An intermediary approach to technological innovation systems (TIS)—The case of the cleantech sector in Finland

Abstract The Technological Innovation System (TIS) framework has become a popular tool for the analysis of innovation dynamics, particularly on a national scale. There have been calls to utilise the framework at sub-national levels too, and to pay attention to location-specific features and interactions. This article contributes to the discussion by studying how the sub-national intermediary network of the Finnish Carbon-Neutral Municipalities (HINKU) complements and challenges the national cleantech innovation system in Finland. To achieve this, we propose an analytical framework that combines the TIS framework with intermediary functions. Our study shows that the TIS framework is a practical tool for analysing potential discontinuities and policy development possibilities regarding innovation systems across spatial scales. Empirically, the study reveals the ways in which certain technological innovation system functions, such as market formation and experimentation, are particularly important for local-scale cleantech deployment and should be analysed further.