University-Industry-Government Linkages and the Helix Theory on the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

In the current era of the fourth industrial revolution, the creation of new knowledge and the production and diffusion of innovation constitute the most critical dimensions of development and under-development. In this direction, for over two decades, a useful conceptual contribution is the triple-helix theory: the interconnection of universities, firms, and governmental policies. The aim of this study is through a periodization of the helix theory literature to understand how this approach is related to new perceptions of innovation and to describe its possible future analytical perspectives. Within the present phase of the fourth industrial revolution, the institutional dimensions of a socioeconomic system (including universities, industries, and government policies) are following complex and co-evolving development trajectories and we must perceive them in their specific historical and spatial configurations.

Keywords: helix theory, socioeconomic development, the fourth industrial revolution, university-industry-government linkages, local development