Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

National Innovation Systems in the Asia Pacific: A Comparative Analysis

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Innovation in the Asia Pacific

Abstract

In the final Chapter of Part One Clarke, Chelliah and Pattinson offer a comparative survey of the contrasting innovation systems of the Asia Pacific. While Asian economies have achieved rapid industrial progress, as they reach the global technological frontier they need to develop new institutional capabilities for sustaining international competitiveness. Foundational institutions including education, research, law and finance require coordination around coherent national innovation systems to sustain commitment to innovative products and processes. Technological innovation is more likely to succeed “when the elements of the broader environment surrounding firm’s activities are well articulated into a system, than in situations where each element works largely isolation… The overall innovation performance of an economy depends not so much on how specific formal institutions (firms, research institutes, universities) perform, but on how they interact with each other as elements of a collective system of knowledge creation and use, and on their interplay with social institutions (such as value, norms and legal frameworks)” (Dodgson in Elgar companion to neo-Schumpeterian economics. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, U.K, pp. 193–200, 2007: 592). The national innovation system essentially facilitates how knowledge is generated and accumulated in the economy to serve as the catalyst and fuel for innovation (Yim and Nath in Science Technology Society 10, 2005).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S., & Robinson, J. (2005). Institutions as the fundamental cause of long-run growth. In P. Aghion & S. Durlauf (Eds.), A(eds). Handbook of Economic Growth, Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aghion, P., & Howitt, P. (2006). Appropriate growth policy: An integrating framework. Journal of the European Economic Association, 4, 69–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aghion, P., & Howitt, P. (2009). The economics of growth. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aghion, P., Boulanger, J., & Cohen, E. (2011, June). Rethinking industrial policy. Bruegel Policy Brief, 2011/4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Albuquerque, E. M. (2007). Inadequacy of technology and innovation systems at the periphery. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 31, 669–690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Álvarez, I., & Marín, R. (2010). Entry modes and national systems of innovation. Journal of International Management, 16, 340–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 109–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumol, W. (2002). The free-market innovation machine: Analyzing the growth miracle of capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Best, M. (2001). The new competitive advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Burns, A. (2009). Technology diffusion in the developing world. In Chandra et al. (Eds.), pp. 169–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson, B. (2006). Internationalization of innovation systems: A survey of the literature. Research Policy, 35, 56–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaminade, C., & Edquist, C. (2006). Rationales for public policy intervention from a systems of innovation approach: The case of VINNOVA. CIRCLE Electronic Working Paper Series Paper no. 2006/04.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, T.-J., & Lee, J. (2004). The New knowledge economy of Taiwan. Cheltenham: Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, T. (1999). The development of management education in China. Education and Training, 41, 6/7, 273–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, T. (2016). The Widening scope of directors duties: The impact of social and environmental responsibility. Seattle University Law Review, 39, 531–578.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, T., & Clegg, S. (2000). Changing paradigms: The transformation of management knowledge for the 21st century. London: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, P., & Leydesdorff, L. (2006). Regional development in the knowledge-based economy: The construction of advantage. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 31(1), 5–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandra, V., Eröcal, D., Padoan, P., & Braga, C. (2009). Innovation and growth: Chasing a moving frontier. OECD/World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ciuriak, D. (2011). The Return of Industrial Policy, http://ssrn.com/abstract=1929564.

  • Criscuolo, C. (2015). Productivity Is Soaring at Top Firms and Sluggish Everywhere Else, Harvard Business Review, 24 August, 2015 https://hbr.org/2015/08/productivity-is-soaring-at-top-firms-and-sluggish-everywhere-else.

