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a,) b,1
Henry Etzkowitz , Loet Leydesdorff
a
Science Policy Institute, Social Science DiÕision, State UniÕersity of New York at Purchase, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY
10577-1400, USA
b
Department of Science and Technology Dynamics, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018 WV Amsterdam, Netherlands
Abstract
The Triple Helix of university–industry–government relations is compared with alternative models for explaining the
current research system in its social contexts. Communications and negotiations between institutional partners generate an
overlay that increasingly reorganizes the underlying arrangements. The institutional layer can be considered as the retention
mechanism of a developing system. For example, the national organization of the system of innovation has historically been
important in determining competition. Reorganizations across industrial sectors and nation states, however, are induced by
new technologies Žbiotechnology, ICT.. The consequent transformations can be analyzed in terms of Žneo-.evolutionary
mechanisms. University research may function increasingly as a locus in the ‘‘laboratory’’ of such knowledge-intensive
network transitions. q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction: From the endless frontier to an and expectations that reshape the institutional ar-
endless transition rangements among universities, industries, and gov-
ernmental agencies.
The Triple Helix thesis states that the university As the role of the military has decreased and
can play an enhanced role in innovation in increas- academia has risen in the institutional structures of
ingly knowledge-based societies. The underlying contemporary societies, the network of relationships
model is analytically different from the national sys- among academia, industry, and government have
tems of innovation ŽNSI. approach ŽLundvall, 1988, also been transformed, displacing the Cold War
1992; Nelson, 1993., which considers the firm as ‘‘Power Elite’’ trilateral mode of Mills Ž1958. with
having the leading role in innovation, and from the an overlay of reflexive communications that increas-
´
‘‘Triangle’’ model of Sabato Ž1975., in which the
ingly reshape the infrastructure ŽEtzkowitz and Ley-
state is privileged Žcf. Sabato
´ and Mackenzi, 1982.. desdorff, 1997.. Not surprisingly, the effects of these
We focus on the network overlay of communications transformations are the subject of an international
debate over the appropriate role of the university in
)
Corresponding author. Tel.: q1-914-251-6600; fax: q1-914-
technology and knowledge transfer. For example, the
251-6603; e-mail: spi@interport.net Swedish Research 2000 Report recommended the
1
E-mail: loet@chem.uva.nl. withdrawal of the universities from the envisaged
0048-7333r00r$ - see front matter q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 4 8 - 7 3 3 3 Ž 9 9 . 0 0 0 5 5 - 4
110 H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123
‘‘third mission’’ of direct contributions to industry the Small Business Technology Transfer Program
Žsee Benner and Sandstrom, ¨ this issue.. Instead, the ŽSTTR., the Advanced Technology Program ŽATP.,
university should return to research and teaching the IndustryrUniversity Cooperative Research Cen-
tasks, as traditionally conceptualized. However, it ters ŽIUCRC. and Engineering Research Centers
can be expected that proponents of the third mission ŽERC. of the National Science Foundation, etc.
from the new universities and regional colleges, ŽEtzkowitz et al., 2000.. In Sweden, the Knowledge
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which have based their research programmes on its Competency Foundation and the Technology Bridge
premises, will continue to make their case. Science Foundation were established as public venture capi-
and technology have become important to regional tal source, utilizing the Wage Earners Fund, origi-
developments Že.g., Braczyk et al., 1998.. Both R & D nally intended to buy stock in established firms on
and higher education can be analyzed also in terms behalf of the public. The beginnings of a Swedish
of markets ŽDasgupta and David, 1994.. movement to involve academia more closely in this
Prohibida su reproducción parcial o total sin permiso escrito de la editorial.
The issues in the Swedish debate are echoed in direction has occasioned a debate similar to the one
the critique of academic technology transfer in the that took place in the US in the early 1980s. At that
USA by several economists Že.g., Rosenberg and time, Harvard University sought to establish a firm
Nelson, 1994.. The argument is that academic tech- jointly with one of its professors, based on his
nology-transfer mechanisms may create unnecessary research results.
transaction costs by encapsulating knowledge in Can academia encompass a third mission of eco-
patents that might otherwise flow freely to industry. nomic development in addition to research and
But would the knowledge be efficiently transferred teaching? How can each of these various tasks con-
to industry without the series of mechanisms for tribute to the mission of the university? The late 19th
identifying and enhancing the applicability of re- century witnessed an academic revolution in which
search findings? How are development processes to research was introduced into the university mission
be carried further, through special grants for this and made more or less compatible with teaching, at
purpose or in new firms formed on campus and in least at the graduate level. Many universities in the
university incubator facilities? USA and worldwide are still undergoing this trans-
The institutional innovations aim to promote closer formation of purpose. The increased salience of
relations between faculties and firms. The ‘‘endless knowledge and research to economic development
frontier’’ of basic research funded as an end in itself, has opened up a third mission: the role of the
with only long-term practical results expected, is university in economic development. A ‘‘second
being replaced by an ‘‘endless transition‘‘ model in academic revolution’’ seems under way since World
which basic research is linked to utilization through War II, but more visibly since the end of the Cold
a series of intermediate processes ŽCallon, 1998., War ŽEtzkowitz, forthcoming..
