Media, path advocacy, and institutional entrepreneurship: An evolutionary perspective of plant closures

This paper constructs a conceptual framework of plant closures embedded in evolutionary economic geography and geographic political economy. The evolution of institutional environments affects actors' adaptive capacity and influences economies' path development. As a path advocate, the media engages in institutional entrepreneurship. To examine the media's role, the paper conducts a media analysis of 1157 news articles from 2000 to 2019 on plant closures in Ontario, Canada. The analysis illustrates the narratives the media provides regarding closures and how these lead to different industrial policy prescriptions. Policy implications point to the need for technologically upgrading firms and re-training programs for workers in traditional industries.