National Innovation Policy Research Articles

The role of advisory bodies in the emergence of cross-cutting policy issues: comparing innovation policy in Norway and Germany

ABSTRACTThe article examines the role of policy advisory bodies in the emergence of national innovation policy. Cross-cutting policy issues such as innovation policy pose unique challenges to governments. Given that they do not fit neatly within the purview of existing government departments, it is often unclear who is responsible for dealing with a given issue. Issues may go unaddressed or else be subject to competing initiatives from different departments. What role do policy advisory bodies play in addressing and advancing cross-cutting policy issues? The article examines how the issue of innovation policy was taken up and addressed by policy advisory bodies in two empirical cases: Norwegian ad hoc advisory commissions examining innovation policy during the period 1972–2016, and the German standing expert commission for science and innovation formed in 2006. The article finds that policy advice on innovation was adopted to a varying extent by the political-administrative system. It argues that this can be attributed to the organisation of advisory bodies and to the efforts of these bodies to establish connections and draw bridges across an entrenched political landscape.

National innovation policies for technology upgrading through GVCs: A cross-country comparison

This paper considers how innovation policy mixes are designed for increasing a country's participation in global value chains (GVCs) and accelerating industrial and technological upgrading. A benchmarking concept compares science, technology and innovation (STI) policies across countries taking into account country absorptive capacities, performance in GVCs and the way these policies are embedded in the national STI policy context. Data cover selected OECD and emerging economies drawing on the EC/OECD STI Policy database. An exploratory text-as-data approach is taken. National policy mixes for GVC integration and technology upgrading seem to be developed on the basis of prior positioning in GVCs. Policy mixes are polymorphs in so far as they combine different instruments across different policy domains with different functions according to national structural features and comparative advantages. While essential, especially to technology upgrading, industrial and cluster policies are not the only channels of policy intervention. Foreign direct investment (FDI)-related policies and initiatives in support of the internationalisation of firms and universities also appear to be key. Financial instruments remain the most popular policy tools for supporting integration into GVCs and countries combine a broad range of funding mechanisms with international investment promotion activities and the deployment of networking and world-class research facilities.

Innovation policies of Cyprus during the global economic crisis: Aligning financial institutions with National Innovation System

Previous research has overlooked the complementarity between National Innovation Systems and financial institutions. This paper extends the literature on National Innovation Systems, arguing that innovation policies should incorporate the particular needs of a nation's innovation system and the current conditions of that nation's financial environment. This development is important because the financial environment is malleable and subject to exogenous events, such as the recent global financial crisis. The relationship between a National Innovation System and the financial environment is presented through an analytical framework, which can be used to assess and instigate national innovation policies. The analytical framework is demonstrated using the case of Cyprus, which was on the frontline of the European debt crisis. By integrating the views of leaders from the Cypriot manufacturing and service sectors with widely available reports and indices concerning innovation performance, we demonstrate that the lack of a developed financial environment impedes national innovation performance. This research introduces policy and managerial implications for innovation, especially within the context of underdeveloped National Innovation Systems, which focus on improving innovation performance by enhancing the availability of financial instruments and the access that entrepreneurs have to them.

Absorptive Capacity in a Two-Sector Neo-Schumpeterian Model: A New Role for Innovation Policy

We propose a new co-evolutionary computational two-sector approach to the design of national innovation policy that recognizes the importance of inter-sectoral absorptive capacity constraints in innovation linkages between sectors in an economy. We show how the innovative capacity of an upstream producer sector can be constrained by the absorptive capacity of the downstream-user sector. This suggests that the low productivity performance of modern innovation policy might in part be understood as a consequence of sectorally unbalanced knowledge evolution, where the problem lies in underinvestment in innovative capabilities in the downstream sector. Our computational two-sector model suggests an important new role for innovation policy to create a balanced, sectorally-targeted approach.

Innovation policy in China: nationally promulgated but locally implemented

ABSTRACTIn China, policies are often announced at the national level but implemented locally. Innovation policies are no exceptions. This article studies China’s 50% R&D tax deduction policy, a key innovation policy promulgated by the central government in 2006. We find that the degree to which the policy was implemented during the period of 2006–2009 varied across the provinces and industries, which in turn had significant impacts on local firms’ innovation output. The findings of the heterogeneity in local implementation of national innovation policies are of important implications for both policy makers and innovation scholars.

