Creative destruction or mere niche support? Innovation policy mixes for sustainability transitions

Paula Kivimaa,Florian Kern

doi:10.1016/j.respol.2015.09.008

Paula Kivimaa, Florian Kern

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2015.09.008

Copy DOI

Abstract

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in policy mixes in innovation studies. While it has long been acknowledged that the stimulation of innovation and technological change involves different types of policy instruments, how such instruments form policy mixes has only recently become of interest. We argue that an area in which policy mixes are particularly important is the field of sustainability transitions. Transitions imply not only the development of disruptive innovations but also of policies aiming for wider change in socio-technical systems. We propose that ideally policy mixes for transitions include elements of ‘creative destruction’, involving both policies aiming for the ‘creation’ of new and for ‘destabilising’ the old. We develop a novel analytical framework including the two policy mix dimensions (‘creation’ and ‘destruction’) by broadening the technological innovation system functions approach, and specifically by expanding the concept of ‘motors of innovation’ to ‘motors of creative destruction’. We test this framework by analysing ‘low energy’ policy mixes in Finland and the UK. We find that both countries have diverse policy mixes to support energy efficiency and reduce energy demand with instruments to cover all functions on the creation side. Despite the demonstrated need for such policies, unsurprisingly, destabilising functions are addressed by fewer policies, but there are empirical examples of such policies in both countries. The concept of ‘motors of creative destruction’ is introduced to expand innovation and technology policy debates to go beyond policy mixes consisting of technology push and demand pull instruments, and to consider a wider range of policy instruments combined in a suitable mix which may contribute to sustainability transitions.

Highlights

There has been increasing interest in the innovation studies literature in questions surrounding policy mixes
While it has long been acknowledged that the stimulation of innovation and technological change can include a number of different types of policy instruments and that the most appropriate type of instrument might depend on the stage of the innovation process or the respective sector (Pavitt, 1984), the issue of how such instruments form policy mixes has only recently been highlighted as being of interest to this community
This paper extends the work on the functions of Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) by proposing a novel conceptual framework for policy mixes for sustainability transitions, and introducing it as “motors of creative destruction” building on and extending Suurs and Hekkert’s (2009) concept of “motors of innovation”

Summary

Introduction

There has been increasing interest in the innovation studies literature in questions surrounding policy mixes. In this context, major policy change has been argued to be important, because “it shapes both the direct support for industries. Kivimaa and Virkamäki, 2014; Weber and Rohracher, 2012). Transitions may require the development of disruptive innovations and of disruptive policy mixes aiming for systemic change This type of policy change is often, constrained by the political challenges of introducing more coherent policy mixes (Howlett and Rayner, 2007; Kern and Howlett, 2009)

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion