Actors In Innovation System Research Articles

Leadership Practices that Enable Agricultural Transformation: The case of Ethiopian irrigated wheat initiative

Agricultural innovations play a vital role in enhancing production and productivity. Under Ethiopian context, agricultural innovations are deployed in the form of integrated technological innovations. The elements of technological packages include varieties and associated management practices. The rate of adoption and the pace at which such innovations are disseminated is normally slow. Thus organizations involved in innovation development and dissemination activities need to be agile to cope with the fast changing production environment as well as the pressing need for increased production and productivity. Enabling leadership refers to leadership practices that enable the positioning of individual and organizational actors by creating adaptive spaces. An adaptive space is about the social arrangements of the innovation system actors in ways that enable the creation of adaptive processes which eventually lead to an adaptive organization. Thus, being acquainted with leadership practices that enable the creation of adaptive spaces and facilitation of the vitality of associated adaptive processes is crucial. Activities that stimulate adaptive processes eventually facilitate the creation of adaptive organizations. Knowledge of factors that enable the creation of adaptive spaces, and leadership practices that help expedite the creation of vibrant adaptive processes is vital to be able to deploy appropriate adaptive interventions. This further enables the design of a refined intervention for future implementation under varied contexts. At the policy level, knowledge of enabling leadership practices that affect the success of such adaptive interventions is important for policy-makers to rethink their innovative food production policies. Thus, it is important to document process-oriented and relational approaches that facilitate the creation of adaptive spaces in which agricultural innovations are generated, diffused and adopted in networks based on information gathered from field-level implementation experiences. The Ethiopian irrigated wheat production initiative was as the subject of study. Some of the project evaluation questions for the retrospective analysis from the perspective of an enabling leadership model were: who were the agents involved in the irrigated wheat project? What were their roles? What were the enabling leadership practices that facilitated the creation of the adaptive space vital for the sustainability of the project? To answer the above questions, a template analysis of existing irrigated wheat project documents was done. One of the key lessons from the current analysis is that is the fact that leadership is a co-creation. An additional lesson also is that we must understand that leadership and followership are a complex social phenomenon of interacting leaders and followers in ways that co-produce enabling leadership and its outcomes.

Institutional work as a key ingredient of food innovation success: The case of plant-based proteins

In this paper, we use the theory of institutional work to understand how plant-based meat substitutes emerge and successfully diffuse in the context of a dominant meat regime in the United States (US). We observe that institutional factors such as norms, habits, values, and beliefs play a more vital role than previously identified. Therefore, we utilize institutional work theory combined with insights from technological innovation systems to create a holistic understanding of this transition. We study the American plant-based protein industry from 1978 to 2019. We conduct a qualitative event-history analysis based on 2345 events from the Nexis Uni database. We observe that by strategically deploying institutional work strategies aimed at creating, maintaining, and disrupting institutions and innovation system-building strategies, innovation system actors created a favorable environment in which meat alternatives can flourish.

Towards agricultural innovation systems: Actors, roles, linkages and constraints in the system of rice intensification (SRI) in Sierra Leone

Despite success in parts of Southern Africa and Asia, the use of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) has remained low in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Alongside this, an Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) framework has been touted as a method to support innovation processes and enable a variety of agricultural innovations to be used by large numbers of farmers. However, very little is known about the linkages/interactions between stakeholders within such AISs and which are deemed important for the AIS to function. This study seeks to understand the perceptions of the agricultural innovation system actors regarding Sustainable Rice Intensification (SRI) usage in Sierra Leone. More specifically, it examines the key actors and their roles, the patterns, and strengths of the linkages among them, as well as the perceptions towards the innovation /potential constraints faced by the actors. The study draws on several workshops and key informant interviews with 49 actors consisting of research and extension professionals from governmental and non-governmental organisations and smallholder farmers involved in the rice innovation system. Using UCINET's NetDraw for social network analysis (SNA) among innovation actors, the study finds a high level of connectedness between key actors – the Ministry of Agriculture, NGOs and farmers. The eigenvector centrality (a measure of influence within a network) was highest among NGOs, the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers respectively, which shows that these actors had the strongest influence within the SRI network. Further exploration of these ties also showed that these actors play a critical role in facilitating knowledge, resources and information flows within the network. Despite a strong level of interaction between actors and positive perceptions of the innovation, SRI usage has been unable to reach scale for a variety of reasons. The key reasons identified include: (i) the lack of interaction across levels (e.g. provincial and local) thereby limiting locally adapted techniques from emerging relevant to all regions; (ii) farmers’ limited technical skills in swamp development; (iii) a lack of funding opportunities (including private sector engagement) and (iv) the perceived labor-intensiveness of SRI techniques. Overall, this research has identified possible entry points for increasing the functioning of the innovation system and a useful methodological approach that can be applied to exploring the effectiveness of agricultural innovation systems. It also highlights the need to engage private sector actors to support the use of agricultural innovations as some services are sometimes beyond the purview of research and extension actors alone. The need for further research is also necessary to deepen the understanding of whether AIS approaches are enhancing farmers’ capacity to innovate or impeding this by encouraging embedded norms related to a transfer of technology model to perpetuate.

