Innovation varies fundamentally between countries – and public policies can be determined according to different societies’ needs (e.g. energy technology, environmental technologies). This comparison between countries and continents featuring a range of world experts helps develop a fuller picture of innovations and their social basis.

Part I: Introduction 1 About Socio-Economic Development, Technology and Government Policies: Diversities of Innovation Ulrich Hilpert Part II: General Perspectives on Divergent Innovation 2 Skilled Labour and Continuing Education: The Role of the Social-Partners for Divergent Opportunities of Innovation Michael Vassiliadis 3 Surfing the Long Wave: changing patterns of innovation in a long-term perspective Walter Scherrer 4 Building research diversity Alain-Marc Rieu Part III: Labour and Innovation 5 Diversity as Innovation and Opportunity: Transformative Affect in S&T Workforce Participation Connie L. McNeely 6 Postsecondary Education and the Development of Skilled Workforces: Comparative Policy Innovation in Brazil and the U.S. Paul M.A. Baker, Matej Drev and Mariza Almeida 7 Underemployment of middle-skilled workers and Innovation outcomes: A cross-country analysis Francesco D. Sandulli and Elena Gimenez Fernandez Part IV: Divergent Strategies and Problems of New Technological Powers in a Changing Global Situation 8 Diverse patterns of innovation in India for broader impacts Torsten Schunder and Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen 9 South Korea as a New Player in Global Innovation: role of a highly educated labour force’s participation in new technologies and industries Sunyang Chung 10 Diversified Metropolitan Innovation in China Xiangdong Chen, Ruixi Li, Xin Nin, and Valerie Hunstock Part V: Science-Based and Technology-Based Opportunities 11 New manufacturing Trends in Developed Regions: three delineations of new industrial policies – ‘Phoenix Industry’, ‘Industry 4.0’, and ‘Smart Specialisation’ Alberto Bramanti 12 Globalization, competitiveness and the supply of highly skilled labour in civil aerospace Desmond Hickie, Neil Jones and Florian Schloderer 13 Contextualisation of Innovation: The absorptive capacity of society and the innovation process Bill O’Gorman and Willie Donnelly Part VI: Conclusions 14 Systematics and Opprtunities of Diversities of Innovation Ulrich Hilpert