University-Industry Linkages in the Disaster Resilience Sector: A Case Study of Thailand

Abstract University-industry linkages in the Disaster Resilience Sector in Thailand were studied at two main levels: the national level and the institutional level. Comparisons were made of specific data such as the linkage structures, lessons learnt, policies and barriers, between Thailand and developed countries such as the United Kingdom. This analysis was done to identify the key elements, factors and contexts in constructing and maintaining university-industry linkages in various spectrums and approaches, and to apply these to the Disaster Resilience Sector. These results can be further developed as guidelines for universities in developing countries that wish to develop university-industry linkages. The study also addressed a specific university-industry linkage called ‘secondment plan’ which includes university policies on the detachment of university staff from their regular work or position in the university for temporary assignment in industry sectors. For this part, the Talent Mobility Project, a governmental project that supports Thai university staff, particularly academic staff, in doing cooperative work with the industry sector, was analysed. This project is the responsibility of the National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office (STI) of Thailand. The weakness and the strengths of this project were identified through interviews with senior staff of STI, Science Park and Naresuan University. The results have been developed into a guidelines model for universities in developing countries.

INNOVATION POTENTIAL: IMPACT ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY’S COMPETITIVENESS OF THE EU DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

The success of the economy of each country is determined by its innovation development. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the essence of innovation potential and its role in providing the national economy’s competitiveness under the conditions of technological changes on the example of the European Union developed countries. The subject of research is the innovation potential of Austria and Germany. Methodology. The study is based on a comparative analysis of approaches to determination and evaluation of innovation potential in specialized economic literature. Analysis and synthesis and the system approach were used to outline the entity of innovation potential, to explore and structure its elements in the context of providing the national economy’s competitiveness. The quality and quantity analysis were used to discover general characteristics of the EU countries’ innovation development, special aspects of the national innovation systems of Austria and Germany, the role of innovation potential in the national economies competitiveness of these countries. The method of mathematical modelling in economics, in particular, regression analysis based on annual data for the period from 1995 to 2015, was applied to assess the impact of innovation potential on the Austria and Germany competitiveness. The absolute value of GDP and the share of export of goods and services in GDP are used as a dependent variable. Elements that characterize the country’s innovation potential were used as independent variables: the share of researchers in R&D of total population, the share of labour force with advanced education of total working-age population with advanced education, expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP, R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP, patent applications as a percentage of total population. Results of the survey of theoretical works showed that the most multifaceted and comprehensive approach to determining the essence and elements of innovation potential is the “Resources-Results” approach. This very approach was used for empirical analysis of Austria and Germany’s innovation potential and evaluation of its impact on the national economic competitiveness of these countries. It has been found that the greatest impact on the development of Germany’s national economy is provided by: scientific resources, financial and economic resources, human resources. The most important elements of Austria’s innovation potential are financial and economic resources, scientific resources, human resources, as well as the effectiveness of innovation. Generally, the results of the empirical study show a significant contribution of innovation potential to the national economy’s competitiveness of the EU developed countries. It was revealed that a pivotal role in the implementation of innovation potential belonged to the state and its efficient innovation policy. Practical implications. Elements of innovation potential (that has a positive effect upon Austria and Germany’s economic development) indicate differences in the general characteristics and efficiency of national innovation policy. This allows us to determine and ground the main directions of innovation policy to increase innovation potential efficiency. It was revealed that Austria should adjust its education policy: education system should be more oriented towards the R&D development and its implementation in the economy. Germany should improve an efficiency of innovation policy (especially in export-oriented industries) and the effectiveness of implementing the R&D results in the economy, optimize education and employment policies. Value/originality. The obtained results can be used for further developing and improving the investment policy of Germany and Austria. Further research of separate resources and elements of innovation potential will allow expanding the opportunities for the national economy competitiveness increasing that is important in the context of tougher international competition.

Az EU tagállamok innovációs és versenyképességi klaszteresedése 2013-ban

In the era of the innovation economy it is natural that innovation is one of the key definitions, because of its literature is excessively far-reaching: global, micro and macro level, in connection ofthe business and non-business sector, it’s also defined in social context. The literary backgroundof this essay shows a historical overview of the development that occurred in the definition ofinnovation and its different interpretations. After exploring the literary background a quantitative, descriptive and explanatory statisticanalysis will be written in a monothetic and deductive approach. In this phase of my researchI will make macro level international comparative analyzes with the help of the EU and theWEF (World Economic Forum) data base (Innovation Union Scoreboard, illetve Global Competitiveness Index), and the SPSS software. This essay’s goal is to determine whether there is aconnection between innovation processes and the forming of competitiveness on a macro leveland if there is how it can be interpreted. Later with a similar goal and methodology I would liketo make international micro level comparative analyzes and then by combining the macro andmicro level results, I will determine how the macro level innovation policy influences the microlevel innovativeness and competitiveness. Using all of these results I would like to determine thespecial features of the national innovation policy and the chances for optimalization.

