Innovation Ecosystems in the European Union: Towards a Theoretical Framework for their Structural Advancement Assessment

A theoretical framework to describe and assess the advancement of innovation ecosystems in the contemporary European Union is more than necessary in order to map actors and processes, and thus provide a more comprehensive and dynamic approach. For actors, the reframed innovation helix perspective is applied, while the multilevel perspective is used for processes. At each innovation progress stage, other actors should have a slightly different role, be more active and important, and also relate to each other in a different manner. The emergence and density of intermediary actors are seen as important aspects. From the process perspective, the innovation application and also its adoption at the sociotechnical landscape level are seen as crucial. Thus, collective intelligence with societal implications and consideration for the environment evolve into the key ingredients of an advanced innovation ecosystem in the European Union.