Dynamics, structure and performance of Innovation Systems: A complex systems modeling approach

Mauricio Uriona-Maldonado PhD Candidate in Knowledge Management and Engineering Federal University of Santa Catarina Brazil Abstract Innovation Systems (IS) is the term used by scholars and policy makers to describe the emerging scientific and technological structures and processes that influence economic development. However, the presence of a large quantity of actors and the complex knowledge flows inside IS hinder its managing and also policy making because the current tools do not take into account essential characteristics of complex systems such as feedback loops, time delays and stocks and flows. The main aim is to conduct simulation experiments that can be used to explain the dynamics, structure and performance of IS. This research is built upon two phases: The first phase is model development, based on a review of previous models and also on expert-based surveys, mediated modeling and validity tests. The second phase has as purpose to verify the practical use of the model by modeling a real-case IS. The theoretical contribution of this research is related to an improved understanding of the interaction structures, nonlinearity and complexity of IS; the practical contribution is the integration of qualitative and quantitative tools into a model that allows an improved management of IS.