Knowledge Intermediaries and Innovation Systems: Exploring a Neglected Theoretical Potential
| Páginas | 32-45 |
| Fecha | 23 Diciembre 2024 |
| Fecha de publicación | 23 Diciembre 2024 |
| Autor | Florentino Malaver,Marisela Vargas |
| Materia | Ciencias sociales |
J. Technol. Manag. Innov. 2024. Volume 19, Issue 4
ISSN: 0718-2724. (http://jotmi.org)
Journal of Technology Management & Innovation © Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Facultad de Economía y Negocios. 32
Knowledge Intermediaries and Innovation Systems:
Exploring a Neglected eoretical Potential
Florentino Malaver Rodríguez1 and Marisela Vargas Pérez1*
Abstract
Based on Howells (2006), the text evaluates the incorporation of intermediation and intermediaries in a systemic context, in particular, in the
evolutionary perspective of innovation systems (IS), because in it the scope (theoretical and empirical) of this incorporation is unclear. For this
purpose, a semi-systematic review is carried out which shows that empirical work predominates. ese reveal that intermediaries enhance IS per-
formance; that through intermediation they solve systemic problems such as the closing of gaps between IS subsystems; and for this purpose they
act as mechanisms for coordination and generation of synergies, or for the development of IS actor capabilities. e evidence also indicates that
systemic characteristics, such as the prevailing modes of innovation in the IS, condition the role and intensity of the intermediary intervention.
ese results reveal, in short, a high theoretical potential of the IS-intermediation articulation.
Keywords: knowledge intermediaries, intermediation, innovation systems, innovation, systemic innovation, innovation policy.
Submitted: April 19, 2024 / Approved: October 12, 2024
(1) Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Ponticia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia.
*Corresponding author: marisela.vargas@javeriana.edu.co
1. Introduction
Howells (2006) in his notion of intermediation, which became a reference
point and inspiration for many publications on the subject, conceives of
intermediaries as those organizations that support innovative companies
by mediating collaboration with other actors to enhance their innovation
processes. Such a notion ts the market environment. Extending it to in-
novation systems (IS) requires adapting it to a systemic logic. is has
been done in the literature on technological transitions (Kivimaa, Boon,
Hyysalo and Klerkx, 2019a) embedded in a systemic perspective.
However, in the literature on national, sectoral and regional innovation
systems, the meaning and scope of the incorporation of this notion re-
main unclear. For example, it is not clear if the term has been articulated
in the IS analysis framework, enriching it; or if, on the contrary, this
incorporation has modied and enriched the notion of intermediation
itself; or if the work is empirical and, therefore, if it allows for establish-
ing the impact on the articulation or performance of IS. As a result, this
paper seeks to establish what the contribution of this literature is to the
understanding of the role of intermediation in IS, whether this has been
predominantly empirical or whether it has a theoretical scope.
Establishing this contribution is useful especially for economies such
as the Latin American ones where, despite having IS and science, tech-
nology and innovation (STI) policies to support them, the articulation
between IS components is weak (Porto-Gomez, Zabala-Iturriagagoitia
and Leydesdor, 2019; Malaver and Vargas, 2005, 2013). at is, there
are fractures also called systemic failures. And intermediaries could
help to overcome them, by serving -by denition- as mechanisms to
enhance the interaction between their components.
To achieve these objectives, the text has a literature review -articles reg-
istered in Wos and Scopus- of semi-systematic character -qualitative-
(Snyder, 2019). From it, we rst establish the general features of the
body of work addressing intermediation from the IS perspective, and
then evaluate the most relevant articles to answer the questions posed.
e review nds the contribution of intermediaries to closing gaps be-
tween IS components, to improving their performance and, above all,
to raising the eectiveness of IS-supported innovation policies to be
high positive. It also shows that there is less theoretical and conceptu-
al reection and, therefore, the need and potential for new theoretical
developments derived from a better understanding of intermediation
-in IS-.
2. Analytical context: intermediaries, intermediation and IS.
Although the notion of intermediation has relevant antecedents -as
Hargadon and Sutton (1997)-, that of Howells (2006) marks a turning
point in the academic production on this issue. Since its appearance,
it has become a reference for dierent approaches to the subject. For
Howells, an intermediary is ‘an organization or body that acts as an
agent or connector between two or more parties at any stage of the in-
novation process’ (Howells, 2006, p. 720). And he species that this is
an ‘organization that provides support for collaboration’ during that
process (De Silva, Howells and Meyer, 2018, p. 70). In such work, it acts
as an intermediary of transactions between two or more parties, as a
mediator between organizations that collaborate -facilitating their in-
teraction-, or helping to nd support or funding to achieve the results
of such collaborations (Howells, 2006).
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