Functions in Innovation System Approaches

In the last twenty years, a large number of innovation system approaches have emerged. Even though there are similarities between different approaches, they emphasise different aspects of innovation systems. Moreover, within each approach the system models differ in terms of the concepts used and the actors identified and emphasised. It might, therefore, be useful to see if there is any agreement between the approaches with respect to what they claim “happens” in an innovation system, i.e. what functions are served in the system. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to find out if existing innovation system approaches share an understanding of the functions that are served in an innovation system and (2) to elaborate on the usefulness of the concept of “function” in innovation system studies. In summary, there seems to be quite a widely spread correspondence between different innovation system approaches with respect to the functions they mention so that a number of common, basic functions can be identified. The concept of “function” has several benefits. It provides a tool for setting system borders and may be used as a tool to diagnose the present state of a system or to create an easily grasped picture of innovation system dynamics. It makes it possible to assess system performance and may be useful in comparative studies since actors may be uncoupled from what happens in the system.