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Great expectations : The promises and limits of innovation policy in addressing societal challenges

Laatsit, Mart LU orcid ; Grillitsch, Markus LU and Fünfschilling, Lea LU (2025) In Research Policy 54(3).
Abstract

In the policy discourse on societal challenges, it has become common to think of innovation policy as a key tool for addressing societal challenges. However, we argue that innovation policy has limits to what it can do, and for it to remain a useful tool for tackling societal challenges, it is necessary to re-assess its role. Thus, this paper addresses the following research questions: To what extent and how do innovation policy instruments meet the augmented expectations on innovation policy to address grand societal challenges? How can innovation policy instruments best be mobilised to contribute to a system transformation that tackles societal challenges? We analyse the potential of innovation policy instruments for addressing... (More)

In the policy discourse on societal challenges, it has become common to think of innovation policy as a key tool for addressing societal challenges. However, we argue that innovation policy has limits to what it can do, and for it to remain a useful tool for tackling societal challenges, it is necessary to re-assess its role. Thus, this paper addresses the following research questions: To what extent and how do innovation policy instruments meet the augmented expectations on innovation policy to address grand societal challenges? How can innovation policy instruments best be mobilised to contribute to a system transformation that tackles societal challenges? We analyse the potential of innovation policy instruments for addressing transformative failures and develop a new take on how innovation policy can deal with wicked problems by targeting cumulative transformations and critical intervention points. Acknowledging both the potential and limitations of innovation policy, we make a proposition for how an ambitious innovation policy contributing to solving societal challenges may be conceived.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Innovation policy, Policy instruments, Societal challenges, System change, Transformative innovation policy
in
Research Policy
volume
54
issue
3
article number
105184
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85216105946
ISSN
0048-7333
DOI
10.1016/j.respol.2025.105184
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
04422dd3-d36d-42d7-81bc-abd9b3d1197b
date added to LUP
2025-03-21 09:04:54
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:17:58
@article{04422dd3-d36d-42d7-81bc-abd9b3d1197b,
  abstract     = {{<p>In the policy discourse on societal challenges, it has become common to think of innovation policy as a key tool for addressing societal challenges. However, we argue that innovation policy has limits to what it can do, and for it to remain a useful tool for tackling societal challenges, it is necessary to re-assess its role. Thus, this paper addresses the following research questions: To what extent and how do innovation policy instruments meet the augmented expectations on innovation policy to address grand societal challenges? How can innovation policy instruments best be mobilised to contribute to a system transformation that tackles societal challenges? We analyse the potential of innovation policy instruments for addressing transformative failures and develop a new take on how innovation policy can deal with wicked problems by targeting cumulative transformations and critical intervention points. Acknowledging both the potential and limitations of innovation policy, we make a proposition for how an ambitious innovation policy contributing to solving societal challenges may be conceived.</p>}},
  author       = {{Laatsit, Mart and Grillitsch, Markus and Fünfschilling, Lea}},
  issn         = {{0048-7333}},
  keywords     = {{Innovation policy; Policy instruments; Societal challenges; System change; Transformative innovation policy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Research Policy}},
  title        = {{Great expectations : The promises and limits of innovation policy in addressing societal challenges}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2025.105184}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.respol.2025.105184}},
  volume       = {{54}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}