often stimulated by government. In the USA in the 1970s, in various Western
The linear model either expressed in terms of European countries during the 1980s, and in Sweden
‘‘market pull’’ or ‘‘technology push’’ was insuffi- at present, this transition has led to a reevaluation of
cient to induce transfer of knowledge and technol- the mission and role of the university in society.
ogy. Publication and patenting assume different sys- Similar controversies have taken place in Latin
tems of reference both from each other and with America, Asia, and elsewhere in Europe. The Triple
reference to the transformation of knowledge and Helix series of conferences ŽAmsterdam, 1996; Pur-
technology into marketable products. The rules and chase, New York, 1998; and Rio de Janeiro, 2000.
regulations had to be reshaped and an interface have provided a venue for the discussion of theoreti-
strategy invented in order to integrate market pull cal and empirical issues by academics and policy
and technology push through new organizational analysts ŽLeydesdorff and Etzkowitz, 1996, 1998..
mechanisms Že.g., OECD, 1980; Rothwell and Different possible resolutions of the relations among
Zegveld, 1981.. the institutional spheres of university, industry, and
In the USA, these programs include the Small government can help to generate alternative strate-
Business Innovation Research program ŽSBIR. and gies for economic growth and social transformation.
H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123 111
Fig. 1. An etatistic model of university–industry–government Fig. 3. The Triple Helix Model of University–Industry–Govern-
relations. ment Relations.
112 H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123
as a failed developmental model. With too little work because of the difference between cultural and
room for ‘‘bottom up’’ initiatives, innovation was biological evolutions. Biological evolution theory as-
discouraged rather than encouraged. Triple Helix II sumes variation as a driver and selection to be
entails a laissez-faire policy, nowadays also advo- naturally given. Cultural evolution, however, is
cated as shock therapy to reduce the role of the state driven by individuals and groups who make con-
in Triple Helix I. scious decisions as well as the appearance of unin-
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In one form or another, most countries and re- tended consequences. A Triple Helix in which each
gions are presently trying to attain some form of strand may relate to the other two can be expected to
Triple Helix III. The common objective is to realize develop an emerging overlay of communications,
an innovative environment consisting of university networks, and organizations among the helices ŽFig.
spin-off firms, tri-lateral initiatives for knowledge- 4..
based economic development, and strategic alliances The sources of innovation in a Triple Helix con-
Prohibida su reproducción parcial o total sin permiso escrito de la editorial.
among firms Žlarge and small, operating in different figuration are no longer synchronized a priori. They
areas, and with different levels of technology., gov- do not fit together in a pregiven order, but they
ernment laboratories, and academic research groups. generate puzzles for participants, analysts, and poli-
These arrangements are often encouraged, but not cymakers to solve. This network of relations gener-
controlled, by government, whether through new ates a reflexive subdynamics of intentions, strategies,
‘‘rules of the game,’’ direct or indirect financial and projects that adds surplus value by reorganizing
assistance, or through the Bayh–Dole Act in the and harmonizing continuously the underlying infras-
USA or new actors such as the abovementioned
foundations to promote innovation in Sweden.
tructure in order to achieve at least an approximation economics in which the three functional mechanisms
of the goals. The issue of how much we are in are: technological innovation provides the variation,
control or non-control of these dynamics specifies a markets are the prevailing selectors, and the institu-
research program on innovation. tional structures provide the system with retention
Innovation systems, and the relationships among and reflexive control ŽNelson, 1994.. In advanced
them, are apparent at the organizational, local, re- and pluriform societies, the mechanisms of institu-
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gional, national, and multinational levels. The inter- tional control are again differentiated into public and
acting subdynamics, that is, specific operations like private domains. Thus, a complex system is devel-
markets and technological innovations, are continu- oped that is continuously integrated and differenti-
ously reconstructed like commerce on the Internet, ated, both locally and globally.
yet differently at different levels. The subdynamics Innovation can be defined at different levels and
and the levels are also reflexively reconstructed from different perspectives within this complex dy-
Prohibida su reproducción parcial o total sin permiso escrito de la editorial.
