From Knowledge ecology to innovation systems: innovations in the sphere of agriculture in Uzbekistan

Abstract

This paper offers an insight into Uzbekistan’s innovation system by adopting an inductive approach and studying the system along the example of altogether five different agricultural innovations (five case studies) entered into the national system of innovation screening for potential outscaling. The data suggest that there are missing linkages and a weak institutional infrastructure in the field of innovation diffusion in Uzbekistan and thus we argue that there is ‘knowledge ecology’ (to use Foray’s term) rather than ‘innovation systems’ in place. Nevertheless, this bears the potential to support the development of a future national innovation system.