Synergy in Innovation Systems: Redundancy in the Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government Relations

52 Pages Posted: 24 Mar 2017 Last revised: 13 Feb 2019

See all articles by Loet Leydesdorff

Loet Leydesdorff

University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR)

Inga Ivanova

National Research University Higher School of Economics

Martin S. Meyer

University of Kent, Kent Business School

Date Written: January 7, 2018

Abstract

The Triple Helix of university-industry-government relations can first be considered as an institutional network. However, the correlations in the patterns of relations provide another topology: that of a vector space. Meanings are provided from positions in this latter topology and from the perspective of hindsight. Meanings can be shared, and sharing generates redundancy. Increasing redundancy provides new options and reduces uncertainty; reducing uncertainty improves the innovative climate, and the generation of options (redundancy) is crucial for innovation. The knowledge base provides an engine of the economy by evolving in terms of generating new options. The trade-off between the evolutionary generation of redundancy and the historical variation providing uncertainty can be measured as negative and positive information, respectively. In a number of studies of national systems of innovation (e.g., Sweden, Germany, Spain, China), this TH synergy indicator has been used to analyze regions and sectors in which uncertainty was significantly reduced. The quality of innovation systems can thus be quantified at different geographical scales and in terms of sectors such as high- and medium-tech manufacturing or knowledge-intensive services.

Keywords: Triple Helix; Non-linear Dynamics; University-Industry-Government Relations; Redundancy; Innovation Systems; Knowledge Base

Suggested Citation

Leydesdorff, Loet and Ivanova, Inga and Meyer, Martin S., Synergy in Innovation Systems: Redundancy in the Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government Relations (January 7, 2018). SWPS 2017-08, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2937647 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2937647

Loet Leydesdorff (Contact Author)

University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) ( email )

PO Box 15793
Amsterdam, 1001 NG
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.leydesdorff.net

Inga Ivanova

National Research University Higher School of Economics ( email )

20 Myasnitskaya St.
Moscow, 101000
Russia

Martin S. Meyer

University of Kent, Kent Business School ( email )

Keynes College
Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP
United Kingdom

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
517
Abstract Views
2,270
Rank
99,840
PlumX Metrics