through discussions and negotiation in the Triple namics. For example, evolutionary economists have
Helix. What is considered as ‘‘industry’’, what as argued that one should consider firms as the units of
‘‘market’’ cannot be taken for granted and should analysis, since they carry the innovations and they
not be reified. Each ‘‘system’’ is defined and can be have to compete in markets ŽNelson and Winter,
redefined as the research project is designed. 1982; cf. Andersen, 1994.. From a policy perspec-
For example, national systems of innovation can tive, one may wish to define national systems of
be more or less systemic. The extent of systemness innovation as a relevant frame of reference for gov-
remains an empirical question ŽLeydesdorff and ernment interventions. Others have argued in favour
Oomes, 1999.. The dynamic ‘‘systemŽs. of innova- of networks as more abstract units of analysis: the
tion’’ may consist of increasingly complex collabora- semi-autonomous dynamics of the networks may
tions across national borders and among researchers exhibit lock-ins, segmentation, etc. Že.g., David and
and users of research from various institutional Foray, 1994.. Furthermore, the evolving networks
spheres ŽGodin and Gingras, this issue.. There may may change in terms of relevant boundaries while
be different dynamics among regions. The systems developing ŽMaturana, 1978..
of reference have to be specified analytically, that is, In our opinion, these various perspectives open
as hypotheses. The Triple Helix hypothesis is that windows of appreciation on the dynamic and com-
systems can be expected to remain in transition. The plex processes of innovation, but from specific an-
observations provide an opportunity to update the gles. The complex dynamics is composed of subdy-
analytical expectations. namics like market forces, political power, institu-
tional control, social movements, technological tra-
jectories and regimes. The operations can be ex-
4. An endless transition pected to be nested and interacting. Integration, for
example, within a corporation or within a nation
The infrastructure of knowledge-intensive state, cannot be taken for granted. Technological
economies implies an endless transition. Marx’s great innovation may also require the reshaping of an
vision that ‘‘all that is solid, melts into air’’ ŽBer- organization or a community ŽFreeman and Perez,
man, 1982. underestimated the importance of seem- 1988.. But the system is not deterministic: in some
ingly volatile communications and interactions in phases intentional actions may be more successful in
recoding the Žcomplex. network system. Particularly, shaping the direction of technological change than in
when knowledge is increasingly utilized as a re- others ŽHughes, 1983..
source for the production and distribution system, The dynamics are nonlinear while both the inter-
reconstruction may come to prevail as a mode of action terms and the recursive terms have to be
‘‘creative destruction’’ ŽSchumpeter, 1939, 1966; declared. First, there are ongoing transformations
Luhmann, 1984.. within each of the helices. These reconstructions can
Can the reconstructing forces be specified? One be considered as a level of continuous innovations
mode of specification is provided by evolutionary under pressure of changing environments. When two
114 H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123
helices are increasingly shaping each other mutually, the analytical position of the Triple Helix model in
coevolution may lead to a stabilization along a tra- relation to other nonlinear models of innovation, like
jectory. If more than a single interface is stabilized, Mode 2 and national systems of innovation.
the formation of a globalized regime can be ex-
pected. At each level, cycles are generated which
guide the phasing of the developments. The higher- 5. Nonlinear models of innovation
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tion in terms of their constitutive subdynamics Že.g., under study, for example, can be expected to change
Leydesdorff and Van den Besselaar, 1997.. The with the further development of the inputroutput
different subdynamics can be expected to select upon relations Že.g., because of economies of scale.. Thus,
each other asymmetrically, as in processes of negoti- the unit of operation may be transformed, as is
ation, by using their specific codes. For example, the typical when a pilot plant in the chemical industry is
markets and networks select upon technological fea- scaled up to a production facility.
sibilities, whereas the options for technological de- By changing the unit of analysis or the unit of
velopments can also be specified in terms of market operation at the reflexive level, one obtains a differ-
forces. Governments can intervene by helping create ent perspective on the system under study. But the
a new market or otherwise changing the rules of the system itself is also evolving. In terms of methodolo-
game. gies, this challenges our conceptual apparatus, since
When the selections ‘‘lock-in’’ upon each other, one has to be able to distinguish whether the variable
next-order systems may become relevant. For exam- has changed or merely the value of the variable. The
ple, airplane development at the level of firms gener- analysis contains a snapshot, while the reality pro-
ates trajectories at the level of the industry in coevo- vides a moving picture. One needs metaphors to
lutions between selected technologies and markets reduce the complexity for the discursive understand-
Že.g., Nelson, 1994; cf. McKelvey, 1996.. Nowa- ing. Geometrical metaphors can be stabilized by
days, the development of a new technological trajec- higher-order codifications as in the case of paradigms.
