The Dynamics of Innovation in Post-Communist Countries: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

The paper gives an overview of the dynamics of innovation in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and how this dynamics has changed over time from the Soviet period up to today. The focus is not primarily on assessing 'how innovative' the postcommunist countries are, but rather on exploring the ways in which creative innovation actually occurs in the post-communist context. Particular issues include the exploitation of inherited competencies from the socialist era and the emergence of complex relations to Western systems of innovation. The paper also sketches some possible future scenarios for the role of the post-communist innovation in the enlarged Europe.