Evolution of Analytical Approaches in the Study of Innovative Communities

The evolution of analytical approaches in research and development of the theory of innovative communities is considered. The analysis of the structure and dynamics of scientific research of innovative communities was carried out on the basis of the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis and visualization using the VOSviewer program are important tools for understanding changes in the thematic focus of scientific research over time. With the help of the program, five research clusters were identified based on the thematic proximity of terms and analyzed which topics and directions of research were relevant at different stages of the time period. It was found that the evolution of analytical approaches in the study of innovative communities at the level of territories has progressed from the analysis of the individual level to network, system, ecosystem and ecological approaches. A clear evolution of analytical approaches can be seen in the research and development of the theory of innovative communities. Innovative communities focused on the development and implementation of innovations are considered with increasing depth and complexity. At the first stage, researchers focused on considering innovative communities as a set of individual individuals and enterprises, where the main emphasis is on the innovative efforts of individual participants and their contribution to the development of innovations. The next stage was the transition to a network approach, where innovative communities were considered as networks of interaction between participants, their communications and resource exchange. This is followed by a systemic approach, which allowed us to view innovation communities as systems with interdependent components such as culture, institutions, policies, infrastructure and human capital. At the current stage, the ecosystem approach to understanding innovation communities dominates, where they are considered as complex adaptive systems interacting with different innovation ecosystems with a wider range of participants. If the system approach is more focused on the internal aspects of innovation communities, while the ecosystem approach takes into account the larger external context and interaction of innovation communities with other entities of innovation ecosystems. In addition, an ecological approach to the interpretation of the concept of «innovative communities» is also developing in parallel, which contributes to sustainable development and nature conservation, and is of great importance in the modern world, where environmental protection is a critically important task.