tory invokes the support of national governments and The understanding in terms of fluxes Žthat is, how
even international levels Žlike the EU., using increas- the variables as well as the value may change over
ingly a Triple Helix regime ŽFrenken and Leydes- time., however, calls for the use of algorithmic
dorff, forthcoming.. simulations. The observables can then be considered
We have organized this theme issue about the as special cases which inform the expectations
Triple Helix of university–industry–government re- ŽLeydesdorff, 1995..
lations in terms of three such interlocking dynamics: Innovation, in particular, can be defined only in
institutional transformations, evolutionary mecha- terms of an operation. Both the innovatorŽs. and the
nisms, and the new position of the university. This innovated systemŽs. are expected to be changed by
approach allows us to pursue the analysis at the the innovation. Furthermore, one is able to be both a
network level and then to compare among units of participant and an observer, and one is also able to
analysis. For example, both industries and govern- change perspectives. In the analysis, however, the
ments are entrained in institutional transformations, various roles are distinguished although they can
while the institutional transformations themselves sometimes be fused in ‘‘real life’’ events. Langton
change under the pressure of information and com- Ž1989. proposed to distinguish between the ‘‘pheno-
munication technologies ŽICT. or government poli- typical’’ level of the observables and the ‘‘genotypi-
cies. Before explaining the organization of the theme cal’’ level of analytical theorizing. The ‘‘pheno-
issue in detail, however, we wish to turn briefly to types’’ remain to be explained and the various expla-
H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123 115
nations compete in terms of their clarity and useful- which are possible within and among the sectors. In
ness for updating the expectations. Confusion, how- particular, the distribution of relevant actors contains
ever, is difficult to avoid given the pressure to jump an heuristic potential which can be made reflexive
to normative conclusions, while different perspec- by a strategic analysis of specific strengths and
tives are continuously competing, both normatively weaknesses ŽPavitt, 1984..
and analytically. The solution of the production puzzle typically
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Let us first focus on the problem of the unit of brings government into the picture shifting the dy-
analysis and the unit of operation. In addition to namics from a double to a triple helix. The conse-
extending the linear Žinputroutput. models of neo- quent processes of negotiation are both complex and
classical and business economics, evolutionary dynamic: one expects that the Žinstitutional. actors
economists also changed the unit of analysis. will be reproduced and changed by the interactions.
Whereas neoclassical economics focused on markets Trilateral networks and hybrid organizations are cre-
Prohibida su reproducción parcial o total sin permiso escrito de la editorial.
as networks in terms of inputroutput relations among ated for resolving social and economic crises. The
individual Žrational. agents, evolutionary economists actors from the different spheres negotiate and define
have tended to focus on firms as the specific Žand new projects, such as the invention of the venture
bounded. carriers of an innovation process. Both the capital firm in New England in the early postwar era
unit of analysis and the unit of operation were ŽEtzkowitz, forthcoming.. Thus, a Triple Helix dy-
changed ŽAndersen, 1994; cf. Alchian, 1950.. namics of university–industry–government relations
Lundvall Ž1988, at p. 357. noted that the interac- is generated endogeneously.
tive terms between demand and supply in user–pro- Gibbons et al. Ž1994. argued that this ‘‘new mode
ducer relations assume a system of reference in of the production of scientific knowledge’’ has be-
addition to the market. The classical dispute in inno- come manifest. But: how are these dynamics in the
vation theory had, in his opinion, referred to the role network arrangements between industries, govern-
of demand and supply, that is, market forces, in ments, and academia a consequence of the user–pro-
determining the rate and direction of the process of ducer interactions foregrounded by Lundvall Ž1988.?
innovation Žcf. Mowery and Rosenberg, 1979; Free- Are national systems still a relevant unit of analysis?
man, 1982, p. 211.. If, however, the dynamics of Since the new mode of knowledge production ŽMode
innovation Že.g., product competition. are expected 2. is characterized as an outcome, it should, in our
to be different from the dynamics of the market Že.g., opinion, be considered as an emerging system. The
price competition., an alternative system of reference emerging system rests like a hyper-network on the
for the selection should also be specified. For this networks on which it builds Žsuch as the disciplines,
purpose, Lundvall proposed ‘‘to take the national the industries, and the national governments., but the
system of production as a starting point when defin- knowledge-economy transforms ‘‘the ship while a
ing a system of innovation’’ Žp. 362.. storm is raging on the open sea’’ ŽNeurath et al.,
Lundvall added that the national system of pro- 1929..
duction should not be considered as a closed system: Science has always been organized through net-
‘‘the specific degree and form of openness deter- works, and to pursue practical as well as theoretical
mines the dynamics of each national system of pro- interests. Centuries before ‘‘Mersenne’’ was trans-
duction’’. In our opinion, as a first step, innovation mogrified into an Internet site, he was an individual,
systems should be considered as the dynamics of who by visits and letters, knitted the European scien-
change in systems of both production and distribu- tific community together. The Academies of Science
tion. From this perspective, national systems com- played a similar role in local and national contexts
pete in terms of the adaptability of their knowledge from the 16th century.
