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Abstract: In this paper we use a network perspective to study the micro level of agricultural innovation systems and investigate the different roles and functions that collaborating actors have to perform to spread their innovation both horizontally and vertically. Based on a literature review, we distinguish between three separate network functions: (1) learning and knowledge co-creation, (2) upscaling and institutional entrepreneurship and (3) outscaling and innovation brokerage. We investigate how these different functions have been performed in the case of the Northern Frisian Woodlands (NFWs) in the Netherlands over a period of 17years. We have constructed the two-mode affiliation networks of the actors involved in various multidisciplinary research projects and lobbying events. We have analysed these networks using Social Network Analysis and measured the participation rates, relative degrees and the main paths through time with the Search Path Node Pairs algorithm. The results show that the three functions are not evenly distributed over all participants in an innovation network. For each of these three functions there is a small group of people that form a core group of knowledge creators, institutional entrepreneurs and innovation brokers. The analysis of the main paths through these projects and events shows the close interaction between the lobbying and knowledge co-creation functions. The ability to perform more than one innovation function over a longer period of time is extremely rare, but those people who can pull this off are very important for the success of an innovation network. This paper therefore concludes that the organisers of innovation networks should take try to organise their collaboration in such a way that it becomes easier for individuals to perform multiple roles within an innovation network. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Although entrepreneurial activities are of key importance in a properly functioning innovation system, the micro level of actors is often neglected in the innovation systems' literature. The goal of this paper is to show how the configuration of innovation systems shapes entrepreneurs' perceptions and behaviors. The originality of the present article rests upon a novel framework that distinguishes between the willingness, capability, and perceived opportunities of entrepreneurs embedded in specific innovation systems. We explore the perceptions of 30 entrepreneurs from two European bioeconomy cluster regions who are engaged in R&D and collaborative experimentation in the chemical, plastics, and construction materials industries. Our findings show that with documented innovation willingness, entrepreneurs' innovation capacity is not the decisive bottleneck. Rather, bioeconomy actors perceive that innovation opportunities are blocked by institutions at the national and international levels. The configuration of relevant sectoral innovation systems and value-chains is crucial. We conclude that bioeconomy promotion should emphasis the demand side and systemic multi-level policies that address innovation barriers with due consideration for industry-specific innovation systems and value-chain configurations. • Bottom-up perspective on bioeconomy innovation systems for integrated analysis. • Entrepreneurs' opportunity orientation reveals (inter)national innovation hurdles. • Chemical, plastic and construction industries require different support measures. • Policy shall act on bioeconomy market-making and value chain reconfigurations. • Innovation opportunities in the bioeconomy presuppose societal deliberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioeconomy clusters, besides stimulating economic and innovative performance, are expected to promote sustainable regional development. Despite their growing popularity, there is still a lack of awareness about how these clusters contribute to sustainability. This paper aims at increasing our understanding of the processes through which bioeconomy clusters generate sustainability effects and promote the bioeconomy transition. We analyze the event-history of the French Bazancourt-Pomacle cluster and interpret its development as a continuous interplay among its geographical, institutional, and structural scales to capture how these dynamics eventually affect specific sustainability scales. The results of the scale analysis reveal that the actors of the biocluster maintain a certain mode of action by organizing their activities along scales related to the valorization of local natural resources, whereas improvements of sustainability appear as a posteriori result of these activities rather than an aim in itself. Our study contributes with novel insights to the literature on sustainability transitions and clusters as well as demonstrates the potential of the scale-perspective for identification and measurement of sustainability trade-offs in a way accessible to policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networks play an important role in the diffusion of knowledge, and farmers draw on their personal networks to enhance their adaptive capacity to shocks. Different forms of proximity have been long recognized as important factors in knowledge and information exchanges. However, the specific roles and their interactions in agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKISs) are still far from clear. In this study, we investigate the underlying forces that drive tie formation within the knowledge-sharing networks of banana farmers in four different villages in Rwanda. Our study has three objectives: First, we discuss the importance of various types of proximities in AKIS research. Second, we empirically contribute to how different forms of proximity influence the way knowledge diffuses in formal and informal networks by studying a plant disease's management. Finally, we discuss our findings' relevance for targeted interventions to help rural communities transition to greater resilience. We review different proximity concepts and adapt them for use within an AKIS context. We then apply this framework to assess the proximity effects on the advice-seeking networks of banana farmers in four purposefully chosen villages in Rwanda. We used a structured questionnaire to collect social network information about the management of banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW), from all banana growers (N = 491) in these four villages. We distinguished the informal advice networks among farmers from the official government extension system—the formal advice network. We employed exponential random-graph models to assess the determinants of the networks we observed, especially geographical, cognitive and social proximity indices. We found that geographical proximity significantly affects knowledge exchange within larger villages' informal advice networks; but not in smaller villages, where both cognitive and social proximities play substantial roles. We argue that farmers are socially closer in smaller communities where geographical distance does not matter, and that geographical distance only starts to matter after a certain community size threshold is reached. We provide solid empirical evidence to help plan targeted interventions toward greater resilience for rural communities. We argue that properly integrating informal social networks can result in more effective knowledge exchange within AKISs, enhancing their resilience. [Display omitted] • Different forms of proximity are important to be incorporated into AKIS research. • Geographical proximity plays a role in the informal networks of larger villages. • Cognitive and social forms of proximity take over where distance is not important. • Geographical distance doesn't affect the official government extension system. • Farmers are socially close in a smaller community where distance does not matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is receiving increased attention among policymakers as a means of addressing sustainable economic development challenges. However, a range of factors such as inappropriate physical and knowledge infrastructures, incoherence of institutional frameworks, or lack of specific capabilities may have a negative impact on the functioning of the agricultural innovation system. The purpose of this paper is to apply a comprehensive innovation systems analytical framework, reconciling analyses of systemic structures, functions, failures and merits of innovation systems to assess and compare the performance of the agricultural innovation systems of Scotland and the Netherlands. To achieve this an analytical framework was drawn up based on the available literature, and through a process that included document analysis and a series of semi-structured interviews and workshops with experts in the two countries the agrifood sectors were empirically assessed. In both countries, systemic failures in terms of actors' interactions and competencies as well as market and incentive structures were revealed. However, differences emerge between the two countries that appear to relate more to social and cultural (soft institutions) differences rather than the formal legal and regulatory frameworks (hard institutions). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]