摘要

In this essay, I attend to the Triple Helix Model of rela tions among university, industry and government, broadly used in innovation studies. The model was proposed by Henry Etzkowitz and L et Leyersdorf and it has been very succesful as a heuristic for analysis of innovation process and as a normative guide for innovation policies. Moreover, its theoretical foundations are suited with perspectives from evolutive and institutionalist theories of economic science, at the same time that it takes in account sociological variables usually unattended in economic theory. By other hand, the accumulative knowledge about diverse experiences of triple helix more than one decade ago has shown that the Triple Helix model is adequated as a impeller for innovations not only directed to market but also to various social problems. In spite of it, the model has originated critics pointing to its supporting functions and its weaknesses for adecuated descriptions and explanations of complex processes of innovation. Se revisar芍 el modelo de Triple H谷lice de relaciones entre universidad, industria y gobierno, ampliamente usado en los estudios de la innovaci車n. Impulsado por Etzkowitz y Leyersdorf, el modelo ha resultado fruct赤fero como heur赤stica para el an芍lisis de los procesos de innovaci車n y como esquema normativo para pol赤ticas de innovaci車n. Adem芍s, los fundamentos te車ricos del modelo casan bien con los enfoques de las teor赤as evolucionista e institucionalista en econom赤a, al tiempo que toman en cuenta variables sociol車gicas tradicionalmente descuidadas por la teor赤a econ車mica. Por otro lado, la acumulaci車n de conocimiento en torno a experiencias de triples h谷lices durante m芍s de una d谷cada ha mostrado que el modelo sirve como impulsor de innovaciones no s車lo destinadas al mercado sino tambi谷n a diferentes problemas sociales. Pese a ello, ha suscitado cr赤ticas que se alan sus funciones legitimadoras y sus debilidades para la descripci車n y la explicaci車n de los complejos procesos de las innovaciones.