Abstract

This paper applies a business ecosystem perspective to analyse innovation policy. The research utilised a case study on San Diego, which is one of the top three life sciences ecosystems in the world. Unlike previous studies, this research is an analysis of the ecosystem’s evolution in each life-cycle phase—birth, expansion, leadership and self-renewal—and the key innovation policy measures related to these phases. The findings indicate that traditional policy measures must be reconsidered in the era of business ecosystems.