IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v52y2023i2s0048733322001949.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Facilitating public procurement of innovation in the UK defence and health sectors: Innovation intermediaries as institutional entrepreneurs

Author

Listed:
  • Selviaridis, Kostas
  • Hughes, Alan
  • Spring, Martin

Abstract

This paper investigates how innovation intermediaries promote institutional change to facilitate public procurement of innovation (PPI). Several of the PPI implementation challenges reported in prior research originate in the institutional architecture underpinning demand articulation, and innovation procurement and adoption processes. We conceptualise innovation intermediaries as institutional entrepreneurs who seek to create new institutions or adjust existing ones to support PPI implementation. We report the results of two case studies of intermediaries facilitating PPI in the UK defence and health sectors, respectively. We contribute to PPI intermediation literature by showing that intermediaries address prevalent institutional failures through four types of institutional entrepreneurship activities: boundary spanning; advocacy; design of change; and capacity building. We elucidate, in particular, the role of individuals within intermediaries, as agents who learn about failures and adapt their institutional work over time. In doing so, these managers go beyond the remit and goals of the organisations they represent. The findings add to our understanding of how intermediaries support demand articulation for PPI by showing that their institutional work is also aimed at designing generic methods and processes to improve what is asked for, and how. We furthermore reveal conditions influencing the effectiveness of intermediaries' efforts to realise institutional change, thereby extending research on institutional entrepreneurship in PPI settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Selviaridis, Kostas & Hughes, Alan & Spring, Martin, 2023. "Facilitating public procurement of innovation in the UK defence and health sectors: Innovation intermediaries as institutional entrepreneurs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:52:y:2023:i:2:s0048733322001949
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2022.104673
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733322001949
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.respol.2022.104673?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harro van Lente & Marko Hekkert & Ruud Smits & Bas van Waveren, 2003. "Roles of Systemic Intermediaries in Transition Processes," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 7(03), pages 247-279.
    2. Elvira Uyarra & Kieron Flanagan, 2022. "Going beyond the line of sight: institutional entrepreneurship and system agency in regional path creation," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(4), pages 536-547, April.
    3. Bessant, John & Rush, Howard, 1995. "Building bridges for innovation: the role of consultants in technology transfer," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 97-114, January.
    4. Wouter Boon & Jakob Edler, 2018. "Demand, challenges, and innovation. Making sense of new trends in innovation policy," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 45(4), pages 435-447.
    5. Elvira Uyarra & Kieron Flanagan & Edurne Magro & Jon Mikel Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, 2017. "Anchoring the innovation impacts of public procurement to place: The role of conversations," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(5), pages 828-848, August.
    6. Howells, Jeremy, 2006. "Intermediation and the role of intermediaries in innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 715-728, June.
    7. Polzin, Friedemann & von Flotow, Paschen & Klerkx, Laurens, 2016. "Addressing barriers to eco-innovation: Exploring the finance mobilisation functions of institutional innovation intermediaries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 34-46.
    8. Edler, Jakob & Georghiou, Luke, 2007. "Public procurement and innovation--Resurrecting the demand side," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 949-963, September.
    9. John Rigby, 2016. "The impact of pre-commercial procurement on innovation," Chapters, in: Jakob Edler & Paul Cunningham & Abdullah Gök & Philip Shapira (ed.), Handbook of Innovation Policy Impact, chapter 12, pages 382-402, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Edler, Jakob & Yeow, Jillian, 2016. "Connecting demand and supply: The role of intermediation in public procurement of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 414-426.
    11. Dani Rodrik, 2008. "Normalizing Industrial Policy," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28009.
    12. Jillian Yeow & Elvira Uyarra & Sally Gee, 2015. "Closing the loop: examining the case of the procurement of a sustainable innovation," Chapters, in: Charles Edquist & Nicholas S Vonortas & Jon M Zabala-Iturriagagoitia & Jakob Edler (ed.), Public Procurement for Innovation, chapter 9, pages 235-262, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Nicholas Crafts & Alan Hughes, 2013. "Industrial Policy for the Medium to Long-term," Working Papers wp455, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    14. Villani, Elisa & Rasmussen, Einar & Grimaldi, Rosa, 2017. "How intermediary organizations facilitate university–industry technology transfer: A proximity approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 86-102.
