In several parts of the world, countries are undergoing economic, social, and political transitions, enhanced and accelerated by the forces of globalization. These transition economies can serve as laboratories for understanding the innovation process. This volume features original theoretical and empirical research. It offers the first comprehensive view of innovation system development in the context of small catching-up economies. Smallness, path dependency, and latecomer status of such economies create some inherent limitations for their innovation systems, but these special characteristics can offer advantages as well. For example, smallness is often related with increased flexibility and shorter reaction times, while latecomers can benefit from earlier experiences of their more advanced neighbors. Path-dependency highlights the fact that the innovation system development processes are considerably influenced by the past experience of a particular country or region. By incorporating these features into an integrated analysis, the authors address such questions as: · What special features characterize the innovation system development in small catching-up economies? · What are the causes for innovation success or failure? · How do organizational capabilities and internationalization tendencies relate to company level innovations? · What is the role of human capital and social factors in the innovation process? · How can various policies support innovation in an integrated manner? Drawing from research about Europe, Asia, and Latin America, the authors provide readers with a systemic view of the innovation system development in small catching-up economies. They discuss the unique features of this development and contribute to an in-depth understanding of various determinants and their impacts on the innovation process. The policy implications will offer a set of normative guidelines for enhancing innovation system development.

In several parts of the world, countries are undergoing economic, social, and political transitions, enhanced and accelerated by the forces of globalization. These transition economies can serve as laboratories for understanding the innovation process. This volume features original theoretical and empirical research. It offers the first comprehensive view of innovation system development in the context of small catching-up economies. Smallness, path dependency, and latecomer status of such economies create some inherent limitations for their innovation systems, but these special characteristics can offer advantages as well. For example, smallness is often related with increased flexibility and shorter reaction times, while latecomers can benefit from earlier experiences of their more advanced neighbors. Path-dependency highlights the fact that the innovation system development processes are considerably influenced by the past experience of a particular country or region. By incorporating these features into an integrated analysis, the authors address such questions as: · What special features characterize the innovation system development in small catching-up economies? · What are the causes for innovation success or failure? · How do organizational capabilities and internationalization tendencies relate to company level innovations? · What is the role of human capital and social factors in the innovation process? · How can various policies support innovation in an integrated manner? Drawing from research about Europe, Asia, and Latin America, the authors provide readers with a systemic view of the innovation system development in small catching-up economies. They discuss the unique features of this development and contribute to an in-depth understanding of various determinants and their impacts on the innovation process. The policy implications will offer a set of normative guidelines for enhancing innovation system development.

In his previous Schumpeter Prize-winning work, Lee analysed the 'middle-income trap', in which a developing country grows strongly only to plateau at a certain point. Yet certain developing countries, most significantly China, have managed to escape this trap. Building on the conception of the ladder from developing to developed countries being kicked way, this book suggests alternative ways, such as 'leapfrogging', in which latecomers can catch up with their forerunners. Providing policy solutions for development challenges in non-technical terms, Lee frames his theories with insightful and inventive allegories. In doing so, Lee also accounts for the catch-up paradox, in which one cannot conclusively catch-up if they are continually trying to follow the path of those ahead. He argues that eventual catch-up and overtaking require pursuing a path that differs from that taken by forerunners. This highly original and accessible book will appeal to students, scholars, practitioners, and anyone interested in economic development and innovation.

The innovation systems (IS) approach emerged as a theoretical framework in the industrialized world in the mid-1990s to explain innovation and growth in the developed world. This Handbook is the first attempt to adapt the IS approach to developing countries from a theoretical and empirical viewpoint. The Handbook brings eminent scholars in economics, innovation and development studies together with promising young researchers to review the literature and push theoretical boundaries. They critically review the IS approach and its adequacy for developing countries, discuss the relationship between IS and development, and address the question of how it should be adapted to the realities of developing nations. Spanning national, sectoral and regional innovation systems across Asia, Latin America and Africa, and written by the world s leading scholars within the field, this comprehensive Handbook will strongly appeal to academics, researchers and students with an interest in innovation and technology in developing countries.

What are the challenges that small countries face concerning innovation and what are the effects of globalization on their innovation systems? In this very interesting, rich and timely book, Edquist and Hommen compare ten different small national innovation systems from the Asia Pacific and Northern Europe that are rather advanced in their development. The answers that the authors give are convincing and relate not only to the unique characteristics of each national system that shapes innovative activity, but also to some commonalities that exist across these countries. Franco Malerba, Bocconi University, Italy This major book presents case studies of ten small country national systems of innovation (NSIs) in Europe and Asia, namely, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden and Taiwan. These cases have been carefully selected as examples of success within the context of globalization and as new economies where competition is increasingly based on innovation. To facilitate comparative analysis the ten studies follow a common structure, informed by an activities-based approach to describing and analysing NSIs, which addresses the critical issues of globalization and the consequences of innovation for economic performance. The final chapter compares fast growth and slow growth countries, concentrating on issues of innovation policy. The results illustrate the usefulness of an activities-based approach to studying NSIs, point to distinctive national roles within an increasingly differentiated international division of labour and address the key themes of selectivity and coordination in innovation policy. This valuable book presents one of the most significant, comprehensive and comparative country studies of NSIs in the last decade. It will have great import and should be widely read by every serious student and scholar of innovation studies.

This book explores the drivers of technological upgrading and catch-up in the emerging economies, paying specific attention to technology and innovation policies, national innovation systems, the role of foreign direct investment and small and medium enterprises. It provides practical implications for other developing countries.

Leading scholars in the area of evolutionary economics clarify the structure of innovation systems and discuss the role played by technological innovation in fostering economic growth and international integration. Focusing on North America, they examine ecological, economic, and social problems confronting large-scale systems, and look at trends towards creation of supra-national systems in Asia, Europe, and North America. Material was first presented at a 1994 meeting held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR