Title: Competing technological innovation systems as a challenge for new mission orientation - insights from the German Energiewende

Authors: Carsten Dreher; Martina Kovač; Carsten Schwäbe

Addresses: Chair for Innovation Management, School of Business and Economics, Freie Universität Berlin, Boltzmannstraße 20, Berlin 14195, Germany ' Chair for Innovation Management, School of Business and Economics, Freie Universität Berlin, Boltzmannstraße 20, Berlin 14195, Germany ' Chair for Innovation Management, School of Business and Economics, Freie Universität Berlin, Boltzmannstraße 20, Berlin 14195, Germany

Abstract: In the past decade, a major feature of science, technology and innovation (STI) policy has been the widespread adoption of a new mission-oriented approach based on 'grand challenges'. The concept reflects the idea of putting societal challenges into the centre of contemporary STI policy choice and design. However, little is known about how this new orientation will challenge today's policy practices and which policy mechanisms will be needed to support the fulfilment of such a goal. In this article we interpret the 'grand challenges' approach as a competition between different but dependent technological innovation systems. Out of this perspective we present an analysis of the current German energy revolution (Energiewende) and explore the significance of interacting and competing technological innovation systems (TIS) for goal-oriented policies. Building on the functional approach for studying TIS and insights from the time-strategic approach, we demonstrate that the governance of competing TIS leads to specific new challenges for STI policy. Especially the monitoring of technological development stages, reflexive policies and dynamic instrument adjustments are newly becoming necessary and highly dynamic policy elements.

Keywords: competing systems; technological innovation; energy turnaround; functional analysis; grand challenges; science technology innovation; STI policy; technology dynamics; time strategies; new mission orientation; Germany; Energiewende; energy transition; goal-oriented policies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFIP.2016.078382

International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy, 2016 Vol.11 No.1/2/3, pp.43 - 72

Received: 26 Jun 2015
Accepted: 01 Jun 2016
Published online: 15 Aug 2016 *

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