Reconsidering actor roles in regional innovation systems: transformative industrial change in the forest-based bioeconomy

ABSTRACT This paper reconsiders the roles of actors in regional innovation systems in the context of transformative industrial change. Empirically, it draws on evidence from the Värmland region of Sweden, where regional innovation system actors, with partial funding from the Swedish Innovation Agency, are striving to build a bioeconomy upon the traditional forest-related industries. The main findings include that transformative industrial change adds a variety of responsibilities to regional actors, including the provision of change legitimacy, influencing the industry’s innovation directionality and achieving social acceptance for change. A combined perspective on sociotechnical transitions and path development in regional innovation systems theoretically informs the case.

Do farmer-actor interactions in the agricultural innovation system drive technological innovation adoption in Ghana?

The low level of technological innovation adoption among farmers has been a development concern. However, not much attention has been paid to how agricultural innovation system actors contribute to the adoption of technological innovations among farmers. This paper, therefore, analyzed the factors that drive the adoption of technological innovations using the agricultural innovation system concept. The study adopted a mixed method approach where qualitative data from focus group discussions were used to triangulate findings obtained from the quantitative data analyzed. A two-period panel data of 3486 observations of randomly sampled agricultural households across Ghana was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the multinomial logit regression model. Findings showed that farmers with strong ties in the innovation system had a higher probability of adopting multiple sets of innovations, compared to those with weaker linkages. Platforms that encourage actor interactions such as innovation platforms should be strengthened to increase the innovative performance of smallholder farmers. This study is one of the few that have quantified the effect the agricultural innovation system has on the adoption of innovations and hence makes a positive contribution to the budding literature regarding the importance of unpacking actor interactions whilst considering a holistic inquiry of the agricultural innovation system.

Institution of Regional Strategies in The Russian Innovation System

The purpose of the article is to identify the features and problems specific to regional innovation strategies in Russia. The regional innovation strategy is to be interpreted as a formal institution designed to intensify innovation activity in the regional economy. The success of the strategy implementation depends on institutional and resource factors, including those at a higher, federal level. But this does not eliminate the issue of the regional innovation strategy optimal design (formulation, construction). The paper presents a brief overview of research on regional innovation development in Russia. Six regions (Kurgan region, city of Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod region, Novosibirsk region, Republic of Tatarstan, Rostov region) were selected for in-depth analysis of the innovation strategies content. The novelty of the proposed approach lies in the comparison of the results of the regional innovation strategies analysis and the results of the analysis of regional innovation activities narratives expressed by the Russian innovation system actors. Regional innovation development strategies are aimed at solving the innovation development problems that have been identified by policy makers. However, these problems are also reflected in the studied before narratives of the Russian innovation system actors. The paper summarizes these problems and identifies some of the features specific to the regional innovation strategies of the selected regions.

Prospects of development of the Russian innovative system through the prism of qualitative methods

Objective: to examine the influence of positive and critical narratives in the media, illustrating the problems and strengths of the Russian innovation system development, on the formation of public opinion.Methods: the methodology of narrative analysis of economics and original institutionalism is used in relation to the national innovation system.Results: with the help of narrative analysis, we analyzed 43 media outlets from Internet sources selected in accordance with the Medialogiya rating “Federal Mass Media: 2020” for the period from 01.01.2010 to 01.07.2021. A range of significant issues is highlighted which affect the innovative development, mentioned by media addressees and the Russian innovation system actors (policymakers, business, academic circles). Four types of positive narratives about the Russian innovation system are identified: 1) narratives about significant technological achievements; 2) narratives about the development of innovative infrastructure; 3) narratives that tell about the public recognition of the success of the Russian innovation system actors at professional conferences or by the state; 4) futurological narratives about prospects in the medium or long term.Scientific novelty: consists in the development of the narrative economics approach and the concept of public arenas for the analysis of the Russian innovation system with the help of mass media.Practical significance: the identified positive narratives allow studying the best practices and rules that contribute to the integration of science, government and business into a single innovation system in order to further upscale the positive experience to the entire economy. Positive narratives also contribute to the formation of a favorable innovation space and public opinion in Russia.

