Motors of sustainable innovation : Towards a theory on the dynamics of technological innovation systems

Abstract

Modern societies are encountering environmental and political problems in the sphere of energy supply. One way to deal with this is to support the development of sustainable energy technologies. Since the development and diffusion of renewable energy has proved to be a very slow process, strategic insight is needed into how the emergence of these technologies takes place and how this process can be accelerated. The objective of this book is to gain insight into the dynamics of technological change with a focus on sustainable energy technologies. As the theoretical starting point, the Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework is used. The TIS is a structure made up of actors, institutions and technologies, in which the development and diffusion of new technologies takes place. For the successful development of a technology, a TIS needs to be built up. This build-up is understood as the unfolding of key activities, or system functions, that take place within the TIS. The system functions are types of activities necessary for a TIS to develop and to yield fruitful innovations. These involve Entrepreneurial Activities, Knowledge Development, Knowledge Diffusion, Guidance of the Search, Market Formation, Resource Mobilisation and Support from Advocacy Coalitions. The author develops the idea that the build-up of a TIS, especially in a formative stage, can accelerate due to positive interactions between these system functions. These positive interactions are called motors of sustainable innovation. The development of motors of sustainable innovation is studied in several historical case studies situated in the Netherlands and Sweden (biomass gasification, biofuels, hydrogen fuel cells and automotive natural gas). Based on these studies, a typology of motors is constructed. Strategic lessons are drawn that specify which interventions can be taken to support particular motors.