infrastructure. How are competencies distributed for The practical impetus to scientific discovery is
solving ‘‘the production puzzle’’ which is generated long-standing. The dissertation of Merton Ž1938.
by uneven technological developments across sectors reported that between 40% and 60% of discoveries
ŽNelson, 1982; Nelson and Winter, 1975.? The in- in the 17th century could be classified as having
frastructure conditions the processes of innovation their origins in trying to solve problems in naviga-
116 H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123
tion, mining, etc. Conversely, solution of practical from corruption by the Nazi doctrine of a racial basis
problems through scientific means has been an im- for science and from Lysenko’s attack on genetics in
portant factor in scientific development, whether in the Soviet Union. Merton’s formulation of a set of
German pharmaceutical science in the 17th century norms to protect the free space of science was
ŽGustin, 1975. or in the British-sponsored competi- accepted as the basis for an empirical sociology of
tion to provide a secure basis for navigation ŽSobel, science for many years.
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science, consisting of networks and invisible colleges science was funded in peacetime, a rationale was
Žcf. Weingart, 1997; Godin, 1998.. Where have these needed in 1944 when Bush persuaded President Roo-
ideas, of the scientist as the isolated individual and sevelt to write a letter commissioning the report
of science separated from the interests of society, ŽBush, 1980..
come from? Mode 2 represents the material base of In the first draft of his report, Bush proposed to
science, how it actually operates. Mode 1 is a con- follow the then current British method of funding
struct, built upon that base in order to justify auton- science at universities. It would be distributed on a
omy for science, especially in an earlier era when it per capita basis according to the number of students
was still a fragile institution and needed all the help at each school. In the contemporary British system of
it could get. a small number of universities, the funds automati-
In the USA, during the late 19th century, large cally went to an elite. However, if that model had
fortunes were given to found new universities, and been followed in the US, even in the early postwar
expand old ones. There were grave concerns among era, the flow of funds would have taken a different
many academics that the industrialists making these course. The funding would not only have flowed
gifts would try to directly influence the universities, primarily to a bicoastal academic elite but would
by claiming rights to hire and fire professors as well have been much more broadly distributed across the
as well as to decide what topics were acceptable for academic spectrum, especially to the large state uni-
research and instruction ŽStorr, 1953.. To carve out versities in the Midwest.
an independent space for science, beyond the control In the time between the draft and the final report,
of economic interests, a physicist, Henry Rowland, the mechanism for distribution of government funds
propounded the doctrine that if anyone with external to academic research was revised and ‘‘peer review’’
interests tried to intervene, it would harm the con- was introduced. Adapted from foundation practices
duct of science. As president of the American Asso- in the 1920s and 1930s, it could be expected that
ciation for the Advancement of Science, he promoted ‘‘the peers’’, the leading scientists who would most
the ideology of pure research in the late 19th cen- surely be on those committees, would distribute the
tury. Of course, at the same time as liberal arts funds primarily to a scientific elite. The status sys-
universities oriented toward pure research were be- tem of U.S. universities that had been in place from
ing founded, land grant universities, including MIT, the 1920s was reinforced.
pursued more practical research strategies. These two This model of ‘‘best science’’ is no longer accept-
contrasting academic modes existed in parallel for able to many as the sole basis for distribution of
many years. public research funds. Congresspersons who repre-
Decades hence, Merton posited the normative sent regions with universities that are not significant
structure of science in 1942 and strengthened the recipients of research funds have disregarded peer
ideology of ‘‘pure science.’’ His emphasis on uni- review and distributed research funds by direct ap-
versalism and skepticism was a response to a particu- propriation, much as roads and bridges are often
lar historical situation, the need to defend science sited through ‘‘log rolling’’ and ‘‘pork barrel’’ pro-
H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123 117
cesses. Nevertheless, these politically directed funds little concern. The relationship between the site where
support also serious scientific research and instru- knowledge is produced and its eventual utilization
mentation projects. Even when received by schools was not seen to be tightly linked, even as a first
with little or no previous research experience, these mover advantage. This view has changed dramati-
‘‘one-time funds’’ are typically used to rapidly build cally in recent years, as has the notion that high-tech
up competencies in order to compete within the conurbations, like Route 128 and Silicon Valley, are
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relabeled its chemistry department ‘‘The National aware that science, applied to local resources, is the
Center for Excellence in Chemistry’’. A special fed- basis of much of their future potential for economic
eral appropriation was made and the research facili- and social development. In the USA, it is no longer
ties were renovated and expanded. To hold its fac- acceptable for research funds to primarily go to the
ulty, the university could not afford to wait for the east and west coasts with a few places in between in
slower route of peer review, and likely smaller the Midwest. The reason why funding is awarded on
amounts of funding. bases other than the peer review system, is that all
Increasing competition for research funds among regions want a share of research funding.
