Analysis of the functional dynamics of innovation for inclusive development systems: An event history analysis of the Nigerian growth enhancement support scheme

Abstract

Several studies have explored and examined the performance of technological innovation systems by assessing the functional dynamics. However, few studies have examined this in the context of innovation for inclusive development systems (I4IDS). This paper, therefore, aims to contribute to the conceptual and methodological basis of the functional dynamics of I4IDS by analysing Nigeria's Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme. This paper seeks answers to the following questions: How can the functions of innovation systems be used to analyse the dynamics of I4IDS? What inducement and blocking mechanisms determine the evolution of I4IDS? and Which motors of innovation can be identified within the domain of I4IDS? This article uses a qualitative and empirical approach, the event history analysis, to explore how the GES Scheme's structural and functional components interact within the innovation system framework. By using events as the unit of analysis, we identify and map the functions, analyse the interactions, and build a narrative that examines over time, the functional dynamics of I4IDS. Through this, it becomes practicable to assess the different forms of cumulative causation and how these influence the build-up or breakdown of I4IDS, as well as identify the dominant forms of cumulative causation (motors) in each episode. As a contribution to knowledge, the trend pattern is depicted by the giver-receiver-participate framework while the typology of motors of innovation literature is expanded to a new motor relevant to the I4IDS context: demand-pull motor. We believe that the use of motors of innovation in the I4IDS context will contribute to the theoretical underpinnings of the emerging literature on the systemic evaluation of innovation systems.