An integrated network approach to systems of innovation—the case of robotics in Japan

One of the paramount challenges researchers face analyzing the national system of innovation (NSI) is building effective tools to identify the strengths and weaknesses to understand the internal dynamics of the innovation system. This paper presents a systematic, comprehensive and flexible approach to analyze the innovation system in Japan in the case of robotics, one of the most successful Japanese industries. The approach formulated is based on the framework of techno-economic network (TEN), using data on patents, publications and market-related data complemented by conducting extensive interviews with key personnel in the academia, corporate and public research institutes moving from macro- towards micro-levels. Science, Technology and Market, the three major poles of an innovation system together with their linkages, mainly considered at the activity level are analyzed extensively. The findings clearly reveal the strengths of the approach in identifying the transformation of the innovation system and changing structural setups.