    15. Miller, Fiona A. & Lehoux, Pascale, 2020. "The innovation impacts of public procurement offices: The case of healthcare procurement," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(7).
    16. Klerkx, Laurens & Leeuwis, Cees, 2008. "Matching demand and supply in the agricultural knowledge infrastructure: Experiences with innovation intermediaries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 260-276, June.
    17. Schot, Johan & Steinmueller, W. Edward, 2018. "Three frames for innovation policy: R&D, systems of innovation and transformative change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1554-1567.
    18. James Stewart & Sampsa Hyysalo, 2008. "Intermediaries, Users And Social Learning In Technological Innovation," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(03), pages 295-325.
    19. Phillips, Wendy & Knight, Louise & Caldwell, Nigel & Warrington, John, 2007. "Policy through procurement--The introduction of digital signal process (DSP) hearing aids into the English NHS," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 77-85, January.
    20. Uyarra, Elvira & Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, Jon Mikel & Flanagan, Kieron & Magro, Edurne, 2020. "Public procurement, innovation and industrial policy: Rationales, roles, capabilities and implementation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    21. Kivimaa, Paula & Boon, Wouter & Hyysalo, Sampsa & Klerkx, Laurens, 2019. "Towards a typology of intermediaries in sustainability transitions: A systematic review and a research agenda," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 1062-1075.
    22. van Winden, Willem & Carvalho, Luís, 2019. "Intermediation in public procurement of innovation: How Amsterdam’s startup-in-residence programme connects startups to urban challenges," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    23. Hyysalo, Sampsa & Juntunen, Jouni K. & Martiskainen, Mari, 2018. "Energy Internet forums as acceleration phase transition intermediaries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(5), pages 872-885.
    24. Aschhoff, Birgit & Sofka, Wolfgang, 2009. "Innovation on demand--Can public procurement drive market success of innovations?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 1235-1247, October.
    25. Edquist, Charles & Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, Jon Mikel, 2012. "Public Procurement for Innovation as mission-oriented innovation policy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 1757-1769.
    26. Georghiou, Luke & Edler, Jakob & Uyarra, Elvira & Yeow, Jillian, 2014. "Policy instruments for public procurement of innovation: Choice, design and assessment," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1-12.
    27. Kivimaa, Paula, 2014. "Government-affiliated intermediary organisations as actors in system-level transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1370-1380.
    28. Kostas Selviaridis & Martin Spring, 2022. "Fostering SME supplier‐enabled innovation in the supply chain: The role of innovation policy," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 58(1), pages 92-123, January.
    29. Julie Battilana & Bernard Leca & Eva Boxenbaum, 2009. "How actors change institutions : Towards a theory of institutional entrepreneurship," Post-Print hal-00576509, HAL.
    30. Kirkels, Yvonne & Duysters, Geert, 2010. "Brokerage in SME networks," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 375-385, April.
    31. Jakob Edler & Charles Edquist & Nicholas S. Vonortas & Jon Mikel Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, 2015. "Conclusions: lessons, limitations and way forward," Chapters, in: Charles Edquist & Nicholas S Vonortas & Jon M Zabala-Iturriagagoitia & Jakob Edler (ed.), Public Procurement for Innovation, chapter 11, pages 299-306, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    32. Dubois, Anna & Gadde, Lars-Erik, 2002. "Systematic combining: an abductive approach to case research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 55(7), pages 553-560, July.
    33. Boon, Wouter P.C. & Moors, Ellen H.M. & Kuhlmann, Stefan & Smits, Ruud E.H.M., 2011. "Demand articulation in emerging technologies: Intermediary user organisations as co-producers?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 242-252, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Héloïse Berkowitz & Antoine Souchaud, 2024. "Filling successive technologically-induced governance gaps: meta-organizations as regulatory innovation intermediaries," Post-Print hal-04228083, HAL.