The Oxymoron of Digitalization

How do small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) perceive the prerequisites and critical factors of digitalization? The objective of this article is to map SMEs' digital maturity and their views on how to manage the opportunities and challenges brought about by digitalization in order to foster competitiveness in local, regional, national, and international contexts. The study draws on a resource-based perspective, which views the firm as a unique bundle of assets and resources that, if utilized in distinctive ways, can create competitive advantage. The study builds on triadic relations as an interactive learning process that occurs in the interaction between actors as the concept of open innovation postulates. This study was conducted as an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study of SMEs and actors in innovation system in Gävleborg County in Sweden. It uses a qualitative approach featuring in-depth interviews, workshops, and focus-group interviews. The findings suggest a digital divide between SMEs, with a discrepancy in opportunities to benefit from the digitalization potential among the population studied. The divide manifests itself through economics, usability, and empowerment. Digitalization should not be viewed as merely a technology issue, but as a better way to run a business, as a platform for development and dissemination of knowledge about the critical factors for increased competitiveness that creates competitive values in production with digitalization as a starting point and creates an understanding of the how and what creates competitiveness in each critical factor.

Natural resource funds for innovation in emerging countries: an assessment of the Chilean experience

Purpose This study aims to explore the institutional complexities associated with the design and implementation of a natural resource fund for innovation. Design/methodology/approach This study examines the case of Chile's Innovation Fund for Competitiveness by means of a historical approach building on interviews with key informants. Findings The proper functioning of a natural resource fund for innovation requires efficient institutional and operational structures, as well as strong coordination with innovation system actors. In particular, the case of Chile highlights the challenges inherent in adopting a regional approach when implementing this type of strategy, due to the institutional voids that hamper the role of regional governments in emerging countries. Originality/value Natural resource funds for innovation constitute a strategic mechanism for developing the innovative capabilities necessary to enhance the competitiveness of resource-rich emerging countries. This is one of the first studies addressing the institutional challenges involved in setting up this kind of fund in practice, focusing on one of the most relevant and longstanding examples from Latin America.

Crafting actionable knowledge on ecological intensification: Lessons from co-innovation approaches in Uruguay and Europe

ContextDespite a wealth of analytical knowledge on factors and processes that operate to slow down or impede sustainability transitions in various sectors of society, design-oriented researchers face a lack of guidance on the ‘how to’ question for developing knowledge to support sustainability changes. From 2007, we crafted co-innovation as an approach for governance and management of change-oriented projects, combining three domains; a complex adaptive systems perspective, a social learning setting, and dynamic monitoring and evaluation. ObjectiveThis paper sets out to describe the co-innovation approach and draw lessons from its application in projects on ecological intensification in Uruguay and the European Union. MethodsWe used an analytical framework for evaluating sustainability transition experiments, which considers project features that provide insights into the contribution to sustainability transformations by project outputs, outcomes, processes and inputs, and their interactions. Empirical information on 6 cases from 3 projects was collected through in-depth interviews with former project staff, group discussion, and project documentation. This enabled a reflexive evaluation of co-innovation. Results and conclusionsOutputs showed substantial variation among the cases despite a similar approach to project governance and management. More significant contributions to sustainability transitions were associated with in-depth project preparation, a focus at the farm-level instead of the crop or field level, connections during the project's lifetime with regional innovation system actors, and frequent facilitated interactions among project actors to reflect on results, wider system implications, and project direction. We discuss the results in relation to the three domains of co-innovation. To enhance the role of projects in destabilizing currently unsustainable systems we highlight: reconsidering the role of projects as a business model; stimulating institutional learning from previous change-oriented projects; and making funding more adaptive to evolving project needs. SignificanceWith most of the budget for agricultural research-for-change spent through projects, how projects are conducted is a critical determinant of the rate of sustainability transitions. Effective disruption of unsustainable practices through project interventions requires rethinking linear cause-effect relations to include project governance and management approaches based on complex adaptive systems thinking, social learning settings, and monitoring geared to adaptation and learning.

