Innovation and Institutions

Edited by Steven Casper, Keck Graduate Institute, Claremont, California, US and the late Frans van Waarden, formerly Utrecht University, the Netherlands

'The idea behind this book is that institutions are important when it comes to explaining the specialisation and performance of national innovation systems. The idea is not new. But largely the institution-concept has remained somewhat vague and unspecified in the literature. This book is valuable since it succeeds in opening up the black box of institutions and organisations. The distinction between institutions at different levels and how they link up and form a systemic whole is especially original and fruitful. The interdisciplinary team behind the book has also produced a welcome antidote to the current tendency to benchmark innovation systems exclusively on the basis of quantitative indicators. The analysis demonstrates that some national systems do better in some specific areas because of being supported by institutions that are sometimes deeply rooted in history and culture. This is why imitating "best-practice" across countries is not a straight forward thing to do.'

• Contents: Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction: Scanning Literature on Institutions, Organizations and Innovation 2. Problems of Measuring Innovative Performance 3. National Innovation Systems Part II: Inside the Black Box: Organizations 4. Organizations and Innovation: Contributions from Organizational Sociology and Administrative Science 5. Innovation, Organizational Learning and Institutional Economics 6. Innovation Strategies, Interactive Learning and Innovation Networks Part III: The Broader Environment: Institutions 7. Varieties of Capitalism: Comparative Institutional Approaches to Economic Organization and Innovation 8. A Prototype Institution: Law, Regulation and Innovation Part IV: Conclusion 9. Conclusion: Questions for Further Research Index