When the first editions of Lundvall (1992) and of Nelson (1993) was published, the concept ‘national innovation system’ was known only by a handful of scholars and policy makers. Since then there has been a rapid and wide diffusion of the concept. In this paper we argue that during this process of diffusion there has been a distortion of the concept as compared to the original versions as developed by Christopher Freeman and the IKE-group in Aalborg. Policy makers and scholars have applied a narrow understanding of the concept and this has given rise to false ‘innovation paradoxes’ and left significant elements of innovation-based economic performance unexplained. Without a broad definition of the national innovation system encompassing individual, organizational and inter-organizational learning, it is impossible to establish the link from innovation to economic growth. A double focus is needed where attention is given not only to the science infrastructure, but also to institutions/organisations that support competence building in labour markets, education and working life.

当Lundvall(1992)和Nelson(1993)的第一版出版时，“国家创新体系”的概念只有少数学者和政策制定者知道。从那时起，这一概念迅速而广泛地传播开来。在本文中，我们认为在这一传播过程中，与克里斯托弗?弗里曼和宜家集团在奥尔堡开发的最初版本相比，这一概念存在着扭曲。政策制定者和学者对这一概念的狭隘理解导致了错误的“创新悖论”，并没有解释以创新为基础的经济表现的重要因素。没有一个涵盖个人、组织和组织间学习的国家创新体系的广泛定义，就不可能建立创新与经济增长之间的联系。需要双重关注，不仅要关注科学基础设施，还要关注那些支持在劳动力市场、教育和工作生活中能力建设的机构/组织。