Recently, IHS hosted a PhD colloquium with Zulfika Kusharsanto, who presented his ongoing research titled, Exploring Multiple Pathways to Innovation in Low-Technology Economies: Evidence from Indonesia, in our PhD Colloquia series.
The importance of low-technology settings
His study examines how Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) are shaped by the interplay of multiple agents driving knowledge exchange and regional development. While most research focuses on high-technology and radical innovation, low-technology settings remain understudied despite their importance for employment and inclusivity.
Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA).
This research addresses this gap by analysing 34 provinces in Indonesia using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Rather than focusing on single causal relationships, the study explores how combinations of RIS-related conditions, including university engagement, absorptive capacity, networks, finance, local governance, and global value chains, interact to enable innovation among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in different urban contexts.
