Knowledge development and innovations in medtech – an institutional and multi-scalar approach

Brita Hermelin

Department of Human Geogrpahy

Stockholm University

brita.hermelin@humangeo.su.se

Paper to be presentet at AAG, Seattle, April 2011

Margareta Dahlström

Karlstad Univeristy

Lukas Smas

Stockholm University

This paper aims to analyse and understand knowledge development and innovations in medtech. The discussion takes an institutional approach and which claims the importance of institutions for societal structures, processes and changes. Institutions refer to informal and formal elements like cultures, social routines, political regulations, the market, firms, the government and other political bodies. Institutional settings are influencing agency and the ability and propensity to, for instance, manage projects to develop new knowledge and innovations for medtech products and solutions.

Our empirical case is the developments of innovations and knowledge in medtech in Stockholm, Sweden. We are using interview data from organisations and firms and different secondary sources. In this paper we illustrate how knowledge development and innovations in medtech are situated in a rapidly changing institutional setting. Commercial goals and goals to develop knowledge and new innovations are widely established and the geographical relations are extending to include transnational and global environments. These objectives and geographical mindset are guiding for health care organisations including hospitals, research organisations including the universities, regional development agencies and private companies.

We are able to illustrate how innovation and knowledge development in medtech are derived through network organisations that integrate different knowledge resources and capacities and that the institutional settings are absolutely fundamental for the ability and propensity for such creative networks to develop and take form. These networks for knowledge development may be multi-local and transnational and thereby connecting partners from different geographical settings.

Key words: medtech, innovations, institutional approach, Stockholm, Sweden.