The role of the state and universities in generating innovation

Abstract

It cannot be denied that innovation is a process that is happening continuously and in every sector of the economy. This is why the question who is the main force behind innovation appeared. Some scholars think that the private sector does the job, while others believe that the university and the public sector play a big role in creating innovation. Even so, as this qualitative research shows, neither actor is more important than the other, as they all contribute to generating innovation. Moreover, the Entrepreneurial State theory by M. Mazzucato and the Triple-Helix Model by Etzkowitz H./Leydesdorff L. come to explain that the state and university has a significant role in innovation, similar to the private sector. On top of it, the Triple-Helix Model suggests that the innovation of nowadays is a result of interconnections between the university-industry-government and it cannot develop without the other. Thus, this leads to the idea that innovation is happening because of more factors that need to be properly commercialized and made visible to the public in order to change the misunderstanding created.