This paper addressed the need for research regarding the role of associations in innovation systems. As defined here, the term association embraces not only organisations like business associations, but all actors who associate to pursue joint objectives and positively influence their (regional)...

While societal challenges are global in nature, solving and addressing them usually tends to take place at smaller spatial scales. As place-specific technological, institutional and actor settings have a decisive influence on the direction, scope and speed of transformative dynamics, regions...

The innovation system approach has become a current and frequently used tool for the assessment of innovative activities in different fields of study. So far, however, there is no unanimous agreement on the issue of the most relevant perspective which has to be taken when applying the approach...

Innovation networks are a major source for acquiring new information and knowledge and thus for supporting innovation processes. Despite the many theoretical and empirical contributions to the explanation of networks, many questions still remain open. For example: How can networks, if they do...