The Evolution of Technologies in Time and Space: From National and Regional to Spatial Innovation Systems

Complementing existing approaches on national innovation systems (NISs) and regional innovation systems (RISs), the proposed spatial innovation systems (SISs) approach incorporates a focus on the path-dependent evolution of specific technologies as components of technological systems and the intermingling of their technological paths among various locations through time. SISs utilize spatial divisions of labor among several specialized RISs, possibly in more than one NIS. The SIS concept emphasizes the external relations of actors as key elements that transcend all existing systems of innovation. The integrating role of these relations remains inadequately understood to date. This poses a challenge for future research.