The role of universities in shaping regional agglomeration: case studies in the Australian setting

ISSN： 1470-6075

Source： International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, Vol.4, Iss.4, 2005-04, pp. : 525-539

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

Agglomeration is a core characteristic of regional innovation systems. This study explores the role of universities in fostering regional agglomeration, with reference to the Australian context. Drawing on the triple helix model of university industry government relations and the literature on university engagement, the study considers generative and developmental roles that universities perform in fostering agglomeration in proximate regional spaces and possible explanations of variation in the roles performed by three universities located in different regional settings. The study found that universities perform a largely developmental role with limited evidence of a generative role in animating regional systems. Variation in the roles performed by the universities studied is explained by a number of factors, including the orientation of university managers to regional engagement, the history of university region linkages, the nature of regional industry bases, the complementarity of expertise between the university and the regional industry base, the role of champions and political and economic factors.