The
model of “Open Innovations” (OI) can be compared with the “Triple Helix
of University-Industry-Government Relations” (TH) as attempts to find
surplus value in bringing industrial innovation closer to public
R&D. Whereas the firm is central in the model of OI, the TH adds
multi-centeredness: in addition to firms, universities and (e.g.,
regional) governments can take leading roles in innovation eco-systems.
In addition to the (transversal) technology transfer at each moment of
time, one can focus on the dynamics in the feedback loops. Under
specifiable conditions, feedback loops can be turned into feedforward
ones that drive innovation eco-systems towards self-organization and the
auto-catalytic generation of new options. The generation of options can
be more important than historical realizations (“best practices”) for
the longer-term viability of knowledge-based innovation systems. A
system without sufficient options, for example, is locked-in. The
generation of redundancy—the Triple Helix indicator—can be used as a
measure of unrealized but technologically feasible options given a
historical configuration. Different coordination mechanisms (markets,
policies, knowledge) provide different perspectives on the same
information and thus generate redundancy. Increased redundancy not only
stimulates innovation in an eco-system by reducing the prevailing
uncertainty; it also enhances the synergy in and innovativeness of an
innovation system.
