Innovations and ecosystems : a characterization of Smart Tampere innovation ecosystem
Viljanen, Sonja (2019)
Viljanen, Sonja
2019
Nordic MP in Innovative Governance and Public Management
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2019-06-14
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-201907042429
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-201907042429
Tiivistelmä
The following thesis focuses on innovation ecosystem. As described in the first section, innovations are of great importance for tackling global challenges such as climate change and thus, of relevancy for the regional economic development. The growing importance of innovations has motivated numerous new approaches to innovation management, especially in the last years the approach of innovation ecosystem.
In the second section, the concept of innovation ecosystem is introduced and the most relevant concepts from the literature are discussed. It thereby compares innovation ecosystem to other concepts such as regional innovation system and other types of ecosystems. On the basis of the previous literature, a framework for characteristics of innovation ecosystem and ecosystem leadership is presented for studying the case of Smart Tampere.
The study contributes to the fragmented literature on innovation ecosystem by conducting a case study in Tampere, Finland on the city’s Smart Tampere -programme and characterizing the local innovation ecosystem as well as looking at the perceived and expected role of Smart Tampere as public sector representant of ecosystem orchestrator. Smart Tampere -programme provides ecosystems in different areas of smart development. Then, the third section describes the procedure of case selection to conducting qualitative semi-structured interviews on three different groups of ecosystem actors (city officers, university, growth companies) and the approach to analysis.
The results are presented in the fourth section. The ecosystem is characterized by being strongly bound to the local context. Whereas innovation is not the goal but the mean to find solutions, each actor followed their own set of goals with the understanding of the need of collaboration. Results are then discussed and put into perspective in the fifth part of the thesis. As such, innovation ecosystem grasps the complexity of the phenomenon but is object to a lot of interpretations due to unclear definition. No matter what concept for innovation management is used, private sector actors call for long-term plans and clearer structures from the public sector.
In the second section, the concept of innovation ecosystem is introduced and the most relevant concepts from the literature are discussed. It thereby compares innovation ecosystem to other concepts such as regional innovation system and other types of ecosystems. On the basis of the previous literature, a framework for characteristics of innovation ecosystem and ecosystem leadership is presented for studying the case of Smart Tampere.
The study contributes to the fragmented literature on innovation ecosystem by conducting a case study in Tampere, Finland on the city’s Smart Tampere -programme and characterizing the local innovation ecosystem as well as looking at the perceived and expected role of Smart Tampere as public sector representant of ecosystem orchestrator. Smart Tampere -programme provides ecosystems in different areas of smart development. Then, the third section describes the procedure of case selection to conducting qualitative semi-structured interviews on three different groups of ecosystem actors (city officers, university, growth companies) and the approach to analysis.
The results are presented in the fourth section. The ecosystem is characterized by being strongly bound to the local context. Whereas innovation is not the goal but the mean to find solutions, each actor followed their own set of goals with the understanding of the need of collaboration. Results are then discussed and put into perspective in the fifth part of the thesis. As such, innovation ecosystem grasps the complexity of the phenomenon but is object to a lot of interpretations due to unclear definition. No matter what concept for innovation management is used, private sector actors call for long-term plans and clearer structures from the public sector.