Digitalisation of Dutch Agriculture: Implications of reducing Nitrogen pollution from livestock cultivation

"For the last many decades, the EU’s intensified agriculture model has shown a significant trend to reinforce the economy while feeding the world. The Netherlands is one of the EU’s member follow neoliberalism in agriculture by importing cheap animal feed & fertilisers and exports meat & dairy products. The intensification of Dutch agriculture results from solid collaborations among the Agriculture Innovation System actors (AIS). Nitrogen (N), being one of the essential elements of building blocks of life, is a vital nutrient, an indicator for global food security, and supports agriculture’s intensification. N in fertilisers and feedstock’s intensive use comes with the consequences of wicked problems such as ammonia (NH3) emissions in the air and nitrates (NOX) leaching in the soil. Around two-thirds of the Dutch farmlands and 80% of the crop, fertiliser is used for livestock cultivation. The Netherlands is famous for technological innovations worldwide (in terms of niche innovation); however, digitalisation is still an ‘alien’ term for Dutch farmers. A lack of landscapelevel technology implementation, weak policy infrastruture for monitoring pollution dynamics is one of the leading causes of the nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands. The N-crisis is causing distress in farmers, and the government is struggling for effective policy implementation. Therefore, there is a need for state-of-art initiatives which utilise maximum involvement of technology and the environment with minimum (government) efforts. This holistic and explorative cast-study research highlights the challenges and consequences of the Digitalisation of Agriculture Innovation System (DAIS) to resolve the Dutch N-crisis. Different aspects of research covered are 1) to address associates knowledge gaps, 2) analyse the cause of complex N-crisis in the Netherlands, 3) to analyse the current state of Dutch policy infrastructure & challenges and 4) to analyse present & future trend of DAIS transformations. This will ultimately lead to technology and policy recommendation supporting multi- stakeholders collaboration, creating a market of Nitrogen Trading System (NTS) at multiple levels and using digitalisation as a key for establishing Sustainable System Transformation (SST)."

The Development of an Interaction Mechanism between Universities and Other Innovation System Actors: Its Influence on University Innovation Activity Effectiveness

The innovative economy is based on effective interaction between the scientific and educational sphere and the business environment, free flow of innovative ideas, and active commercialization of developments in order to constantly update and develop the domestic economy through new technologies. At the moment, a model of effective interaction between universities, business structures, and government in Russia has not been built. This research is aimed to develop a mechanism for multilateral interaction between universities and other participants in the innovation system, which ensures the activation of scientific and innovative activities, acceleration of the transfer process, and effective commercialization of innovative ideas. Methods. To evaluate the effectiveness of the offered interaction mechanism based on the open innovation platform we conducted a complex multi-criteria assessment of forecast indicators of a university’s innovation activity effectiveness. We conducted two online surveys. Heads of scientific laboratories at the university (N = 4) and representatives of business (N = 3) acted as experts. The first survey was intended to indicate the weight of innovation activity indicators reflecting the significance of these indicators in the framework of innovation development. In the second survey, experts defined the forecast indicators of the university’s innovation activity after implementation of the proposed interaction mechanism. Results. The conducted study revealed the importance of enhancing cooperation between universities and other innovation system actors for achieving higher results of innovation activity. The calculation of the effectiveness of the offered interaction mechanism showed positive influence on the university’s innovation activity indicators. Thus, the mechanism can be used by multidisciplinary universities to increase their innovation activity indicators as well as the potential of all interacting entities.

The revolution is conditional? The conditionality of hydrogen fuel cell expectations in five European countries

The sociology of technological expectations examines, amongst other questions, the way in which expectations of new technologies help to mobilise or hinder commitment and investment. In this and other regards, studies have referred to a ‘sea’ of informal, individual expectations, contrasting these with formal visions such as roadmaps. Here we first identify and document those less formal, individual expectations of static and mobile applications for hydrogen fuel cells (H2FCs), as held by innovation system actors. We then show that these typically involve conditionalities and uncertainties that relate as much to policy and society as to technology. In contrast, formal roadmaps set out bold possibilities premised on heroic policy assumptions that elide the social and policy uncertainties that informal expectations admit to. We argue that there is policy value in informal expectations: that they reveal issues that need to be addressed and conditions that need to be met. Moreover these are often social and political, as well as technological. We illustrate the variety of such issues with expectations-related data from interviews with 145 hydrogen fuel cell innovation system actors in Spain, Germany, Slovenia, France and the UK.

