National Systems of Innovation with Reference to Construction in Developing Countries

The concepts of national systems of innovation suggest that the innovative performance of an economy depends not only on how the individual institutions (e.g. firms, research institutes, universities) perform in isolation, but also on how they interact with each other as elements of collective system of knowledge creation and use, and on their interplay with social institutions (such as values, norms and legal frameworks). A significant amount of international literature is currently emerging on the concept of national systems of innovation. Much of this literature has focused on developed countries, although some initial work is now being done internationally on the application of national systems of innovation to developing countries. Very little of this work on national systems of innovation has, however, been sector specific such as for the construction industry. The paper reports on work currently being undertaken by the author to examine the application of national systems of innovation concepts to construction in developing countries, and derives tentative policy implications for the construction industry. The paper highlights differences between national systems of innovation for industrial development and for the broader construction industry, and national systems of innovation for developed and for developing countries.