Abstract:

The most important production factor in information economics is knowledge. That is why the determinant role of universities in economic success cannot be denied, considering the fact that the fundamental mission of universities is to produce, store, spread and expand knowledge. However, until recently in most of the analyses, the role of universities was reduced to merely offering education and universities were defined to be only providing “university-graduate labor force” for the economic system. Fortunately, this perception of universities as passive providers has been abandoned with the acceptance of “The Triple Helix Model”, which defines innovation as an interaction process among university - industry - government and universities, at last, have been given the recognition they deserve. With the increasing prominence of the triple helix model in the literature, university has also become the key institution both in economic and social systems. The triple helix model, an innovation model in which the knowledge process is transformed into capital through multi-directional interactions, defines the relations among university-industry-government as institutional environments which are relatively equal, co-dependent and in close interaction and in which institutions can act in place of one another. To put it more precisely, universities can found firms to be part of the private sector, firms can found universities and join the education sector or governments can undertake a role as risk capital providers through innovation surveys and other programs. The main hypothesis of this model, which was suggested by Etzkowitz and Leydersdorff (1995) with inspiration from the double helix structure of DNA, is that university, industry and government should co-exist in the innovation process. Unlike in the linear innovation model, in this model the innovation-oriented institutional relations among university-industry- government are represented with the triple helix structure and building these relations in various layers of this structure, the use of knowledge as capital is tried to be explained. The triple helix assigns a significant but not dominant role to government and a notable role to university. What motivates the actors towards change in their roles and relation networks is the great need to maintain innovation. According to the evolutionary explanation of this model, the three actors gradually develop through learning “productive relations” or “how to create values out of relations” for development that will ensure economic growth.

This study will discuss all stages of the triple helix model, which is defined by Etzkowitz as a spiral model of innovation comprising multi-directional relations in various points of the process of capitalizing knowledge and which is thought to contribute significantly to knowledge-based development processes. The study will also outline and analyze the changes in the roles of universities which have undertaken a vital role in general with the introduction of the recent knowledge-based economies and knowledge-based society and in particular with the concepts of innovation and learning.

Keywords:

University-industry cooperation, the triple helix model, innovation, knowledge economics.