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ABSTRACT This thesis investigates innovative entrepreneurship in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The thesis is guided by the National Innovation Systems theory, where innovation is seen as result of interactions and learning between different institutions or actors. The objective was to investigate how conducive is the national system of innovation of Ethiopia in the perception of entrepreneurs and how relevant is the innovation policy of Ethiopia is to innovative entrepreneurship. A field study was conducted in order to collect empirical data through semi-structured interviews, observations and participation. Most of the interviews took place in the innovation hub iceAddis with most of the sample focusing on entrepreneurs that were members there. The results of the field study show that the national system of innovation of Ethiopia is not particularly conducive nor developed to empower to innovative entrepreneurs. Moreover, the policy although very ambitious does not explicably aim to empower entrepreneur. Other goals of the policy could have had spillover effects on entrepreneurs but they were not yet attained in the perception of innovative entrepreneurs. Keywords: Ethiopia, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, ICT, National Systems of Innovation

The main objective of this thesis is to propose a new perspective in terms of the convergence debate as it is discussed in varieties-of-capitalism (VoC) literature. The initial configuration of VoC stance as well as a part of the literature foresees the convergence of hybrids to a liberal market economy. By revisiting the core arguments of national-systems-of-innovation approach as well as the elaborations of the various critiques of VoC stance, we will propose the opposite. If we are to take &lsquo / innovation&rsquo / as a starting-point of analysis and favor government intervention with respect to it, hybrids are more likely to converge to a political economy that resembles more a coordinated-one. However the meanings of the key terms such as &lsquo / coordinated-market-economy&rsquo / and &lsquo / convergence&rsquo / will be re-evaluated to be able to provide an adequate standpoint in terms of the convergence debate.

In this paper, we analyze, estimate and compare five prototypic models of innovation, from a simple learning-by-doing model to an elaborated model that includes financial, organizational and technological determinants of innovation. From the comparison of the five models we conclude that institutions - in particular the national system of innovation - and organizations matter. The importance of networks and the importance of information flows from different economic actors add to the explanatory power and gives the best model fit among all models specified. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

Este trabalho visa investigar as demandas do setor empresarial voltadas às políticas de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação no Brasil a partir de 1990. São o foco central deste estudo entender como se processa a relação entre os principais atores do Sistema Nacional de Inovação (SNI) brasileiro e evidenciar como a Anpei, Anprotec e Abipti articulam às demandas empresariais e às políticas públicas para inovação. Questiona-se neste trabalho se as demandas do setor empresarial privado brasileiro têm sido contempladas pelas políticas de CT&I a partir dos anos 1990. Em um primeiro momento foram coletados dados e informações da Anpei, Anprotec e Abipti acerca do tema inovação tecnológica e das demandas empresariais em CT&I. Na seqüência, foram realizadas entrevistas com representantes de cada uma das três instituições. Além disso, foram reunidos dados e informações de outras associações como CNI, Fiesp, Firjan e IEDI. Da investigação realizada pode-se concluir que a partir dos anos 1990 tem aumentado a participação do setor empresarial na discussão de temas ligados à inovação. Todavia, os resultados dessa interface com o governo ainda mostram-se pouco efetivos em termos de atendimento de suas demandas. Verifica-se que falta uma cultura de inovação do setor empresarial bem como planejamento estratégico tanto por parte de governo e empresas para a formulação e implementação de políticas de inovação eficazes no país. / This study seeks to investigate the Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) demands of the private sector in Brazil since the 1990s by advancing understanding on how the relationship between the key National Systems of Innovation (NSI) actors operates. It also outlines how the Anpei, Anprotec and Abipti articulate private sector demands and public polices for innovation. The dissertation seeks to explore the extent to which the demands of the Brazilian private sector have been contemplated in the formulation of ST&I policies since the 1990s. In a first stage, data and information related to technology innovation and the ST&I demands of the private sector were collected from the Anpei, Anprotec and Abipti. Following these efforts, interviews with representatives of each institution were carried out. In addition, data from other business associations like CNI, Fiesp, Firjan and IEDI were also collected. Based on the analysis of this data, I conclude that there has been an increase in the participation of the private sector with respect to discussions on topics related to innovation. However, the results from the interface of this sector with the public sector have had limited effectiveness as the demands of private firms remain unmet. I also find that there is a lack of culture of innovation in the private sector, as well as strategic planning on the part of both the public and private sectors, and that these factors impede the formulation and implementation of more effective innovation policies.

Este trabalho visa investigar as demandas do setor empresarial voltadas às políticas de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação no Brasil a partir de 1990. São o foco central deste estudo entender como se processa a relação entre os principais atores do Sistema Nacional de Inovação (SNI) brasileiro e evidenciar como a Anpei, Anprotec e Abipti articulam às demandas empresariais e às políticas públicas para inovação. Questiona-se neste trabalho se as demandas do setor empresarial privado brasileiro têm sido contempladas pelas políticas de CT&I a partir dos anos 1990. Em um primeiro momento foram coletados dados e informações da Anpei, Anprotec e Abipti acerca do tema inovação tecnológica e das demandas empresariais em CT&I. Na seqüência, foram realizadas entrevistas com representantes de cada uma das três instituições. Além disso, foram reunidos dados e informações de outras associações como CNI, Fiesp, Firjan e IEDI. Da investigação realizada pode-se concluir que a partir dos anos 1990 tem aumentado a participação do setor empresarial na discussão de temas ligados à inovação. Todavia, os resultados dessa interface com o governo ainda mostram-se pouco efetivos em termos de atendimento de suas demandas. Verifica-se que falta uma cultura de inovação do setor empresarial bem como planejamento estratégico tanto por parte de governo e empresas para a formulação e implementação de políticas de inovação eficazes no país. / This study seeks to investigate the Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) demands of the private sector in Brazil since the 1990s by advancing understanding on how the relationship between the key National Systems of Innovation (NSI) actors operates. It also outlines how the Anpei, Anprotec and Abipti articulate private sector demands and public polices for innovation. The dissertation seeks to explore the extent to which the demands of the Brazilian private sector have been contemplated in the formulation of ST&I policies since the 1990s. In a first stage, data and information related to technology innovation and the ST&I demands of the private sector were collected from the Anpei, Anprotec and Abipti. Following these efforts, interviews with representatives of each institution were carried out. In addition, data from other business associations like CNI, Fiesp, Firjan and IEDI were also collected. Based on the analysis of this data, I conclude that there has been an increase in the participation of the private sector with respect to discussions on topics related to innovation. However, the results from the interface of this sector with the public sector have had limited effectiveness as the demands of private firms remain unmet. I also find that there is a lack of culture of innovation in the private sector, as well as strategic planning on the part of both the public and private sectors, and that these factors impede the formulation and implementation of more effective innovation policies.

This dissertation presents a multilevel model of national-level factors and their impact on the organizational-level characteristics of social enterprises and their innovations. This study builds on the foundations of two theoretical frameworks: the national systems of innovation, which recognizes economic competitiveness to be a product of several interrelated institutions (e.g. financial, educational, cultural, historical) and where organizational-level innovation drives country level competitiveness; and the comparative social enterprise framework, which contends that national-level institutions (e.g., economic competitiveness, models of civil society) drive the size and shape of the social enterprise sector of a country. Data for this study were collected from multiple secondary global datasets representing 54 countries across seven world regions. Research questions and hypotheses are examined using ordinal and logistic hierarchical generalized linear modeling, two analytical techniques capable of explaining variation at one level (i.e., organizations) as a consequence of factors at another level of analysis (i.e., countries) for non-normally distributed dependent variables. Findings indicate that economic competitiveness, welfare spending, culture and quality of life significantly impact the odds of a business being a social enterprise. Fewer significant relationships were found social enterprise innovations. Conclusions and policy implications are discussed in light of data limitations and the current state of the field.