Mapping national innovation systems in the OECD area

Abstract

This paper focuses on the structure and organisation of innovative activities in selected OECD countries. Using the approach of national innovation systems as a conceptual framework and applying multivariate data analysis, this paper aims to add new insights into the specific structures of eighteen national innovation systems. A central result from this comparative study is a categorisation of these systems into different clusters, representing distinctive international similarities and dissimilarities. By accounting for sectoral specifics, the commonly taken perspective on national innovation systems is extended and a more precise picture of the structural composition of the analysed national innovation systems accrues.