Contributions from the sociology of technology to the study of innovation systems

Literature in the area of innovation systems (IS) has been growing in importance and the IS approach has become well established. It is widely used in North America, Western Europe and Scandinavia, both in academic contexts and also as a framework or tool for policymaking. This paper examines work by sociologists, historians and others who have attempted to provide new insights into the nature of technology, in order to determine how the new sociology of technology literature—particularly social construction of technology methodologies—can contribute to, and unpack the study of innovation system. Copyright © 2004 Springer.