Orchestration, multi-layered embeddedness, and value creation in organized innovation spaces

Imagine the world of science and business not as a lonely laboratory or a quiet office, but as a massive, bustling city. In this city, new ideas are like seeds. For a long time, people thought the best way to grow these seeds was to put them in a special, walled-off garden called a "Science Park." These gardens had fancy greenhouses and high-tech fences, and the goal was simply to make money and invent cool gadgets. But lately, the world has gotten a bit messy. We are facing big problems like climate change, social inequality, and the need to recover from global crises. It turns out that just growing gadgets isn't enough; we need our innovation gardens to help fix the whole neighborhood.

This is where a new idea called "Innovation 5.0" comes in. Think of it as upgrading the garden from a simple greenhouse into a living, breathing community hub. Instead of just focusing on the plants (the technology), this new approach cares about the soil (the environment), the people walking through the gate (society), and how the garden fits into the rest of the city. The paper you are about to read explores how these "Organized Innovation Spaces" (OISs)—which include Science Parks, Innovation Districts, and Living Labs—are changing their strategies. It asks: Are they just building better fences, or are they becoming the heart of a sustainable, happy city? The answer matters because if we get this wrong, we might build high-tech cities that are cold and lonely; if we get it right, we could build places where technology and human happiness grow together.

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The Great Garden Makeover: How Innovation Spaces Are Rewriting the Rules

This paper is like a detective story, but instead of solving a crime, the authors are trying to figure out how the world's most important innovation gardens are changing their minds. The researchers, Viktória Buday, Magnus Klofsten, and György Eigner, decided to listen in on a massive global conversation. They looked at 96 different talks and presentations from the 42nd International Association of Science Parks conference in Beijing (held in 2025). They didn't just count how many patents were filed; they read between the lines to see what the leaders of these innovation spaces were actually saying about their goals.

The Old Way vs. The New Way

For a long time, the rulebook for these innovation spaces was simple: Make money, make jobs, make gadgets. It was a "technocentric" approach, meaning the technology was the boss. The paper argues that this old way is too narrow. It's like trying to run a city by only caring about the traffic lights and ignoring the people living in the apartments.

The authors suggest that the world has shifted toward something called the Quintuple Helix Model. Imagine a dance with five partners instead of three. The old dance had the University, the Industry, and the Government holding hands. The new dance adds two more partners: Civil Society (the regular people and communities) and the Natural Environment (the planet itself). The paper finds that successful innovation spaces are now trying to get all five of these partners dancing in sync, rather than just focusing on the first three.

The Seven Flavors of Value

One of the coolest things the paper discovered is that "value" (what makes a place successful) isn't just one thing anymore. The authors found that these innovation spaces are now creating seven distinct types of value. Think of it like a restaurant that used to only serve burgers but now offers a full menu:

1. Economic Value: The classic stuff—jobs, money, and profits.
2. Social Value: Helping people learn, feel included, and stay healthy.
3. Environmental Value: Saving the planet, reducing carbon, and using water wisely.
4. Infrastructural Value: Building cool physical and digital spaces that people can actually use.
5. Process Value: Making sure the way things are run is fair, organized, and efficient.
6. Digital Value: Using data, AI, and the internet to connect people and ideas.
7. Regulatory Value: Creating fair rules and protecting ideas so everyone feels safe to innovate.

The paper suggests that the most successful spaces aren't just picking one of these; they are trying to mix them all together.

The "Roots" of the Garden: Embeddedness

Here is a key concept the paper introduces: Embeddedness. Imagine a tree. A tree can't just float in the air; its roots have to dig deep into the ground. The paper argues that innovation spaces are like those trees. Their success depends on how well their roots are tangled in four different layers of "soil":

• Local: The immediate neighborhood and city.
• Regional: The surrounding area and state.
• National: The country's laws and big plans.
• Global: The international network of friends and partners.

The authors found that you can't just copy-paste a successful innovation space from one country to another. A garden that works in a rich, mature country might need totally different roots to survive in an emerging market. The "soil" changes, so the roots have to change too.

The Great Divide: Mature vs. Emerging Markets

The paper did a fascinating comparison between two types of countries: Mature Economies (like Sweden or the US) and Emerging Markets (like China, Brazil, Turkey, or Kenya).

• In Mature Economies: The innovation spaces are like gardeners who are already experts. They are focusing on "refinement." They want to make their existing neighborhoods better, more inclusive, and more sustainable. They are worried about things like "quality of life," preserving old buildings, and making sure everyone feels welcome. Their strategy is about optimizing what they already have.
• In Emerging Markets: The innovation spaces are like brave explorers building a new city from scratch. They are often driven by big national goals, like "We need to catch up to the rest of the world fast!" They are using technology to leapfrog old stages of development. Instead of building a factory and then a train system, they might build a digital network and a smart city all at once. They are focusing heavily on digital value and regulatory value to speed things up.

The paper suggests that Emerging Markets are doing something really interesting: they are skipping the boring, slow steps of industrial development by using digital tools and strong government support to jump straight to the future.

The "Orchestrator" Role

So, what is the manager of these spaces supposed to do? The paper says they can't just be landlords who collect rent. They have to be Orchestrators.

Imagine a conductor at an orchestra. The conductor doesn't play every instrument; they don't play the violin, the drums, or the flute. Instead, they make sure the violinist plays in time with the drummer, and that the whole group creates a beautiful song together. The paper suggests that OIS managers must do the same thing. They have to bring together the government, the scientists, the businesses, the local community, and the environment, and make sure they are all playing the same tune.

What This Means for the Future

The paper concludes that the old way of measuring success—just counting money and jobs—is no longer enough. To survive in a world full of big challenges (like climate change and social inequality), these innovation spaces need to be human-centric. They need to be places where technology serves people, not the other way around.

The authors suggest that if managers want to succeed, they need to look at their "roots" (their local, regional, national, and global connections) and make sure they are growing in the right direction. They need to be flexible, ready to mix economic goals with social and environmental ones.

In short, the paper tells us that the future of innovation isn't about building taller towers or faster computers. It's about building better communities. It's about realizing that a Science Park isn't just a place for scientists; it's a living, breathing part of the city that needs to care for its people and its planet. And the most successful ones will be the ones that can conduct this complex, multi-layered orchestra of value creation.