Innovation niches and socio-technical transition: A case study of bio-refinery production

ABSTRACT In this paper we investigate socio-technical transition pathways concentrating our attention on innovation niches formations. Specifically, we present first a methodological conceptualization of innovation niches and suggest an empirical methodology, based on a Social Network Analysis (SNA), aimed at capturing and measuring the internal development status of innovation niches. Further, we propose a taxonomy of various niche development statuses. The proposed empirical methodology is subsequently tested on a specific case study where we assess the development status of the emerging biorefinery niche situated in the province of Foggia (Apulia Region, Italy). Although not exhaustive, we believe this study represents an important step in a much-needed direction, which is the development of a commonly shared empirical methodology for innovation studies dealing with socio-technical transitions.