Recent studies stress the relevance of a broad conceptualization of the knowledge economy which goes beyond the strong, current policy focus on high-tech industries. Today, low-tech industries continue to have a significant role in European manufacturing in terms of employment, value added and export. However, the character and activities of these industries are profoundly changing as they become increasingly knowledge intensive. Thus, innovation processes and knowledge production in manufacturing are much more complex than suggested by the classic division into high-, medium-and low-tech industries. This calls for a rethinking of manufacturing’s position in contemporary capitalism and a redefinition of the central categories based on research and development (R & D) intensity that dominate the debate on the knowledge economy.