Innovation studies is increasingly acknowledging the multi-scalar nature of the systemic contexts, in which innovations are being developed and deployed. This paper builds on and further develops a recently proposed framework for studying global innovation systems (GIS). It aims at explaining the emergence of a GIS by outlining the specific local resource-related conditions that lead to the creation of structural couplings, i.e. actors, networks and institutions that allow for multi-scalar resource flows. Deploying a qualitative case study, the paper investigates the interrelated developments of eight demonstration sites of innovative wastewater treatment technology in North-Western Europe. It shows how resource-related deficits lead actors to draw on resources generated outside of their local context. The paper contributes to the literature on the Geography of Transitions by highlighting the importance of resource complementarities among different local contexts, as well as the crucial role of trans-local systemic intermediaries in shaping an emergent GIS.

创新研究越来越认识到系统环境的多尺度性质，在这些环境中开发和部署创新。本文建立在并进一步发展了最近提出的研究全球创新系统 (GIS) 的框架。它旨在通过概述导致创建结构耦合的特定本地资源相关条件（即允许多尺度资源流动的参与者、网络和机构）来解释 GIS 的出现。本文采用定性案例研究，调查了西北欧八个创新废水处理技术示范点的相互关联发展。它显示了与资源相关的赤字如何导致行为者利用在当地环境之外产生的资源。