A Trilevel Framework for Innovation Management in National Innovation Systems

Abstract

Innovation is widely recognized as a key driver of economic growth, competitiveness and societal development. However, innovation does not emerge only from isolated organizational activities, but from the interaction of heterogeneous actors embedded in national innovation systems. While innovation management literature has traditionally emphasized organizational strategies, processes and capabilities, related streams on open innovation, innovation networks and network governance show that innovation also depends on interorganizational collaboration and systemic coordination. This paper brings these perspectives together by introducing the Trilevel Innovation Management Framework for National Innovation Systems. The framework conceptualizes innovation management as a multi-level capability operating at three mutually connected levels: the micro level of units and organizations, the meso level of networks and collaborative structures and the macro level of national innovation systems. It argues that innovation management can act as a catalyst for national innovation system performance when it aligns organizational capability building, interorganizational collaboration and system-level governance. The framework is illustrated through the case of the SENAI Innovation Institutes in Brazil, a national network of applied R&D institutes to strengthen the connection between scientific knowledge and industrial application. The case demonstrates how systematic planning, implementation and evaluation supported the development of individual institutes, collaboration within regional and national innovation ecosystems and measurable macroeconomic impact. The paper contributes to innovation management and national innovation system research by offering an integrated perspective on how management practices at different levels can jointly strengthen innovation system performance.