Applying The Quadruple Helix Model To Highlight The Relationship Between Academic Research And The Innovation Process

The 21st century, characterized by the VUCA concept (acronym coined out in 1987 to describe the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world we live in), is a reflection of the technological disruption and its related social, economic and cultural impact, as well as a consequence of the rapidly changing business and organizational environment, which became our ”new normal”. These challenges cannot be addressed from an unilateral perspective, therefore the new paradigm implies a stronger cooperation between a society's most important pillars to provide the necessary infrastructure for innovation and economic development. In this context, the innovation process implies a new framework of interactions and interdependences between the four fundamental elements which constitute the Quadruple Helix (QH) model: universities – industries/companies – government – civil society. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the elements of the QH model and their potential synergy, as well as to highlight the prominent role universities undertake within this model. Universities are considered to be innovative laboratories of ideas, endowed with specialized human resource capable of improving the research and development (R&D) activities by capitalizing the knowledge obtained through research, teaching and learning, and to convert the scientific discoveries into innovations which, in turn, will support long term economic growth.