A Triple-Helix Ecosystem for Entrepreneurship: A Case Review

Abstract

The collaborations among universities, businesses, and governments leading to entrepreneurial activities have received a lot of attention. Successful examples of such endeavours are plenty. However, how this triple-helix ecosystem may have changed in the digital economy remains unexplored. Specifically, there is a lack of research that addresses the changing roles of universities from acting as places for conducting R&D to become marketplaces for customers. The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the triple helix ecosystem of entrepreneurship in the digital economy. First, we use a historical lens to uncover the antecedents and drivers of university-business research collaborations with support from governments, and offer a few historical examples. Second, we highlight some recent digital businesses from the perspective of triple helix ecosystem of entrepreneurship. Third, we offer a new conceptual framework depicting the new roles of the three triadic players that have expanded from the supply side (i.e., R&D, funding) to the demand side (i.e., customer base) in enabling entrepreneurial activities.