This paper advances Knowledge-Based Theory by relocating the locus of knowledge from the firm to the territorial ecosystem. It conceptualises cultural values as ecosystem-level knowledge assets and theorises how the Slow Food Movement codifies and circulates culturally embedded knowledge. The study integrates knowledge-based theory, stakeholder theory and circular intellectual capital to develop a conceptual framework explaining regenerative ecosystem dynamics.
The study adopts a theory-building qualitative design based on an analytically informed case. It draws on interpretive synthesis of prior empirical studies, secondary material, and illustrative evidence from the Piedmont-Slow Food ecosystem, including Kauss brewery. The approach combines theoretical integration with contextualised analysis to generate conceptually grounded propositions rather than statistical generalisation.
The findings show that cultural values such as craftsmanship, reciprocity, territorial embeddedness and conviviality function as ecosystem-level epistemic infrastructures. Slow Food operates as a knowledge codification and translation mechanism. Knowledge is reproduced through practices such as intergenerational transmission, community governance, and open knowledge sharing, generating circular intellectual capital. Ecosystems characterised by these dynamics exhibit regenerative capacity and long-term innovation potential grounded in shared meaning systems.
The paper offers three original contributions. It extends Knowledge-Based Theory by theorising ecosystems as loci of knowledge assets, advances stakeholder theory by conceptualising epistemic alignment as a mechanism of durable engagement and reconceptualises circular intellectual capital as a culturally embedded regenerative system. It also introduces a novel conceptualisation of Slow Food as an infrastructure for knowledge governance, opening new directions for research on culturally grounded innovation ecosystems.
