Standardization in Innovation Policy and the European Integration : New Concepts for the New World

This is a study of standardization in complexity. The context is innovation policy. Why do standardization and innovation go hand in hand and what does the interaction of interests between public and private actors look like in the “profile” of the standardization process? The nature of technical specifications, Lead Market Initiatives in Europe, social innovations, eco-innovations and psychological services for recruitment are the target areas of this study done in the style of Science, Technology and Society. We decrypt the codes of the expected behavior veiled in standards, the strategically selective sectoral integration of the European Internal Market, the emergence of innovation in standardized areas, the nature of the European innovation policy and the mission of each particular innovative sector. This research contains answers on how the European Union will move toward a more state-like organization bypassing the sovereignty of its member states. Standardization is a bouquet of strategic activities where each has its purpose, destination and time-framework. By studying standardization, we are able to look into the European future