  • Dahlman, C. (2009). Different innovation strategies, different results: Brazil, Russia, India, China and Korea (the BRICKs). In Chandra et al. (Eds.), pp. 131–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodgson, M. (2000). Policies for science, technology and innovation in Asian Newly industrializing economies. In R. R. Nelson & L. Kim (Eds.), Technology, learning and innovation (pp. 229–268). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodgson, M. (2007). Technological collaboration. In H. Hanusch & A. Pyka (Eds.), Elgar companion to neo-Schumpeterian economics (pp. 193–200) Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodgson, M. (2009). Asia’s national innovation systems: Institutional adaptability and rigidity in the face of global innovation challenges. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 26, 589–609.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodgson, M., Gann, D., & Salter, A. (2005). Think, play, do: Technology, innovation and organization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodgson, M., Gann, D., & Salter, A. (2008). The management of technological innovation: Strategy and practice (2nd ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunning, J. H. (2006). Towards a new paradigm of development: Implications for the determinants of international business activity. Transnational Corporations, 15(1), 173–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edquist, C. (2005). Systems of innovation—perspectives and challenges. In J. Fagerberg, D. C. Mowery, & R. Nelson, (Eds.), Oxford handbook of innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Easterly, W. (2001). The elusive quest for growth: Economists’ adventures and misadventures in the tropics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagerberg, J. (2005). Innovation: A guide to the literature. In J. Fagerberg, D. Mowery, & R. Nelson (Eds.), The oxford handbook of innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagerberg, J., & Srholec, M. (2008). National innovation systems, capabilities and economic development. Research Policy, 37, 1417–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagerberg, J., & Verspagen, B. (2009). Innovation studies—the emerging structure of a new scientific field. Research Policy, 38, 218–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fagerberg, J., & Sapprasert, K. (2011). National innovation systems: The emergence of a New approach. Science and Public Policy, 38(9), 669–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, C. (1987). Technology policy and economic performance: Lessons from Japan. London: Pinter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, C. (1992). The economics of hope: Essays on technical change and economic growth. London: Pinter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, C. (1995). The ‘national system of innovation’ in historical perspective. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 19, 5–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, C. (1997). The diversity of national research systems. In R. Barre, M. Gibbons, J. Maddox, B. Martin, & P. Papon (Eds.), Science in tomorrow’s Europe. Paris: Economica International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, C. (2002). Continental, national and sub-national innovation systems—complementarity and economic growth. Research Policy, 31, 191–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, C. (2004). Technological infrastructure and international competitiveness. Industrial and Corporate Change, 13(3), 541–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, C. (2008). Systems of innovation: Selected essays in evolutionary economics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Georghiou, L., Smith, K., Toivanen, O., & Ylä-Anttila, P. (2003). Evaluation of the finnish innovation support system (38 pp). Finland: Ministry of Trade and Industry Publications 5/2003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP). (2013). Moving towards a common approach to green growth indicators. Switzerland: Green Growth Knowledge Platform.

    Google Scholar 

  • Godin, B. (2009). National innovation system: The system approach in historical perspective. Science Technology Human Values, 34(4), 476–501.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, I., Branstetter, L., Goddard, J., & Kuriakose, S. (2008). Globalization and technology absorption in Europe and Central Asia: The role of trade, FDI, and cross-border Knowledge flows, world bank working paper 150, world bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, R. (1991). The resource-based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33(1991), 114–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, R. (1996). Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 109–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, R. (2015). Australia’s INNOVATION future: A Report on the Structure and Performance of Australia’s National Innovation System. Committee Expert Consultant Report, Economics Reference Committee, Australian Parliament.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gu, S., & Lundvall, B. A. (2006). China’s innovation system and the move toward harmonious growth and endogneous innovation. Innovation: Management, Policy and Practice, 8(1–2), 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helpman, E. (2004). The mystery of economic growth. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoff, K., & Stiglitz, J. (2001). Modern economic theory and development. In G. Meier, J. Stiglitz, & N. York (Eds.), Frontiers of development economics. NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howitt, P. (2009). Competition, innovation and growth: Theory, evidence, and policy challenges. In V. Chandra, D. Evocal, P. Padoan, & C. Bragg (Eds.), Innovation and growth: Chasing a moving frontier (pp. 15–24). OECD/World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, L. (1997). Imitation to innovation: The dynamic of Korea’s technological learning. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, L., & Nelson, R. R. (2000). Technology, learning and innovation: Experiences of newly industrializing economies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krugman, P. R. (1987). Is free trade passe? Journal of Economic Perspective, 1(2), 131–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krugman, P. R. (1989). Exchange rate instability. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krugman, P. R. (1992). Does the new trade theory require a new trade policy? The World Economy, 15(4), 423–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leydesdorff, L., & Etzkowitz, H. (2003). Can “the public” be considered as a fourth helix in university-industry-government relations? Report of the fourth triple helix conference. Science and Public Policy, 30(1), 55–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorentzen, J. (2009). Learning by firms: The black box of South Africa’s innovation system. Science and Public Policy, 36(1), 33–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E. (1988). On the mechanics of economic development. Journal of Monetary Economics, 22(1), 3–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundvall, B.-Å. (1992). National systems of innovation: Towards a theory of innovation and interactive learning. London: Pinter Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lundvall, B.-Å. (2002). Innovation, growth and social cohesion: The Danish Model. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lundvall, B.-Å. (2007). National innovation systems—analytical concept and development tool. Industry and Innovation, 14(1), 95–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, C., & Brown, R. (2014). Entrepreneurial ecosystems and growth oriented entrepreneurship. OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazzucato, M. (2016). From Market fixing to market-creating: A new framework for innovation policy. Industry and Innovation, 23(2), 140–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinsey. (2005). Asia’s next export: Innovation. New York: McKinsey Quarterly.

    Google Scholar 

  • METI. (2010). The Industrial Structure Vision 2010, Japanese Ministry for Economy, Trade and Industry http://www.meti.go.jp/english/policy/economy/pdf/Vision_Outline.pdf.

  • Ministry of Knowledge Economy. (2011). Industry Policies, www.mke.go.kr.

