The main objective of this paper is to provide greater understanding of the systems
of innovation approach as a flexible and useful conceptual framework for spatial innovation
analysis. It presents an effort to develop some missing links and to decrease the conceptual
noise often present in the discussions on national innovation systems. The paper specifies
elements and relations that seem to be essential to the conceptual core of the framework and
argues that there is no a priori reason to emphasize the national over the subnational
(regional) scale as an appropriate mode for analysis, irrespective of time and place. Localised
input-output relations between the actors of the system, knowledge spillovers and their
untraded interdependencies lie at the centre of the argument.
The paper is organized as follows. It introduces the reader, first, to some basic elements
and concepts that are central to understanding the approach. The characteristics of the
innovation process are examined: its nature, sources and some of the factors shaping its
development. Particular emphasis is laid on the role of knowledge creation and dissemination
based on the fundamental distinction between codified and tacit forms. These concepts recur
throughout the paper and particularly in discussions on the nature and specifications of the
systems approach. The paper concludes by summarizing some of the major findings of the
discussion and pointing to some directions for future research activities. (author's abstract) / Series: Discussion Papers of the Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VIENNA/oai:epub.wu-wien.ac.at:4242 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Fischer, Manfred M. |
| Publisher | WU Vienna University of Economics and Business |
| Source Sets | Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Paper, NonPeerReviewed |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Relation | http://epub.wu.ac.at/4242/ |
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