Technological innovation systems and the resource based view - Resources at the firm , network and system level

Innovation system studies devote a key role to organizational actors in the development of new technologies. However, little effort has been made to incorporate a conceptual understanding of e.g. resources, capabilities and strategy making at the organizational level into the systems framework. In this conceptual paper, we explore the linkages between resource based reasoning in the field of management studies and the innovation systems perspective. The general idea is to work towards a micro-level foundation of innovation system analysis. We define and compare resources at the organizational, network and system level and highlight the fact that some types of resources can only be ‘produced’ at specific levels. On the basis of this concept, key questions related to the entry of actors into an innovation system and their commitment to ‘system entrepreneurship’ can be explained. Furthermore, the framework may allow for a comparison of the role of different actors and their contribution to TIS performance.