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How STI-centric myopia marginalises DUI Innovation in Azerbaijan

Author

Listed:
  • Nijat Muradzada

    (University of Glasgow, School of Social & Political Sciences
    UNEC Empirical Research Center, Azerbaijan State University of Economics)

  • Rafiga Ibrahimli

    (University College London, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose)

Abstract

Innovation policies in post-Soviet economies often prioritise technology-oriented R&D infrastructures while neglecting the production capabilities that sustain incremental learning and adaptation. Yet the mechanisms leading to this outcome are not theorised in the literature. This paper explains how such a selective focus becomes institutionalised through STI-centric policy myopia, a configuration that narrows policy attention to visible, codifiable, and globally recognisable indicators. Using Azerbaijan as an illustrative case, the study draws on policy documents, media and social-media narratives, and a structured survey of senior officials to trace three reinforcing processes: circumscribed policy discourse, which limits the vocabulary through which innovation can be imagined; indicator-driven tunnel vision, which prioritises metrics and global rankings over capability-deepening reforms; and accretive institutional layering, which adds STI-compatible instruments on top of unreformed organisational cores, gradually locking the system into symbolic, high-visibility pathways. Together, these processes stabilise a reform trajectory in which STI-compatible models appear self-evident, while doing–using–interacting (DUI) modes, despite their relevance in sectors such as agriculture, logistics, and processing, remain peripheral to policy design. Recognising this mechanism clarifies why capability-deepening trajectories fail to materialise even when DUI practices exist in the economy, and it sharpens analytical expectations about reform patterns in developing and post-Soviet systems. The paper therefore offers a conceptual lens for understanding the reproduction of STI-oriented policy agendas and for analysing when and how alternative innovation imaginaries might gain institutional traction.

Suggested Citation

  • Nijat Muradzada & Rafiga Ibrahimli, 2026. "How STI-centric myopia marginalises DUI Innovation in Azerbaijan," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 1-25, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joevec:v:36:y:2026:i:1:d:10.1007_s00191-026-00945-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s00191-026-00945-w
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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