While the innovation literature offers many insights about the dynamics of innovations and to some extent their embedding in society, the contexts in which this happens are often treated as specific and/or contingent. After a brief theoretical discussion of co-evolutionary and actor-network theories, I show that there are general patterns (‘layers’) in the context, in particular, niches, regimes and socio-technical landscapes. A new ‘layer’ of institutionalized anticipatory co-ordination is emerging, stimulated by the challenge of handling emerging technologies like nanotechnology. The analysis in terms of ‘layers’ raises questions about what the scope of agency can be.