Innovation systems and co-evolutionary development: A systematic literature review

Abstract

This conceptual article introduces a new perspective on innovation systems by emphasizing their dynamic, co-evolutionary nature. In today’s rapidly changing world, innovation should be understood as a heterogeneous, multidimensional, continuously evolving phenomenon embedded within complex patterns of co-evolutionary development. Although innovation systems have long been recognized as learning systems, this article deepens that perspective by framing learning not only as an internal function of those complex structures but also as a functional mechanism for designing systems interventions that catalyze and guide systemic transitions. Based on a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (i.e., PRISMA) and a qualitative reflective analysis, the article examines innovation systems as complex adaptive structures and conceptualizes them as collaborative learning environments, wherein diverse forms of knowledge and learning enhance a continuous feedback loop between systems interventions and learning processes. A qualitative analysis of 85 academic articles revealed three thematic clusters that consolidate the three dimensions of co-evolution within innovation systems through the interplay of agents, institutions, and innovation habitats: (1) the co-evolutionary landscape, (2) co-evolutionary dynamics and capacities, and (3) knowledge and learning processes. Building on those insights, the article advances the conceptualization of innovation systems as collaborative learning environments and extends that conceptual perspective into an analytical framework and applied mechanism, in which the integration of knowledge becomes an essential link for mutual learning, consensus building, and the co-creation of systems interventions.