Effect of efficient triple-helix collaboration on organizations based on their stage of growth

Abstract

Triple Helix (TH) theory, which emphasizes synergy between universities, industries, and government, has not been tested empirically from the perspective of differences in R&D efficiency. We examine how firms’ TH strategies affect R&D efficiency and how synergy varies according to stage of growth. First, we classify the firms into four groups by TH strategy. We estimate each firm's R&D efficiency and compare each group's technical gap ratio relative to the meta-frontier. The results show that synergy does exist in long-term R&D efficiency and potential. Discussion of the heterogeneous effects of TH strategies according to the firms’ stage of growth follows.