White Spaces Innovation in Sweden - Innovation policy for ... - Vinnova

WHITE SPACES INNOVATION IN SWEDENTo give this a bit more concreteness we can return to the example of Strategic NicheManagement. The valleys represent regimes where each regime has its dominant logicas attractor. Change in this system requires adaptive walks up the slope of the valley toimprove fitness and/or a catastrophe that changes the whole landscape. The first type ofchange is what developing niches means whereas the catastrophe might be a majortechnological breakthrough that changes the terrain radically and opens paths betweenvalleys. Stuart Kauffman (1995) developed a much used optimization model called theNK-model to study which type of solutions these adaptive walks may lead to. One importantfeature of this model is that with increasing complexity it is difficult to reachglobal optima so the search is often around local optima. Proximity reduces complexity.Strategic niche management is based on the assumption that breakaway from thedominant logic is not possible without designing protected spaces for niches to develop.The success of such a strategy is dependent on whether the valley (basin of attraction) isbroad enough to give room for niches i.e. local peaks in the landscape.The figure 2.2 shows clearly that there are local peaks in the landscape where anagent can get stuck. This is a reason why Stuart Kauffman (2008) coined the term theadjacent possible to describe where solutions may be found. This concept has been usedby Steven Johnson in a study of innovation that is referred in chapter 4. The point hereis that adjacent possible is given partly by the capabilities of the searching agent butalso by the environment. It might be that time is not ripe for an invention to become aninnovation. Conversely one might assume that strange attactors like culture or socialcapital can be more or less enabling for innovative cross-fertilisation because there arestrange attractors of meaning.Figure 2.4 Complex Adaptive System Topology for InnovationPATH INDEPENDENCEBLOCK-AGESTRANGEATTRACTORSPATH INTER-DEPENDENCESource: Centre for Advanced Studies31