Technological Platforms and the Governance of Knowledge: Evidence from Italy and the UK.

Innovation is a distributed process that involves the collective efforts and the interaction of heterogeneous organisations. Each of those actors ís specíalísed in specífic activities, technalogies and knowledge and innovatíon ís the result of the conzbìnation and integration of their activities. Coordìnation is a key determìnant for the viability of distributed innovatíon in that it stimulates complementarities across otherwise dispersed competences. This paper argues that technolagical platforms are innovatíon infrastructures that foster the kind of cooperation that is at the core of collective innovation. Being placed strategically within innovation systems, platforms enable capacîty- and capability-building for individuals, teams and organisations. Evidence on the implementatìan of platforms ìn two sectors in the Unìted Kingdom and Italy confìrms the centralíty of this type of institutional responsiveness for the efféctive integration of individual activities towards collective innovation.