The Triple Helix Model and the Future of Innovation: A Reflection on the Triple Helix Research Agenda

Based on their early explorations on new perspectives on the role of academia and organised knowledge production in regional innovation, Etzkowitz and Leydesdorfff had consolidated the Triple Helix concept through either collaborative works (e.g. Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 1995, 2000) or individual publications (e.g. Etzkowitz, 2008; Leydesdorff, 2000). They developed the Triple Helix model to explain the dynamic interactions between academia, industry, and government that foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic growth in a knowledge-based economy (Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 2000). In research communities, there are continuous efforts to apply/enhance the Triple Helix model as well as criticisms on its limits or limitations. Probably, there is no other place more suitable than the Triple Helix journal, which bears the model’s name, to play the role of provoking discussions on the Triple Helix model, especially for understanding the future of innovation in society.While our initial plan was to write a short editorial to introduce the special issue on the theme ‘the Triple Helix model and the future of innovation’, we have decided to include our Editors-in-Chiefs’ reflection on the Triple Helix research agenda for two reasons. First, reading the articles collected in the special issue reminds us that those researchers involved in Triple Helix studies not only deal with the Triple Helix concept itself but also engage with the concepts either embedded in or derived from it. Thus, one may wonder: What are the core concepts within the umbrella of Triple Helix? Second, while the articles, in the special issue and also in the journal, deal with a wide range of themes in different sectors of the society related to innovation, we asked ourselves: Can the Triple Helix model be applied to deal with ‘everything’ or, if not, what are the boundary conditions? This question is linked to an ongoing debate regarding the model’s usefulness for understanding the dynamics of innovation in a changing society (Cai & Lattu, 2021). Thus, before we introduce the articles included in the special issue, we will address the two concerns of editors and probably many others in the Triple Helix research community.