often insufficient. Competition for talent is intensifying. The race for industrial investment, energy capacity and AI infrastructure is accelerating.
At the same time, the region possesses significant untapped potential. It is striking that many external observers often view the Nordic model more positively than the Nordics themselves. Philip Kotler in a recent dialogue with us coined the term “Nordic capitalism” as something very special. The region’s combination of trust, innovation capacity, institutional quality and collaborative culture remains distinctive in a global context. The challenge is not a lack of strengths, but the confidence and ambition to use them more fully.
The question is therefore not whether the region possesses the necessary ingredients for success. The question is whether these ingredients can be connected, scaled and coordinated effectively enough to meet a rapidly changing world.
That challenge lies at the heart of our book The Nordic-Baltic Edge.
The timing is notable. Recent initiatives such as Nordic Compass – The Nordic Round Table for Industry suggest that the conversation is already moving in this direction. They reflect a growing recognition that the Nordic countries can achieve greater scale and influence through deeper coordination across industry, capital, innovation, energy and security. Equally important, such initiatives create new opportunities for entrepreneurs, companies and civic actors to take initiatives that previously lacked a natural platform. The challenge now is not merely to identify opportunities, but to organise around them.
The book will be launched at Berns in Stockholm on 24 September 2026. More importantly, we hope it contributes to a broader discussion about what creates long-term competitiveness in an age where trust, resilience and institutional quality are becoming as important as technology and capital.
Because successful places are rarely built by accident. They are built through leadership, cooperation and the ability to turn local strengths into lasting relevance.
Christer Asplund & Jörgen Eriksson