Developing a resource-based analysis of technological innovation systems: The case of digital innovation in Dutch processing industries

Resource-based perspectives in Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) research offer new insights into innovation dynamics and address gaps in the traditional structure-function approach. We take stock of this perspective to develop a framework that enhances TIS in two ways. First, we improve the conceptual linkage between TIS elements and functions by focusing on innovation resources and their dynamics. Next, we offer a combined view of system-building and hindering processes by identifying and characterizing meso-level TIS mechanisms through micro-level resource changes. We apply our framework to a qualitative case study on the digital TIS within the Dutch processing industry. The analysis generalizes four system-building activities and four systemic problems, which emerge from the presence, accessibility, applicability, and scale of innovation resources. Additionally, four case-specific mechanisms are identified which illustrate tensions between positive and negative dynamics, revealing fundamental complexity underlying the overall TIS functioning. Our framework provides a basis for unpacking such tensions and identifying more targeted policy interventions, particularly for innovation systems of general-purpose technologies.