Assessing the role of triple helix system intermediaries in nurturing an industrial biotechnology innovation network

Abstract

The rate of transition to a circular economy would largely be influenced by how successfully sustainable niche innovation can be developed and adopted. This paper measures and evaluates the effectiveness of employing a triple helix-based system intermediary as a policy tool for nurturing a niche innovation network in line with circular economy transition. This was achieved through a complete social network analysis of a national industrial biotechnology innovation network, in which the organisation functioning as network manager was innovatively structured as a triple helix-based system intermediary. Through unique access to the entire national industrial biotechnology niche network, a large set of primary data was collected on 13 types of relational ties related to innovation between all 64 public sector, industry and academic niche network member organizations. The impact of the triple helix-based system intermediary on the level of cohesion, presence of cohesive subgroups and centralization of the niche network was empirically measured. As such, the effectiveness of the intermediary in undertaking key nurturing activities of building the network, facilitating shared learning and raising expectations were evaluated. This allowed for the most comprehensive empirical study to date on a niche innovation network and the role of system intermediaries in circular economy transition. The results of the analysis demonstrate the profound nurturing effect that the introduction of a triple helix-based system intermediary has had on the network. In particular, the results appear to confirm the effectiveness of the intermediary with regards to increasing knowledge and resource flows amongst triple helix institutions as well as between regime and niche actors.

Building University-Industry Co-Innovation Networks in Transnational Innovation Ecosystems: Towards a Transdisciplinary Approach of Integrating Social Sciences and Artificial Intelligence

“…[100] (p. 349) When applying social network theory in the context of innovation, it has been suggested that stimulating innovation within networks requires a combination of both strong and weak ties [101][102][103]. "Weak ties aid exploration (the generation of new ideas), whereas strong ties aid exploitation (the implementation of new ideas)" [35] (p. 212). The creation and diffusion of innovation are mostly attributed to weak ties [104].…”

“…Second, when matching collaborators, human decisions are often subject to the "homophily principle"-a tendency in which people form ties with similar others [33]. Selecting a "friend of a friend" helps strengthen existing social clusters [33], but does not help to reach those unknown communities and individuals [34], who could potentially contribute to innovation [35]. Third, although one may notice the limitation of professional social matching based on human decisions, it is difficult to find suitable tools and data to resolve the problem [34].…”

Leveraging industrial-technological innovation to achieve sustainable development: A systems thinking perspective

“…Moreover, constructing an innovation diffusion mechanism also requires a lot of resources. ITI is also impacted by economic structures [ 18 ], industrial transfer [ 19 ], political relationships [ 20 ], and market demand or other aspects [ 21 ], and the combination of all these factors means that ITI systems are inherently complex.…”

Analysis of the Impact of the Triple Helix on Sustainable Innovation Targets in Spanish Technology Companies

“…Within companies, environmental sustainability focuses at first on the prevention of pollution and then on the responsible management of resources in the production process, in order to reach the desirable stage of sustainable environmental development, in which the purpose of environmental care is fully and strongly rooted in the company's corporate and competitive strategy [55]. This transition requires a change from the current concept of economy to the concept of circular economy [56], understood as one that is "restorative and regenerative by design and aims to keep products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value at all times" ([57], p. 2). This change in the economic paradigm faces resistance, not only from companies, but also from the markets and other economic actors, although the latter may also be part of the solution, when they all share the same vision of sustainability [58][59][60].…”