Innovation and institutional change: the transition to a sustainable ...

16 Chapter 2
ways things were done in the past, they are often associated with systems
change. In the innovation typology by Abernathy and Clark (1985: 5) the
most radical innovations are those that make existing technologies obsolete
and disrupt existing market linkages, and they labelled these architectural
innovations, see the inner typology in the quadrants in Figure 2.1. This is
contrasted with regular or incremental innovations that build upon existing
competencies and linkages. If the nature of innovations is connected with the
nature of systems change, a typology such as in the outer part of the
quadrants in Figure 2.1 can be drawn. Although useful, this two-dimensional
typology is too limited and does not take into account other relevant types of
changes involved in systems change, such as in networks, institutions and
the way the system is embedded in society.
Figure 2.1 Typology of innovation and systems change (adapted from
Abernathy and Clark, 1985: 8)
Builds upon existing
competences / extends
existing technologies
System transformation
New markets
Regular innovation
Builds upon existing market linkages
/ expands existing customer markets
Disrupts existing market linkages
/ creates new customer markets
Revolutionary innovation
Niche creation Architectural innovation
System innovation
New sociotechnical systems
Disrupts existing competences
/ makes existing technologies
obsolete
Based on the model in Figure 2.1 the development and diffusion of radical
innovations fundamentally changes or replaces existing systems. To induce
radical innovations the previous dominance of theories based on a linear
model of innovation led to a strong focus on science-driven and supply-push
policies, as discoveries in basic science would precede inventions in applied
science, and end with innovation and its diffusion (Freeman, 1996: 27). This
dominance was also explained by the fact that at that time science had
played an important role in the development of nuclear power while various
innovations took place that were expected to lead to the use of nuclear power