An Empirical Study of Policy Implementation of Thailand Talent Mobility Programme

<p>This paper empirically examines the national policy deployment of talent mobility programme aiming to leverage innovation atmosphere in private sector as a part of national strategy to escape middle income country status. The main policy mechanism is to facilitate universities and research institutes to develop their internal regulations in accordance with the Cabinet approval such that their talents can be legally mobilised to conduct research or project in private companies for competitiveness improvement. Moreover, clearing houses or service centres were established to eliminate the gap between industry and university, whereas training programmes were also developed for capacity building purpose, especially for staffs in those centres. Lastly, facilitation resources such as management, research fund, and compensation were mutually supported by government agencies including National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office and Office of the Higher Education Commission. Based on data collection from the talent mobility projects executed during 2014 to 2016, key success factors and barriers were observed and subsequently the policy recommendations were proposed for improving the programme implementation in future.</p><h4><strong> </strong></h4><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Talent Mobility, STI Policy, GEDP</p>

Agency and structure in a sociotechnical transition: Hydrogen fuel cells, conjunctural knowledge and structuration in Europe

Despite each level of the multilevel perspective of sociotechnical transitions reflecting a different degree of structuration, structuration perspectives have been little used to help explain sociotechnical change and stasis. Here we show how ‘strong structuration’ can be used to theorise the role of agency in sociotechnical systems in a way that brings together psychological and sociological perspectives. Strong structuration gives weight not only to actors’ practices, but also to their experiences. Practices and structures are viewed as mutually influencing, as in Giddens’ original conception, but the role of situated, subjective experience is also explicitly acknowledged. Applying this perspective, we show how individual attitudes and beliefs in relation to a niche energy technology are influenced by experience of national economic and innovation policy environments, with in turn implications for expectations of action by self and others. The overall aim is to illustrate a framework that connects individual psychology to practice, with implications for sociotechnical structure. For this purpose we draw on case study data of European R&D stakeholder opinion of stationary hydrogen fuel cell applications for heat and power, focusing particularly on the contrasting situations of the UK, Germany and Spain.

The Systems Perspective of National Innovation Ecosystems

In this paper, we argue for a systems perspective as the theoretical and analytical basis of national innovation ecosystems. Drawing on the system concepts of holism, emergence and open systems features, we analyse the national innovation ecosystems of Australia and Singapore. The analysis of national innovation ecosystems is based on five dimensions of policies: human capital investment and the availability of professional labour, infrastructure, private–public sector collaboration, support for funding and commercialization and innovation corporate culture. We find both countries' national innovation ecosystems to have aspects of holism, emergence and being open systems; however, the extent of these features varies between the two countries in terms of the five dimensions of national innovation policies that we focus on. The paper provides implications for theory and practice particularly for policymakers to consider systems perspective in order to properly design and also gain benefits from national innovation ecosystems. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

National innovation policy and public science in Australia

In this paper, I have positioned myself with Kean Birch and explored some of the political-economic actors/actants of policy suites implicated in the biotechnologies and bioeconomy. In particular, I have considered Australia’s recent National Innovation and Science Agenda and allied documents and entities (that is, Innovation and Science Australia, the National Science Statement and the 2016 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap) as one of the National Innovation Strategies in place now in OECD countries and beyond. In overview, these policy suites utilise the same high knowledge creation/low translation and commericalisation arguments as elsewhere to press for particular ideologically based ‘improvements’ to public science. Mapping the terrain of these entities has revealed the innovation, biotechnology and bioeconomy policy space to be inordinately complex and challenging to navigate. Reviewing Australia’s position enables the type of comparative work that contributes to a closer understanding of the largely neoliberal global economic imperatives shaping contemporaneity. Moreover, while these policy suites attempt to constitute and circulate particular visions of science education, their complex nature mitigates against science teachers/educators grappling with their implications.

Science, technology, and innovation for economic competitiveness: The role of smart specialization in less-developed countries

Smart specialization (SS) is a policy concept that has gained significant momentum in Europe despite a frail theoretical background and implementation difficulties. These challenges become critical in the case of less-developed economies that often lack regional autonomy, a strong STI base, and local capabilities to identify and sustain such SS strategies. Combining elements from evolutionary economics and the export-led literature, I propose a framework that anchors the role of SS in the national innovation policy of such laggards, as a complementary avenue for improving competitiveness and growth. Moreover, to assist policy makers in lagging regions or countries, I advance a diagnostic tool to identify potential areas for SS, and also address the systemic and the regional-sectoral bottlenecks in these domains. I exemplify the use of this tool in the case of Bulgaria by using a large battery of quantitative and qualitative indicators from publicly available data. This type of investigation may be useful for other less-developed economies to kick-start this process and identify prima facie SS candidates.

