Emergence and development of the National Innovation Systems concept

Abstract

Adopting a science and technology studies (S&TS) perspective and organized around eight major themes, this paper analyzes the development of the National Innovation Systems (NIS) concept, examining how the formal body of codified NIS knowledge was produced, developed and spread, and how it is used. In order to trace its history, I interviewed major advocates of the NIS concept to understand how and why it has become so widespread in academic and policymaking circles. The eight themes serve as 'missing pieces' to explain the early history of the NIS concept.

Technological innovation systems in contexts: Conceptualizing contextual structures and interaction dynamics

“…Over the past three decades, system concepts have gained prominence in the academic literature on innovation processes and in associated policy-making (Chang and Chen, 2004;Sharif, 2006). These approaches have proven to be instrumental for informing a wide range of pressing public policy problems, such as national economic competitiveness, regional industrial revival and global environmental sustainability.…”

National Innovation System Dynamics in East Central Europe, the Baltic Countries, and Russia

“…Thus, in a way NIS is a set of institutions/actors including universities and other research institutions, firms, intermediaries and governments that produce and implement innovation (Guan & Chen, 2012), where a central role is given to the interaction and interplay between these different actors in the NIS (Lundvall, 1999), as well as the wider socio-economic, cultural and political conditions of a given country (Gregersen & Johnson, 1997). The approach was developed, not only as a framework for economic and innovation studies, but also has definite policy roots as the advocates of the approach commonly try to influence and inform policymakers in drawing innovation policies (Sharif, 2006). In short, developing the institutions within NIS and the interplay between them should result in a heightened innovation efficiency of a given country.…”

Društvena evaluacija hrvatskog inovacijskog sustava na primjeru test programa

“…Inovacijska politika pojavljuje se u sklopu evolutivne i institucionalne ekonomije 80-ih godina prošloga stoljeća, te s obzirom da nastoji formulirati praktična rješe-nja i mehanizme za poticanje inovacija kao ključnih faktora gospodarskog razvoja, velikom se brzinom proširuje jednako Europom i Amerikom (Carlsson, 2006.;Sharif, 2006.). Njezina bit sastoji se u strateškoj integraciji relativno neovisnih politika -znanstvene, tehnološke i industrijske -u jedinstvenu politiku gospodarskog razvoja temeljenu na znanju i inovacijama ili, drugim riječima, ona je amalgam znanstvene, industrijske i tehnološke politike (OECD-EUROSTAT, 2005.:15).…”