Hypothetical global innovation system (GIS) in healthcare. Display omitted •A conceptual framework for global innovation systems (GIS) is developed.•The new perspective on GIS integrates insights from regional, national, sectoral and technological innovation systems research.•A GIS typology is introduced to account for innovation and valuation characteristics of different industries.•Four ideal-type GIS configurations are illustrated with information from various clean-tech industries.•Innovation and industrial policies could substantially gain from a better understanding of GIS structures and dynamics. This paper proposes a framework for the analysis of technological innovation processes in transnational contexts. By drawing on existing innovation system concepts and recent elaborations on the globalization of innovation, we develop a multi-scalar conceptualization of innovation systems. Two key mechanisms are introduced and elaborated: the generation of resources in multi-locational subsystems and the establishment of structural couplings among them in a global innovation system (GIS). Based on this conceptualization, we introduce a typology of four generic GIS configurations, building on the innovation mode and valuation system in different industry types. The analytical framework is illustrated with insights from four emerging clean-tech industries. We state that a comprehensive GIS perspective is instrumental for developing a more explanatory stance in the innovation system literature and developing policy interventions that reflect the increasing spatial complexity in the innovation process.