Reforming Turkey s higher education system in order to attain high income, innovation driven, intellectual economy status

Middle-income trap is a status of slowing down and stagnation in economic growth when countries reach middle-income levels. Countries have to restructure their economies fundamentally in order to get rid of this trap; and they restructure national resources, particularly human capital for higher education, technological production and innovation systems. Under realities of the global economic system innovation capacities of nations along with knowledge production have gained extra importance. Fresh perspectives share the view that competitiveness of national economies is founded on innovation; and formulating a national innovation policy especially in developing countries seems to be essential for economic growth and development. In this light a crucial role governments are expected to assume is reforming research institutions, technology transfer institutions and higher education systems in general. In this paper, I will analyze these perspectives with a specific focus on Turkey’s national innovation efforts and higher education system.

Quantitative Analysis of Policy Transfer among China’s National Innovation Independent Demonstration Zones

Policy transfer is a process in which different organizations learn from each other to achieve policy innovation. It is also considered as an important channel of policy issuance. In China, national independent innovation demonstration zones serve as carriers of not only technological development, but also technological policies issued by China. Along with development of these national independent innovation demonstration zones, policy exchange and cooperation has become increasingly frequent among them. This paper attempts to find out different paths for policy transfer through a textual analysis of policies among China’s national independent innovation demonstration zones. First, quantitative connotation and characteristics of policy transfer are analyzed. Then, a policy transfer quantitative evaluation index system is built based on three dimensions of policy transfer, namely intensity, breadth and speed. Following that, the quantitative evaluation index system is used to analyze policy transfer among national independent innovation demonstration zones. The paper tries to explore favorable policy categories for transfer, and learn the policy development status in these national independent innovation demonstration zones as well as the policy transfer trend from different perspectives. To sum up, this research can provide not only data support for policy innovation of China’s independent innovational demonstration zones and accelerate their in-depth cooperation in terms of policy transfer, but also a new methodological research paradigm for quantitative analysis of policy transfer among parallel organizations.

The third sector of R&D: literature review, basic analysis, and research agenda

Abstract The third sector of national innovation systems comprises non-academic, publicly owned R&D organizations that complement universities and private-sector firms and are normally called ‘research institutes’. Scholarly attention to these organizations has been scarce, partly a consequence of the theoretical imbalance in favor of conceptualizations of innovation processes as requiring mainly universities, private-sector firms, and governmental authorities to occur and succeed. Similarly, while this third sector often makes up a significant share of national innovation systems, it receives less attention in national research and innovation policy than do, say, universities. This paper argues that the role(s) and function(s) of third sector research institutes deserve to be mapped and analyzed in greater detail in order to understand how various organizational actors interact to produce innovation. From a comprehensive literature review and basic analysis of three institute groups in three Nordic countries, the paper makes a first preliminary analysis of the topic. While this analysis yields some interesting conclusions, its main function is to point the way for future studies. In these, other actors in the system should be investigated in thorough empirical studies, armed with tools from classic sociological systems theory that enhance the conceptual strength of the innovation systems framework and enable the acknowledgement of the role(s) and function(s) of several important organizational actors, not least research institutes.

Gestión del conocimiento y políticas de innovación

La implementación a nivel organizacional de una adecuada gestión del conocimiento y la administración e identificación del capital intelectual determinan la efectividad de las políticas nacionales de innovación. Este artículo analiza la intersección entre políticas nacionales de innovación y la gestión del conocimiento en las organizaciones para transferir valor a la economía y a la sociedad en general. Para ello estudia la reciente literatura relacionada directa e indirectamente con esta intersección. El documento introduce y define los conceptos principales que resultan relevantes para la comprensión del tema. Después de eso se señalan algunos modelos teóricos recientes para comprender la innovación más allá de los modelos lineales y de triple hélice, resaltando la democratización de la educación y de la producción de conocimiento como parte en el análisis de los modelos de innovación. El escrito resalta la importancia de la valuación del capital intelectual, con especial énfasis en políticas nacionales y organizacionales enfocadas en el capital humano, los activos del conocimiento y la educación. Señala asimismo los clústeres y parques tecnológicos como ejemplos valiosos para analizar las intersecciones de las macro y micro políticas de innovación. Finalmente, las conclusiones se centran en una reflexión de cierre sobre la coordinación de esfuerzos a nivel gubernamental y organizacional, y en algunas sugerencias para nuevas investigaciones sobre este tema.

