Globalization, New and Emerging Technologies, and Sustainable Development: The Danish Innovation System in Transition

This book explores the capacity of the Danish innovation system to respond to key societal challenges including the green imperative of achieving growth with environmental sustainability and the need to adapt to new and possibly disruptive changes in technology, often referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The book is divided into four main parts. The first describes the evolving characteristics of the Danish system of research and innovation with special attention to the role of policy at the national and regional levels. The second part focuses on interorganisational relations, including the position of Danish firms in national and global value chains. The third part examines changes in labour markets and in the educational and training system, and it considers the impact of new technologies including robotics and artificial intelligence on employment and skills. The fourth part turns to issues of climate change and environmental sustainability including an assessment of the Danish economy’s success in meeting the challenges of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The book will be of particular interest to small countries, of which the Danish innovation system is representative, but it also appeals more broadly to an audience interested in innovation systems and policies to support economic development.

Jesper Lindgaard Christensen is Associate Professor of Industrial Dynamics at Aalborg University Business School, Denmark. His research focuses on SME development and entrepreneurial finance, economic geography, innovation systems, the dynamics of specific industries, entrepreneurship and innovation policy.

Birgitte Gregersen is Senior Associate Professor of Economics at Aalborg University Business School, Denmark. Her research focuses on studies of national systems of innovation, university–industry linkages, role of public sector for innovation, innovation policy and sustainable development.

Jacob Rubæk Holm is Associate Professor of Industrial Dynamics and Quantitative Methods at Aalborg University Business School, Denmark. His research focuses on regional, industrial and structural change over time, ranging from studies of specific industries or specific regions, to theoretical and methodological contributions with an evolutionary angle.

Edward Lorenz is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Cote d’Azur, France and a part-time professor at Aalborg University, Denmark. He is a visiting professor at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His research focuses on the internationally comparative analysis of business organisation, employment relations and innovation systems.