  • Naudé, W. (2010, September). New challenges for industrial policy. Working Paper No. 2010/107, United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, R. (1993). National innovation systems: A comparative analysis. OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noland, M., & Pack, H. (2003). Industrial policy in an era of globalization: Lessons from Asia. Washington DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2002). Dynamising national innovation systems. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2009a). Sustainable manufacturing and eco-innovation. Framework, practices and measurement. Paris, France: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2009b). Sustainable manufacturing and eco-innovation: Towards a green economy. Paris, France: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2010). The OECD innovation strategy: Getting a head start on tomorrow. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2015). Innovation strategy 2015: An agenda for policy action. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2017). Innovation networks and clusters. Innovation Policy Platform: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perez, C. (1983, October). Structural Changes and the assimilation of new technologies in the economic and social system. Futures, 15(5), 357–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pilat, D., Cimper, A., Olsen, K., & Webb, C. (2006). The Changing Nature of Manufacturing in OECD Economies, OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers, 2006/09. Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitelis, C. (2009). The sustainable competitive advantage and catching-up of nations: FDI, clusters, and the liability (Asset) of smallness? Management International Review, 49(1), 95–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, M. E. (1990). The competitive advantage of nations. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, M., Ketels, C., & Delgado, M. (2007). The microeconomic foundations of prosperity: Findings from the business competitiveness index. In A. Lopez-Claros, M. E. Porter, X. Sali-i-Martin, & K.Schwab (Eds.), The global competitiveness report 2006–2007. World Economic Forum.

    Google Scholar 

  • RIETI. (2011). Basic Research for a New Industrial Policy, August 22, 2011–July 31, 2013, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, IAA, Tokyo http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/projects/program/pg-06/index.html#.

  • Rodrik, D. (2004). Growth strategies. Working Paper, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodrik, D. (2008). Normalizing industrial policy. Commission on Growth and Development Working Paper No. 3, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romer, P. M. (1994). The origins of endogenous growth. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8(1), 3–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romer, P. M. (1986). Increasing returns and long-run growth. Journal of Political Economy, 94(5), 1002–1037.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schilling, M. A. (2005). Strategic management of technological innovation. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott-Kemmis, D. (2008). Industry policy frameworks for a knowledge economy, Review of the Australian Textile, clothing and footwear industry (Vol. 2). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (1994). Well-being, capability and public policy. Gionale degli Economist e Annali di Economia, 53, 333–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, H., & Taylor, L. (1990). The state and industrial strategy. World Development, 18(6), 861–878.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharif, N. (2006). Emergence and development of the national innovation systems concept. Research Policy, 35, 745–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sigurdson, J. (2005). Technological superpower China. Cheltenham: Elgar.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. (1776). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. F., & Polanyi, K. (2001). The great transformation, the political and economic origins of our time. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun, Y., & Liu, F. (2010). A regional perspective on the structural transformation of China’s national innovation system since 1999. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 77, 1311–1321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teece, D. (2000). Managing intellectual capital. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Texeira, A. (2014). Evolution, roots and influence of the literature on national systems of innovation: A bibliometric account. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 38(1), 181–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Texeira, A., & Silva, J. (2013). The intellectual and scientific basis of science, technology and innovation research. Innovation: European Journal of Social Science Research, 26(4).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ul Haque, I. (2007). Rethinking industrial policy, UNCTAD Discussion Paper No. 183, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNCTAD. (2000). Trade and Development Report 2000, United Nations Trade and Development Report.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNCTAD. (2017). World Investment Report—Investment and the Digital Economy, UNCTAD.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2016). UNESCO Science Report—Towards 2030, UNESCO Publishing http://en.unesco.org/unesco_science_report.

  • Verspagen, B. (2006). Innovation and economic growth. In J. Fagerberg, D. C. Mowery, & R. R. Nelson (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of innovation (pp. 487–513). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warwick, K. (2013). Beyond Industrial Policy: Emerging Issues and New Trends, OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papers, No. 2, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k4869clw0xp-en.

  • Wyckoff, A. (2016). Better Innovation for better lives. OECD Yearbook: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yim, D. S., & Nath, P. (2005). National innovation systems in Asian context. Science Technology Society, 10(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Yun, J. (2015). How do we conquer the growth limits of capitalism? Schumpeterian Dynamics of Open Innovation, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 1, 17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yusuf, S. (2012). East Asian experience with industrial policy and its implications for South Africa: Towards an urban-industrial growth strategy. Washington DC: The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Thomas Clarke & Elizabeth Pattinson

  2. University of Fiji, Lautoka, Fiji

    John Chelliah

Authors
  1. Thomas Clarke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John Chelliah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elizabeth Pattinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Clarke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Business and Social Innovation, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Thomas Clarke

  2. Department of Economics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Keun Lee

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Clarke, T., Chelliah, J., Pattinson, E. (2018). National Innovation Systems in the Asia Pacific: A Comparative Analysis. In: Clarke, T., Lee, K. (eds) Innovation in the Asia Pacific. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5895-0_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation