Definition and typologies of local innovation systems: a case study of Optics Valley in central China

With the widespread adoption of market-oriented policies and the decentralization of political power, localities have become important agencies of growth. However, the literature on innovation and growth concentrates on national and regional innovation systems and has not fully explored the characteristics and dynamics of local innovation systems (LISs). In this paper, concepts of networks, collectivity, coevolution and autonomy are used to define an LIS and identify four LIS typologies. A case study of Optics Valley in China?s Hubei province draws on these four concepts and reveals the significance of local features and their articulation with regional and national factors in explaining system dynamics and of LIS as a category in its own right.