An entrepreneurial marketing process perspective of the role of intermediaries in producing innovation outcomes

The activities of innovation system actors, particularly the importance of networks, entrepreneurs, and the role of intermediaries have not yet been integrated into a framework that explains innovation system performance at the project level. This study contributes by exploring the role of the innovation system’s actors with respect to its performance. Innovation system performance is studied using multiple cases of projects using statistical inference, network analysis, and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The number of actors effectively involved in projects is positively associated with innovation system performance. The network of relationships in the case study innovation system was relatively open, such that the contribution of some actors only became available to the system through the conduit of other actors. Both researchers and intermediaries are highly involved and effective, and the intermediaries’ effectiveness contributes to innovation system performance. However, the perceived involvement or effectiveness of these and other actors did not, alone, ensure that the conditions required for innovation system performance were met. The research method and results apply to any innovation project, particularly those in highly regulated, technological fields. The present study’s findings demonstrate the application of innovation system theory at the project level. The study has important implications for integrating entrepreneurial marketing into innovation system policy and practice.

Unpacking the drivers behind the use of the Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) approach: The case of rice research and extension professionals in Sierra Leone

Agriculture Innovation System (AIS) thinking and approaches are largely perceived as a sine-qua-non for the design and implementation of effective and sustainable agriculture development programmes. AIS has gained popularity in the agriculture innovation literature and has been embedded in policy documents of agriculture sector institutions in many countries. However, there is much less evidence of AIS thinking influencing the behaviours of research and extension institutions and staff ‘on the ground’. An important research gap is the need to better understand the attitudes and beliefs of extension and research professionals regarding AIS and that drive behaviours. Sierra Leone, like most developing countries, has embraced the use of AIS (at least in theory) as evident in policy documents of government institutions – the leading innovation system actors in the country. This study uses the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to assess the cognitive foundation of agricultural research scientists and extension professionals' intention to use the AIS approach related to rice innovation (the country's staple food crop). Results show there are significant differences in intention which relate to organisation affiliation, age, and gender. Moreover, those with a high intention to use the AIS approach have significantly stronger beliefs associated with the benefits of AIS including its ease of use and the positive effects it is likely to have on smallholder farmers' food security and ability to innovate. Those with a high intention to use the AIS approach also perceive stronger social pressure from key social referents such as colleagues, employers and supervisors; suggesting that policies and an organisation's vision have a significant bearing. Furthermore, the findings suggest that impediments to the use of AIS relate to lack of finance and knowledge. Unpacking these beliefs allows possible entry points to be identified which can enhance the functioning of existing AISs and newly formed ones. The findings and framework presented are useful for many developing countries where AIS approaches are being tested.

Challenges for Developing National Innovation Systems: the Possibilities and Limitations of Business and Science Cooperation

Many governments try to promote organizing the partnership and cooperation of national innovation system actors because these processes have a significant positive impact on this system. The collaboration between science and business is becoming central for innovation-driven industries. The study aim is to identify the effects of the partnership and cooperation of firms with universities and research organization. The paper describes both positive and negative effects such as “mercantilization of knowledge” and academic capitalism. Also, the role of the universities and research organization as knowledge sources to the process of technological innovation creation is revealed. The analysis of the factors facilitating and hindering partnership and cooperation in innovation carried out. The result of the investigation is the classification of barriers to business-science collaboration.

Indigenous Knowledge and Developing Countries’ Innovation Systems: The Case of Namibia

This article analyzes in-depth the development trajectory of the innovation systems (IS) in the case of Namibia. The research data consists of documents, interviews and studies related to IS development in Namibia from the 1990s until early 2016. The case study highlights the spatiotemporal challenges of creating an IS in a developing country with limited STI resources and the potential mismatch between related strategies and practices. IS is a broad framework that identifies and maps potential relevant actors for innovation development but it does not necessary enhance interactions between the actors of IS. For developing countries, the doing-using-interacting mode of innovation fits better when the aim is to integrate indigenous knowledge (IK) into an IS. An IK-included IS can facilitate participatory development processes, foster socioeconomic resilience of local communities and enhance the comparative advantage of a developing country.