Standard-Essential Patents within Global Networks - An Emerging Economies Perspective

Efficient licensing of standard-essential patents (SEPs) is crucial for achieving a rapid and broad-based diffusion of innovation. Owners of large SEP portfolios (and their supporters) argue that the governance of SEPs works reasonably well and that patent holdup and other negative effects are “purely theoretical”. In reality however, the governance of SEPs remains highly inefficient. Nobel prize laureate Jean Tirole as well as Carl Shapiro, Mark Lemley, Josh Lerner and many others have painstakingly documented that the licensing of SEPs is prone to market failures such as externalities (both positive and negative), information problems, market power and free-riding, which might hinder the realization of the economic and societal benefits of the affected standards. There is no doubt that SEP-related market imperfections continue to constrain standard implementers (both large and small) who are increasingly opposed to this form of “technology taxation”.This paper addresses two unresolved issues. First, most of the existing SEP research has focused on advanced countries. It is time to address growing concerns in emerging and developing countries that SEP-related market failures may create added uncertainty for their companies, generating unpredictable and often quite significant costs and delaying market entry of their products. Second, such SEP-related market failures are even more important in a world where increasingly complex and diverse global corporate networks integrate dispersed production, engineering, product development and research across geographic borders. The paper seeks to extend the analysis of SEPs to include challenges that companies from an emerging economy face that when they are deeply integrated into these global networks of production (GPNs) and innovation (GINs). The paper summarizes what we know about SEP-related market failures and their impacts on standard implementers, and highlight drivers and the hierarchical nature of GPNs and GINs, distinguishing network flagships and different layers of network suppliers. I will then discuss a new “gains from trade” doctrine for economic development, promoted by the OECD, the WTO, and the World Bank, which emphasizes the role of global network integration as “the 21st century’s fast lane to industrial development”. I will show that participation in these global corporate networks raises new challenges, especially for lower-tier suppliers, many of them based in emerging or developing countries. I will describe restrictions imposed by the new “gains from trade” doctrine on national innovation policies, especially with regard to patents and standards. These restrictions may well constrain the capacity of those companies to cope with the imperfect governance of SEPs.It is on this basis that I will then sketch out a preliminary research agenda for exploring impacts that Chinese companies may face within GPNs or GINs. In the Conclusions, I will review suggested responses to some of these market failures, using illustrative examples from standard development organizations and competition policy.

Innovation policy in a global economy

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how national innovation policies strategically interact to form emergent de facto global entrepreneurship and innovation policies.Design/methodology/approachReviews the innovation economics theory and policy literature, synthesizing the existing work into three models (autarky, cooperation and competition), then adds four new models of strategic interaction (asymmetric information, duopolistic competition, competitive factor mobility and complementary assets).FindingsThe different models predict very different outcomes. Therefore, it matters which model is true. Entrepreneurship and innovation policy needs to start with an improved science of strategic global interaction of national innovation policy.Research limitations/implicationsConceptual approach only, without empirical analysis, calls for empirical analysis to test the different models.Practical implicationsPoints to the problem of absence of global coordination in innovation policy arising from strategic interactions between national innovation policies. Recognizes that entrepreneurship public policy is caught in this strategic game, and that there are missing global institutions here.Social implicationsImproved innovation policy should enable more effective entrepreneurial environments.Originality/valueProposes seven models for understanding global strategic interaction of innovation policy, out of which four are new. These new ones are highly relevant to entrepreneurship policy.

The importance of the technologically able social innovators and entrepreneurs: A US national laboratory perspective

A country's National Innovation Policies (NIP) often center on military, energy or other national security missions. Yet many countries' NIPs have resulted in tremendous societal benefit through both planned and unplanned action not associated with these goals. Socially important technology product platforms often are developed at facilities that are part of National Innovation Systems. Yet the policies that govern Social Entrepreneurial Action (SEA) at these facilities are unclear. If there is not a place for SEA in these facilities for technology transfer practice then there is cause for concern.Here we add to the growing literature on SEA by utilizing the case study method to investigate how SEA has been utilized by the US National Innovation Systems (NIS) for the benefit of society. We do this by investigating two cases which emphasize internal (corporate) and external SEA in a research facility within the US NIS. We demonstrate how a US national laboratory's external engagement of SEA led to one of the most important innovations of the last half of the 20th century – the Laminar Flow Clean Room. We also show how internal SEA led to the emergence of the National Institute for Nanotechnology Engineering (NINE). The “NINE program” created a pathway enabling the emergence of nascent policy makers, technologists and entrepreneurial professionals. We then provide a model for SEA at US national laboratories through technology able social innovators and identify a new type of internal and external social entrepreneur – the Technologically Able Social Entrepreneur (TASE).