The Role of Social Networks for National Innovation Systems

1
The Role of Social Networks for National
Innovation Systems Dynamics

• Natalia Agapitova
• The World Bank
• PhD from University of Poitiers, France

2
From NIS as analytical framework towards NIS
as a development tool

• Relevance for the developing countries
  innovation and competitiveness
• Emergence and development of an efficient NIS
• What is an efficient NIS?
• What are the sources of system failures?
• Focus on the dynamics

3
NIS Dynamics

• Interactive learning as a main source of
  institutional and technological change
• Interactions how institutional and technological
  change are related?
• Beneath most formal ties, lies a sea of informal
  relations (Powell et al., 1996, p. 120)

4
Social Networks Analysis

•  Arms-length VS embedded ties
• Strong and weak embedded ties
• Social resources trust, knowledge circulation,
  new opportunities
• Heterogeneous structures

5
Social Networks Dynamics

• Embeddedness process
• Decoupling process
• Social gel
• Importance of institutional context

6
Social Processes in NIS Dynamics
Embeddedness
Market Regime Forms of interactions are
established by formal institutions (arms-length
ties)
Network Regime Forms of interactions are
established by informal institutions (embedded
ties)
Firms Organizations Individuals
Decoupling
7
Impact of Social Networks on NIS Dynamics

• Features of an efficient NIS
• Social barriers to innovative activities
  over-embeddedness
• Institution-building process
• Heterogeneity of NIS internal structures

8
Conclusions

• Social sources of NIS dynamics and systemic
  failures
• From undifferentiated framework to the studies of
  heterogeneous internal structures
• Need for a more systematic research of the
  interaction between social structures,
  institutions and private firms