new and old actors has caused an incipient break- The classic legitimation for scientific research as
down of ‘‘peer review’’, a system that could best a contribution to culture still holds and military and
adjudicate within a moderate level of competition. health objectives also remain a strong stimulus to
As competition for research funds continues to ex- research funding. Nevertheless, the future legitima-
pand, how should the strain be adjusted? Some tion for scientific research, which will keep funding
propose shrinking the research system; others sug- at a high level, is that it is increasingly the source of
gest linking science to new sources of legitimation new lines of economic development.
such as regional development. Newly created disciplines are often the basis for
these heightened expectations. Such disciplines do
not arise only from the subdivision of new disci-
6. The future legitimation of science plines from old ones, as in the 19th century ŽBen
David and Collins, 1966.. New disciplines have
It is nowadays apparent that the development of arisen, more recently, through syntheses of practical
science provides much of the basis for future indus- and theoretical interests. For example, computer sci-
trial development. These connections, however, have ence grew out of elements of older disciplines such
been present from the creation of science as an as electrical engineering, psychology, philosophy,
organized activity in the 17th century. Marx pointed and a machine. Materials science and other fields
them out again in the mid-19th century in connection such as nanotechnology that are on every nation’s
with the development of chemical industry in Ger- critical technology list were similarly created.
many. At the time, he developed a thesis of the The university can be expected to remain the core
growth of science-based industry on the basis of a institution of the knowledge sector as long as it
single empirical example: Perkins researches on retains its original educational mission ŽEtzkowitz,
dyestuffs in the UK leading to the development of an Webster, Gebhardt, and Terra, this issue.. Teaching
industry in Germany. is the university’s comparative advantage, especially
The potential of science to contribute to economic when linked to research and economic development.
development has become a source of regional and Students are also potential inventors. They represent
international competition at the turn of the millen- a dynamic flow-through of ‘‘human capital’’ in aca-
nium. Until recently, the location of research was of demic research groups, as opposed to more static
118 H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123
industrial laboratories and research institutes. Al- more productive and cost effective to combine the
though they are sometimes considered a necessary two functions.
distraction, the turnover of students insures the pri- The Triple Helix overlay provides a model at the
macy of the university as a source of innovation. level of social structure for the explanation of Mode
The university may be compared to other recently 2 as an historically emerging structure for the pro-
proposed contenders for knowledge leadership, such duction of scientific knowledge, and its relation to
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as the consulting firm. A consulting company draws Mode 1. First, the arrangements between industry
together widely dispersed personnel for individual and government no longer need to be conceptualized
projects and then disperses them again after a pro- as exclusively between national governments and
ject, solving a client’s particular problem, is com- specific industrial sectors. Strategic alliances cut
pleted. Such firms lack the organizational ability to across traditional sector divides; governments can act
pursue a cumulative research program as a matter of at national, regional, or increasingly also at interna-
Prohibida su reproducción parcial o total sin permiso escrito de la editorial.
course. The university’s unique comparative advan- tional levels. Corporations adopt ‘‘global’’ postures
tages is that it combines continuity with change, either within a formal corporate structure or by
organizational and research memory with new per- alliance. Trade blocks like the EU, NAFTA, and
sons and new ideas, through the passage of student Mercosul provide new options for breaking ‘‘lock-
generations. When there is a break in the genera- ins’’, without the sacrifice of competitive advantages
tions, typically caused by a loss of research funding, from previous constellations. For example, the Air-
one academic research group disappears and can be bus can be considered as an interactive opportunity
replaced by another. for recombination at the supra-national level ŽFren-
Of course, as firms organize increasingly higher ken, this issue..
level training programs Že.g., Applied Global Uni- Second, the driving force of the interactions can
versity at the Applied Materials Devices, a semicon- be specified as the expectation of profits. ‘‘Profit’’
ductor equipment manufacturer in Silicon Valley. may mean different things to the various actors
they might in the future also, individually or jointly, involved. A leading edge consumer, for example,
attempt to give out degrees. Companies often draw provides firms and engineers with opportunities to
upon personnel in their research units, as well as perceive ‘‘reverse salients’’ in current product lines
external consultants, to do some of the teaching in and software. Thus, opportunities for improvements
their corporate universities. Nevertheless, with a few and puzzle-solving trajectories can be defined. Note
notable exceptions, such as the RAND, they have not that analytically the drivers are no longer conceptual-
yet systematically drawn together research and train- ized as ex ante causes, but in terms of expectations
ing into a single framework. However, as the need that can be evaluated only ex post. From the evolu-
for life-long learning increases, a university tied to tionary perspective, selection Žex post. is structure
the workplace becomes more salient. determined, while variation may be random ŽArthur,
1988; Leydesdorff and Van den Besselaar, 1998..
