Established industries as foundations for emerging technological innovation systems: The case of solar photovoltaics in Norway

Abstract

This paper follows up on recent debates on relations between technological innovation systems (TISs) and context. Particular focus is placed on the role of established industries, which possess important resources for TIS formation. The paper contributes in two ways. First, the paper builds and expands upon the TIS framework to encompass beneficial relations between a TIS and its sectoral and technological context. Second, the framework is applied to the analysis of the emergence of a solar photovoltaic (PV) industry in Norway. The analysis first illustrates how an emerging TIS can benefit from an overlap with an established industry, which serves as a structural foundation and impacts key TIS processes. Second, the paper shows how relations between TIS and context change over time and range from supply chain interaction to more profound overlaps of system elements.