Instrumente der Innovationspolitik. Auf dem Weg zu einer neuen Industriepolitik?

Innovation policy and the building of dynamic capabilities are the key to successful industrial development. National support programs for R&D and industrial innovation have become increasingly important for economic development. The toolbox and the organizational processes of public innovation support have been changed considerably. Our paper thus analyzes the new features of innovation policy that have evolved during the past 10 to 15 years. Typical characteristics of the new paradigm of innovation policy are: the stronger emphasis on stimulating market forces, innovation-enhancing framework conditions, and the support of cooperation activities, networks and regional clusters (“open innovation”). Some movement away from supply-side policies and traditional “picking-the winner” policies can be observed. Since the financial crisis, manufacturing innovation has also become an issue in many countries, as well as the stronger involvement of government in stimulating innovation and industry renewal. New strategies in many countries emphasize future challenges that need to be solved through research and innovation (co2-reduction, energy, urbanization). We analyze Germany’s innovation system in particular: while being strong in basic research, we still miss dynamic capabilities and industrial renewal as a result of structural deficits. German industry is strong in medium-technology and incremental innovation, but weak in advanced-technology and knowledge-based services. Even though the German Federal Government formulated a New High-tech-Strategy in 2010, the successful implementation of a coherent strategy for innovation and industrial renewal still displays deficits.