Third, the foundation of the model in terms of
7. Implications of the Triple Helix model expectations leaves room for uncertainties and chance
processes. The institutional carriers are expected to
The Triple Helix denotes not only the relationship be reproduced as far as they have been functional
of university, industry and government, but also hitherto, but the negotiations can be expected to lead
internal transformation within each of these spheres. to experiments which may thereafter also be institu-
The university has been transformed from a teaching tionalized. Thus, a stage model of innovation can be
institution into one which combines teaching with specified.
research, a revolution that is still ongoing, not only The stages of this model do not need to corre-
in the USA, but in many other countries. There is a spond with product life cycle theory. Barras Ž1990.,
tension between the two activities but nevertheless for example, noted that in ICT ‘‘a reverse product
they coexist in a more or less compatible relationship life’’ cycle seems to be dominant. Bruckner et al.
with each other because it has been found to be both Ž1994. proposed niche-creation as the mechanism of
H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123 119
potential lock-out in the case of competing technolo- growth., theoretical expectations, assessment of what
gies. A successful innovation changes the landscape, can be realized given institutional and geographic
that is, the opportunity structure for the institutional constraints — have to be related and converted into
actors involved. Structural changes in turn are ex- one another. The helices communicate recursively
pected to change the dynamics. over time in terms of each one’s own code. Reflex-
Fourth, the expansion of the higher-education and ively, they can also take the role of each other, to a
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academic-research sector has provided society with a certain extent. While the discourses are able to inter-
realm in which different representations can be enter- act at the interfaces, the frequency of the external
tained and recombined in a systematic manner. interaction is Žat least initially. lower than the fre-
Kaghan and Barnett Ž1997. have used in this context quency within each helix. Over time and with the
the term ‘‘desktop innovation’’ as different from the availability of ICT, this relation is changing.
laboratory model Žcf. Etzkowitz, 1999.. Knowledge- The balance between spatial and virtual relations
Prohibida su reproducción parcial o total sin permiso escrito de la editorial.
intensive economies can no longer be based on is contingent upon the availability of the exchange
simple measures of profit maximization: utility func- media and their codifications. Codified media pro-
tions have to be matched with opportunity structures. vide the system with opportunities to change the
Over time, opportunity structures are recursively meaning of a communication Žgiven another context.
driven by the contingencies of prevailing and possi- while maintaining its substance ŽCowan and Foray,
ble technologies. A laboratory of knowledge-inten- 1997.. Despite the ‘‘ virtuality’’ of the overlay, this
sive developments is socially available and can be system is not ‘‘on the fly’’: it is grounded in a
improved upon ŽEtzkowitz and Leydesdorff, 1995.. culture which it has to reproduce ŽGiddens, 1984..
As this helix operates, the human capital factor is The retention mechanism is no longer given, but ‘‘on
further developed along the learning curves and as the move’’: it is reconstructed as the system is
an antidote to the risk of technological unemploy- reconstructed, that is, as one of its subdynamics.
ment ŽPasinetti, 1981.. As the technological culture provides options for
Fifth, the model also explains why the tensions recombination, the boundaries of communities can
need not to be resolved. A resolution would hinder be reconstituted. The price may be felt as a loss of
the dynamics of a system which lives from the traditional identities or alienation, or as a concern
perturbations and interactions among its subsystems. with the sustainability of the reconstruction, but the
Thus, the subsystems are expected to be reproduced. reverse of ‘‘creative destruction’’ is the option of
When one opens the black-box one finds Mode 1 increasing development. The new mode of knowl-
within Mode 2, and Mode 2 within Mode 1. The edge production generates an endless transition that
system is neither integrated nor completely differen- continuously redefines the borders of the endless
tiated, but it performs on the edges of fractional frontier.
differentiations and local integrations. Using this
model, one can begin to understand why the global
regime exhibits itself in progressive instances, while
the local instances inform us about global develop- 8. The organization of the theme issue
ments in terms of the exceptions which are replicated
and built upon. As noted above, this issue is organized in three
Case materials enable us to specify the negative main parts, addressing Ž1. institutional transforma-
selection mechanisms reflexively. Selection mecha- tion, Ž2. evolutionary mechanisms, and Ž3. the sec-
nisms, however, remain constructs. Over time, the ond academic revolution. Each part contains five
inference can be corroborated. At this end, the func- contributions.
