Stimulating innovative behaviour in national systems of innovation: theoretical, methodological and policy pitfalls and challenges

Abstract

South Africa was one of the first countries in the world that adopted a Systems of Innovation approach as its policy framework. By adopting this approach, one also inherits the problems, pitfalls, and challenges of a framework. This paper evaluates the Systems of Innovation approach from a theoretical, methodological, and policy perspective. Equipped with this knowledge, researchers can guide their research efforts, whereas policy makers can design more appropriate policy measures fitting and stimulating the functioning and effectiveness of a System of Innovation.Suid-Afrika was een van die eerste lande wat ‘n Stelsel van Innovasie as grondslag vir ‘n beleidsraamwerk aanvaar het. Die inherente probleme, slaggate en uitdagings van so ‘n raamwerk is egter belangrike faktore om in ag te neem. Hierdie artikel evalueer die Stelsel van Innovasie-benadering vanuit ‘n teoretiese, metodologiese en beleidsperspektief. Die bevindings kan as nuttige riglyne vir navorsingsbeplanning dien, terwyl beleidmakers meer toepaslike instrumente vir die stimulering van ‘n funksionele en effektiewe Stelsel van Innovasie kan ontwerp.