COMPARATIVE COMPETITIVENESS OF RUSSIAN FLAGSHIP UNIVERSITIES

The article is prepared based on materials of the research on competitiveness of Russian universities with different status: 5-100 Project participants, federal universities, national research universities, classical universities of Privolzhsk Federal Area, pillar universities of the first and the second wave. At present state of development of higher education system of Russia there is already practical experience of upgrading efficacy which is important for involving potential for modernization of regional pillar universities activities in the process of effective regional development. The aim of this research article is to evaluate competitiveness of different groups of pillar universities of the first and second waves on the basis of benchmarking analysis using the data of National university efficacy monitoring - 2017 conducted by Interfax group. The results of the research allowed for identifying problem areas decreasing competitiveness of pillar universities at the national higher education market. According to the results of research it was defined that after the first year of the pillar universities development program implementation we witness lower average scores of overall and individual ratings formed within the National university rating. Correlation analysis results demonstrated that first year results of first wave pillar university development program show strengthening of modernization activities effect on the position of universities in the National university rating and their competitiveness. Conducted research demonstrates insufficient competitiveness of second wave pillar universities group in comparison with other university groups. Research conducted by the author does not claim the full representation of all potential pillar universities of Russia as it covers only winners of competitions for becoming pillar universities in 2015 and 2017. At the same time it allows for formulating main directions for improving competitiveness of pillar universities. Novelty and originality of the article is as follows: a) task -setting; improving university competitiveness management mechanisms based on external management reserves, including regional ones, b) suggested approach to solving it on the basis of generalizing best practices of interaction between regional innovation system actors, including pillar universities; c) suggested conceptual model of modernizing pillar universities main activities directions in the context of upgrading their efficacy. Practical importance of the research is defined by the fact that pillar universities managers obtain mechanisms for evaluating and upgrading competitiveness which should be supported by harmonization with mechanisms of region’s competitiveness comparative evaluation (with the aim of upgrading efficacy of university strategic projects management, modernization of educational activities on the basis of implementing project - oriented study, modernization of educational, research and innovation activities using the potential of private - state partnership), introducing mechanisms of value - oriented approach (for upgrading efficacy of university and region human capital involvement), development of mechanisms of interaction with regional innovation system actors (with the aim of maximal use of regional innovation and economic systems potential). The article is an attempt to evaluate competitiveness of national pillar universities and define the ways of improving it. It can be of interest to higher education system researchers in the context of improving approaches to university management.

Technology and Innovation Policies for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in East Asia

Policies for stimulating technological development and innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises can be divided into three groups. Supply-side policies aim at increasing firms’ incentives to invest in innovation by reducing costs. Demand-side policies are public actions to induce innovation and/or speed up the diffusion of innovation. Systemic policies focus on strengthening interactive learning between actors in innovation systems. Policies can be implemented through various instruments comprising tax incentives, grants or direct subsidies, low-interest loans, and the government’s direct equity participation. These instruments have pros and cons. The experiences of four late-industrializing East Asian economies — Taipei, China; Singapore; Malaysia; and Thailand — provide key lessons. Firms at different levels of technological and innovative capability need different policy instruments. The more successful economies have a higher level of flexibility and policy coordination and learning. The amount, duration, and continuity of government supporting schemes are crucial. Policy makers must have a deep understanding of what constitutes innovations and innovation systems, and how they evolve over time. Innovation financing policies require other corresponding policy initiatives to make them successful. Lastly, institutional factors do shape the choices and effective implementation of these policies.

The dynamic role of universities in developing an emerging sector: a case study of the biotechnology sector

Literature maintains that the role of universities has shifted from pure knowledge dissemination organisations into the key intermediaries of technology commercialisation, especially in the case of the developing emerging high-tech sector (Etzkowitz, Webster, Gebhardt, & Terra, 2000; Vallas & Kleinman, 2008). To further explore the dynamic role of the universities interacting with the other actors in the innovation system, this paper examines the changing roles of the universities that have actively interacted with the biotechnology industry in Taiwan from 2000 to 2012. Combining social network analysis and interview data on a longitudinal dataset gathered from 125 IPO biotechnology firms, this paper aims to explore the R&D collaboration networks between the universities and the other actors in the biotechnology sectoral innovation system to understand how universities make use of knowledge exchanged with other parties to shape society while developing emerging industries. The involvement rate of academia in the knowledge transfer networks appears to have increased since 2000 but more can be done to spur scalable action after 2008, and therefore association with other similar evolving areas. Moreover, the participation of foreign collaboration is one which needs some attention. The finding of this paper sheds light on the changing role of academia in developing emerging technologies in technology followers, while the innovation ecosystem is ready for academia-industry collaboration, universities not only take charge of disseminating knowledge but also serve as the major intermediaries in the process of commercialising science and technologies developed through the universities. Future policies may need to boost more partaking between the universities and industries by motivating the transmission of knowledge capital through encouraging technology commercialisation in academia.