An indicator framework for assessing innovation capabilities in the informal sector
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17600347 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Il‐haam Petersen (0000-0001-9609-0853, Human Sciences Research Council, corresponding author), Glenda Kru (0000-0002-0946-785X, Human Sciences Research Council), Glenda Kruss (Human Sciences Research Council), Nazeem Mustapha (0000-0003-0618-4093, Human Sciences Research Council), Nicole van Rheede (0000-0001-9646-1407, Human Sciences Research Council) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 32-54 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Science and Public Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0302-3427 • E-ISSN: 1471-5430 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/scipol/scaf087 |
| OpenAlex | W7130306013 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 61 |
Increasingly, the potential of the informal sector in offering alternative development pathways is highlighted. A challenge is to understand how informal enterprises build innovation capabilities that break necessity-driven path dependencies. This paper proposes an empirically-grounded, multi-dimensional indicator framework to assess innovation capabilities in the informal sector. The research draws on a survey of 996 informal enterprises and in-depth qualitative research in South Africa. The indicator framework includes five broad dimensions: knowledge integration, institutional work, modes of innovation and learning, sophistication of innovation, and business evolution. Cluster analysis was used to empirically assess the value of the indicator framework. Four clusters of businesses were identified, distinguished by their use of symbolic knowledge and formal know-how gained through work experience, learning-by-interacting, and proactive innovation practices. The aim is to contribute to efforts towards developing indicators that broaden and open-up debate, and bring attention to an area not sufficiently covered in mainstream measurement
Informal sector · Mainstream · Qualitative property · Sophistication · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development · Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development · Local Economic Development and Planning
Oslo Manual 2018
Institutions and Institutional Work
Developing Innovation Capability in Organisations
Absorptive Capacity
A Decade of Human Development
The importance of the business environment for the informal economy
Universities as change agents in resource-poor local settings
The Informal Sector in Francophone Africa
Small Area Census Approach to Measure the Township Informal Economy in South Africa
Necessity-driven circular economy in low-income contexts
Frugal Innovation and Development Research
Higher education and economic development
Technological capabilities and industrialization
Innovation Performance and Embeddedness in Networks
Innovation capability building and learning mechanisms in latecomer firms
Innovations, informality, and the global south
The role of family in the township informal economy of food and drink in KwaMashu, South Africa
Regional Innovation Systems
Official statisticians as conceptual innovators
Measurement of innovation in the informal sector in Africa
Innovation in informal settings
Institutional Entrepreneurship as Embedded Agency
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |