Innovation Policy for Sustainability Transitions in Small Economies from 2008 to 2020 : The Case of Energy Technology Innovation in Hong Kong

In this study, we analyzed the innovation policy pathways utilized Hong Kong to enable sustainable energy transitions, in comparison to eleven other small, high-income economic peers. We identified and classified 696 relevant policy interventions in 12 countries between 2008 and 2020, and we further categorized the resulting policy tool mixes with the visual assistance of Correspondence Analysis methods. Hong Kong’s overall policy approach is characterized by using policy strategies to provide guidance of search for new innovations, and also s high reliance on soft support, voluntary tools and government procurement to drive eventual adoption and proliferation of technologies. However, Hong Kong’s policies fail to include support that can help domestic development of clean energy technologies overcome the barriers in the “Valley of Death” between initial invention and commercial availability, in contrast to policy actions of its more innovative peers