The Role of Path Dependency in the Inefficiency of National Innovation Systems

Author

Assistant Professor of Science and Technology Policy, Information and Society Research Department, Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc), Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Innovation is a process in which multiple components with complicated relationships are involved. All components of innovation and the relationships between them are influenced by the peripheral environment. Thus, Innovation should be considered with a holistic and systemic approach. For nearly three decades, the national innovation system approach has raised to confront the complexities of innovation. The national innovation system is an interconnected set of institutions that create, accumulate and transfer knowledge, skills, and creativity and lead to new technologies. Much of the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the national innovation system is due to its path dependency, so-called lock-in the past path. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent this phenomenon in any economy. Understanding the various dimensions and aspects of this phenomenon is essential for this. In this regard, this article studies this concept in detail by reviewing the related literature and identifies all its dimensions. The results of this study show that path dependency in national innovation systems can be classified into both technology path dependency and institutional path dependency. Any type of path dependency can be due to history or positive feedback. In this study, in addition to describing the types of path dependency in the national innovation system, the source and reasons for each are described.

Keywords

References

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