Why are so few electric cars in our streets today? Why is it difficult to introduce electronic patient records in our hospitals? To answer these questions we need to understand how state and non-state actors interact with the purpose of transforming so

A ground-breaking account which shows how the public sector must adapt, but also persevere, in order to advance technology and innovation From self-driving cars to smart grids, governments are experimenting with new technologies to significantly change the way we live. Innovation has become vitally important to states across the world. Rainer Kattel, Wolfgang Drechsler and Erkki Karo explore how public bodies pursue innovation, looking at how new policies are designed and implemented. Spanning Europe, the USA and Asia, the authors show how different institutions finance new technologies and share cutting-edge information. They argue for the importance of 'agile stability', demonstrating that in order to successfully innovate, state organizations have to move nimbly like start-ups and yet ensure stability at the same time. And that, particularly in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, governments need both long-term policy and dynamic capabilities to handle crises. This vital account explores the complex and often contradictory positions of innovating public bodies--and shows how they can overcome financial and political resistance to change for the good of us all.

Cities can only exist because of the highly developed systems which underlie them, ensuring that energy, clean water, etc. are moved efficiently from producer to user, and that waste is removed. The urgent need to make the way that these services are provided more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable means that these systems are in a state of transition; from centralized to decentralized energy; from passive to smart infrastructure; from toll-free to road pricing. Such transitions are widely studied in the context of the influence of service providers, users, and regulators. Until now, however, relatively little attention has been given to the growing role of intermediaries in these systems. These consist of institutions and organizations acting in-between production and consumption, for example; NGOs who develop green energy labelling schemes in collaboration with producers and regulators to guide the user; consultants who advise businesses on how to save resources; and travel agents who match users with providers. Such intermediaries are in a position to shape the direction that technological transitions take, and ultimately the sustainability of urban networks. This book presents the first authoritative collection of research and analysis of the intermediaries that underpin the transitions that are taking place within urban infrastructures, showing how intermediaries emerge, the role that they play in key sectors - including energy, water, waste and building - and what impact they have on the governance of urban socio-technical networks.

This work examines the governance of large technical systems (LTS) at firm, imdustry and state levels and the interactions between the systems and society. In particular, international contributors explore the implications of major technological , economic and social changes during the last twenty years for traditional forms of LTS governance. Their research is centred around the following themes: * traditional forms of governance * new regulatory challenges * the governability of complex technologies * conceptual issues related to the governance of inter-organizational networks

This essential Research Handbook provides an in-depth analysis of the link between corporate governance and ethics. By bringing together internationally renowned scholars, it reflects upon pertinent trends and challenges within the field. Significantly, it illuminates the ethical foundations of corporate governance.

'Non-traditional', border-spanning security problems pervade the global agenda. This is the first book that systematically explains how they are managed.