The Non-contextual Drivers of Innovation: Development and Validation of the 5H-INN Survey

Understanding and identifying the drivers of innovation has been considered crucial for many years, as innovating supports local competitiveness and the economic growth of whole systems. Accordingly, the mainstream focuses on geographical and sectoral loci when debating innovation ecosystems, thus neglecting the driving forces behind the innovation, which are non-contextual factors enabling the process. To fill this gap, we propose an integrated framework for identifying the drivers of innovation (different from cultural, geographic, and sectoral loci) that combines the Quintuple Helix Model and the Innovation Process Research. In so doing, we develop and validate the 5H-INN Survey as an innovative and valuable tool to be applied independently from ‘time’ and ‘space.’ This instrument, never developed before, is expected to support our understanding of the innovative dynamics and benefit future research and societal development.