National System of Innovation (NIS) is a fairly young concept, which emerged in the beginning of the 1980s. Nevertheless, NIS studies are extensive: there is growing interest and a well-established group of researchers deal with the concept and set the research agenda. Despite this great interest for the NIS approach and the extensive work done so far, the concept is challenged by noteworthy conceptual and methodological ambiguities and limitations. The aim of this paper is to place the NIS approach within a historical, economic, social and intellectual context and briefly outline its development over time. There is no doubt that the success of NIS is to a great extent due to the role played by the OECD, but the success of the NIS approach has also to be understood the historical context in which it emerged. The second part of the article will analyse the implementation of the NIS approach in Sweden.