Mapping variety of innovation strategies sponsored by the policy-mix: an analytical framework and an empirical exploration

Several studies claim that to address the current economic and social challenges that face societies requires a range of public instruments promoting a variety of new technologies, markets and institutions. However, these studies say little about how to monitor the degree to which the policy-mix fosters variety in the system. This paper attempts to contribute to on-going efforts in the innovation policy field by developing such an analytical framework. Taking a microeconomic approach, this framework proposes that the degree to which the policy mix promotes variety generation in the system can be understood by examining the innovation strategies of recipients of public innovation support. Specifically, the framework proposes to examine three different aspects of firms’ strategies and characteristics, which the literature has shown as central to their innovation behavior and outcomes: a) the innovation search path; b) the forms of governance for technological sourcing; and c) the learning loci. We provide an example of how this framework can be fruitfully applied.