Innovation Systems from Below

Innovation systems research has long examined how markets and institutions shape innovation across different contexts. Yet this top-down lens often overlooks the view from within: the firms and support organisations whose everyday strategies drive change. This book places these actors and their agency at the centre. Drawing on in-depth case studies of multinational enterprises and technology parks in Mexico and Brazil, it reveals how efforts to build capabilities, forge linkages, and adapt to constraints transform the wider system. Tracing the path from individual action to systemic change, it offers a fresh framework for understanding innovation in developing and middle-income contexts and beyond. Blending theory with grounded evidence, it provides clear insights for students, researchers, and practitioners in innovation management and policy.

Chapter 1: Innovation Systems from Below: Analytical Orientation and Research Approach. - Chapter 2: Innovation Systems from Below: An Alternative Approach. - Chapter 3: Strategic Coupling and Innovation Capability Building at Natura. - Chapter 4: Embraer: Strategic Coupling at the Intersection of Aerospace and National Development. - Chapter 5: VWdM Strategic Coupling through Frugal Innovation and System Orchestration. - Chapter 6: Strategic Coupling Beyond the State: Cemex s Global Learning and Local Reinvention. - Chapter 7: Beyond the Firm: Institutional Bridging in Innovation Systems from Below. - Chapter 8: Applying the ISFB Framework: Mechanisms of Strategic Coupling and Institutional Bridging. - Chapter 9: Conclusions: Innovation from Below as Framework and Practice.