    2. Berkowitz, Heloise & Souchaud, Antoine, 2024. "Filling successive technologically-induced governance gaps: Meta-organizations as regulatory innovation intermediaries," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    3. Mindel, Vitali & Overstreet, Robert E. & Sternberg, Henrik & Mathiassen, Lars & Phillips, Nelson, 2024. "Digital activism to achieve meaningful institutional change: A bricolage of crowdsourcing, social media, and data analytics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Uyarra, Elvira & Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, Jon Mikel & Flanagan, Kieron & Magro, Edurne, 2020. "Public procurement, innovation and industrial policy: Rationales, roles, capabilities and implementation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    2. van Winden, Willem & Carvalho, Luís, 2019. "Intermediation in public procurement of innovation: How Amsterdam’s startup-in-residence programme connects startups to urban challenges," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    3. Caloffi, Annalisa & Colovic, Ana & Rizzoli, Valentina & Rossi, Federica, 2023. "Innovation intermediaries' types and functions: A computational analysis of the literature," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    4. Kivimaa, Paula & Boon, Wouter & Hyysalo, Sampsa & Klerkx, Laurens, 2019. "Towards a typology of intermediaries in sustainability transitions: A systematic review and a research agenda," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 1062-1075.
    5. Levänen, Jarkko & Lindeman, Sara & Halme, Minna & Tervo, Matti & Lyytinen, Tatu, 2022. "Bridging divergent institutional logics through intermediation practices: Insights from a developing country context," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    6. Edler, Jakob, 2023. "Demand, public procurement and transformation," Discussion Papers "Innovation Systems and Policy Analysis" 79, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI).
    7. Kieron Flanagan & Elvira Uyarra & Iris Wanzenböck, 2021. "Towards a problem-oriented regional industrial policy: possibilities for public intervention in framing, valuation and market creation," Working Papers 52, Birkbeck Centre for Innovation Management Research, revised Apr 2021.
    8. Miller, Fiona A. & Lehoux, Pascale, 2020. "The innovation impacts of public procurement offices: The case of healthcare procurement," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(7).
    9. Obwegeser, Nikolaus & Müller, Sune Dueholm, 2018. "Innovation and public procurement: Terminology, concepts, and applications," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 74, pages 1-17.
    10. De Silva, Muthu & Howells, Jeremy & Meyer, Martin, 2018. "Innovation intermediaries and collaboration: Knowledge–based practices and internal value creation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 70-87.
    11. Edler, Jakob & Yeow, Jillian, 2016. "Connecting demand and supply: The role of intermediation in public procurement of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 414-426.
    12. Rossi, Federica & Caloffi, Annalisa & Colovic, Ana & Russo, Margherita, 2022. "New business models for public innovation intermediaries supporting emerging innovation systems: The case of the Internet of Things," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    13. Paula Kivimaa & Wouter Boon & Sampsa Hyysalo & Laurens Klerkx, 2017. "Towards a Typology of Intermediaries in Transitions: a Systematic Review," SPRU Working Paper Series 2017-17, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    14. Delorme, Donatienne, 2023. "The role of proximity in the design of innovation intermediaries' business models," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    15. Mwesiumo, Deodat & Glavee-Geo, Richard & Olsen, Kjetil Magnus & Svenning, Geir Arne, 2021. "Improving public purchaser attitudes towards public procurement of innovations," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    16. Elvira Uyarra & Kieron Flanagan & Edurne Magro & Jon Mikel Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, 2017. "Anchoring the innovation impacts of public procurement to place: The role of conversations," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(5), pages 828-848, August.
    17. Ghisetti, Claudia, 2017. "Demand-pull and environmental innovations: Estimating the effects of innovative public procurement," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 178-187.
    18. Abi Saad, Elie & Tremblay, Nathalie & Agogué, Marine, 2024. "A multi-level perspective on innovation intermediaries: The case of the diffusion of digital technologies in healthcare," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    19. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Hünermund, Paul & Moshgbar, Nima, 2020. "Public Procurement of Innovation: Evidence from a German Legislative Reform," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    20. Talmar, Madis & Walrave, Bob & Raven, Rob & Romme, A. Georges L., 2022. "Dynamism in policy-affiliated transition intermediaries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:52:y:2023:i:2:s0048733322001949. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.