ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION - ORGANIZATIONS, INSTITUTIONS, SYSTEMS AND REGIONS

This paper is drawing on extensive theoretical research and literature reviews, and presents a framework based on theories on networking, knowledge creation and innovation. It then introduces three European cases to illustrate practical applications of the framework, and also links the findings to three Chinese cases to make comparative observations as well as recommendations related to Triple Helix concepts and their implications in the China context. It addresses the issue how learning from universities can enhance company flexibility and performance in innovation, and outlines three different models of collaboration. This paper provides a new theoretical rationale for I-U learning alliances as a natural way out from the managerial problem of trying to perform both exploration and exploitation within the same company boundaries. Through our theoretical framework, the academic science domain becomes a logical partner to handle the full phase of exploration and support the process of exploitation. The presented European cases of Bang & Olufsen, Combibloc and Porsche offer new insights into how to perform this act in practice, while the three China related cases allow us to cross analyse empirical findings and draw initial conclusions with policy implications for China.