tion of reflexive inferencing based on available and In Part One ŽInstitutional Transformations.,
new theories moves the system forward by drawing Michael Nowak and Charles Grantham open the
attention to possibilities for change. discussion with a paper about the impact of the
Sixth, the crucial question of the exchange media Internet on incubation as an institutional mechanism
— economic expectations Žin terms of profit and for technological innovation. The increased complex-
120 H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123
ity of the process induces reflexivity about the choices While the Portuguese team focuses on the re-
to be made, and human capital becomes increasingly gional level, Susanne Giesecke takes the analysis to
crucial for carrying the transformations. the level of comparing national governments in her
The failure of the ‘‘opening to the market’’ as an contribution entitled ‘‘The Contrasting Roles of
answer to the state-dominated economies in the for- Government in the Development of the Biotechnol-
mer Soviet Union, because of the neglect of the ogy Industries in the US and Germany’’. She notes
Este material es para uso de la Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, sus fines son exclusivamente didácticos.
the intermediate network level. Rosalba Casas, Rebeca de Gortari, and Ma. Josefa
Norma Morris, in ‘‘Vial Bodies: Conflicting In- Santos from Mexico combine the issues of regional
terests in the Move to New Institutional Relation- developments and differences between the technolo-
ships in Biological Medicines Research and Regula- gies involved by cross-tabling them for the case of
tion’’, discusses normative issues that arise when the Mexico. These authors focus on what they call ‘‘the
borders are no longer defined institutionally and building of knowledge spaces’’. How is the interrela-
governmentally. The case of the EU places the role tionship between knowledge-intensity, industrial ac-
of safety regulation at national and transnational tivity, and institutional control shaped in terms of
levels on the agenda. In a paper entitled ‘‘The interhuman and interinstitutional relations? What is
Evolution of Rules for Access to Megascience Re- the function of shared culture, values, and trust? Is
search Environments Viewed from Canadian Experi- the region a habitat for the technology, or the tech-
ence’’, Cooper Langford and Martha Whitney Lang- nology a precondition for restructuring the region?
ford document what it means for the organization of In a contribution entitled ‘‘The Triple Helix: An
Canadian science that government and industry rela- Evolutionary Model of Innovations’’, Loet Leydes-
tions are deeply involved in this enterprise. Are the dorff uses simulations to show how a lock-in can be
Kudos-norms of Merton Ž1942. increasingly being enhanced using a coevolution like the one between
replaced by a new set of norms ŽZiman, 1994.? If so, regions and technologies. A third source of random
what are the expected effects on reward systems and variation, however, may intervene, reversing the or-
funding? In a contribution to the latter question, der in a later stage and leading to more complex
Shin-Ichi Kobayashi argues that a third form of arrangements of market segmentation Žthat is, differ-
funding can be distinguished nowadays Žin addition ent suboptima.. A mechanism for lock-out can also
to peer recognition and institutional allocation.. The be specified.
author develops the new format using the metaphor Koen Frenken takes the complexity approach one
of the audition system for the performing arts. step further by confronting it with empirical data in
Thus, not only the institutions themselves are the case of the aircraft industry. Using Kauffman’s
transformed, but also their mechanisms of transfor- Ž1993. model of ‘‘rugged fitness landscapes’’ he
mation. These evolutionary mechanisms are central shows the working of a Triple Helix in different
to the second part of the theme issue. The contribu- phases of this industry Žcf. Frenken and Leydesdorff,
tion from the Aveiro team ŽEduardo Anselmo de forthcoming.. The model can be extended to account
Castro, Carlos Jose´ Rodrigues, Carlos Esteves, and for the additional degree of freedom in international
Artur da Rosa Pires. returns to the impact of ICT on collaborations to develop new aircraft. The failure of
changing the stage. How can institutional arrange- Fokker Aircraft, for example, can be explained using
ments be shaped to match the options which telemat- these concepts: one cannot bet on two horses at the
ics provide? How can a retention mechanism be same time, since the markets are fiercely competi-
organized as a niche or a habitat for knowledge-in- tive, technological infrastructures are expensive, and
tensive developments? learning curves are steep.
H. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorffr Research Policy 29 (2000) 109–123 121
In the third part of the issue, we turn to the While a ‘‘hands off’’ may have been functional to
second academic revolution. In their contribution previous configurations, the exigencies of today de-
entitled ‘‘The Place of Universities in the System of mand a more intensive interrelationship. As noted, a
Knowledge Production’’, Benoıt ˆ Godin and Yves Triple Helix arrangement that tends to reorganize the
Gingras argue against the thesis that the university knowledge infrastructure in terms of possible over-
would have lost its salient position in the lays, can be expected to be generated endogenously.
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