TRIPLE HELIX noms.pmd

P-015A discussion on the Triple Helix in regard to public utilitiesKazunori Kamitani, Shuichi Ishida, Graduate School of Technology Management Ritsumeikan University, Suita, JapanTriple Helix from the stand point of the water utility works in JapanThis study looks at the issues arising on how the Triple Helix can be enhanced in order to produce effective results in aJapanese setting.Triple Helix is the interaction among the three organizations with differing institutional composition•@in essence. Through theinteraction, the gap between these distinct institutions is narrowed, consequently the collaboration that occurs between theseinstitutions leads to the creation of products, businesses, markets, and new industrial structure. For this reason, a form ofmanagement is required in order to bridge the gaps that exist among these institutions.This study sets out to find out in which areas do the gaps actually lie among in the Triple Helix,and what should be done tobridge the gaps, and how can this the mutual interaction be galvanized. This study also analyzes these points from theperspectives of the benefits derived from the Triple Helix. Specifically, this study investigates the benefits Government gainsfrom the Triple Helix by examining the water utility works which is public works.Up to today, a number of studies have already been done on Industry and University in the Triple Helix in Japan but not manyhave been undertaken including Government. Henry Etzkowitz (2008) said that we are bound to hit a limit if we try to build fruitfulrelations between University and Industry without taking into consideration the role of Government. Furthermore, in Japan, thepublic utilities market is opening up to private companies, hence collaboration between Government and Industry will becomeof paramount importance. Subsequently this study also investigates Government willingness to participate in collaboration withIndustry and University in the public utilities works in Japan.Based on prior studies, this study has come up with the following hypothesis: A harmonized orientation when it comes tocollaboration, is important as a success factor in the Triple Helix ; when the actors in each institution are strongly aware of thebenefits that will come from the relations, it enhances their willingness to participate and work in collaboration. The harmonizationof the direction of purpose among institutional actors is guided by whether they place more importance on the research aspector on the business aspect that is brought about by the mutual interaction, which has an impacts on the extent of cooperation.In this study, the concept of •eAutonomous and Cooperative Systems•f suggested by Nishimura (2004) is incorporated as aframework of the analysis. The autonomous and cooperative systems are defined as a complex body in which fundamentallyself-directed people work together for a common purpose. The autonomous and cooperative systems are composed of the twodomains: 1) the autonomous domain in which the key roles of each actor are played, and 2) the collaboration domain in whichall actors work together. And the incentives derive from the involvement in the cooperative domain are categorized either as the•gIn-house incentive•h or the •gTake-out incentive•h. Nishimura also argues that, focusing on the interaction between theautonomous and cooperative domains, the •gTake-out incentive•h is the one that is important in terms of how it can assure thewillingness of the members to work in collaboration. He also formulated the concept of explorative strategy and exploitativestrategies for the reason being that the cooperative domain can fill the needs that the autonomous domain cannot fill, by solvingmeta-problems that cannot be solved in the cooperative domain.The methodology used in this study was to conduct a survey using questionnaire that was given to 1477 water utility works inJapan, the data was used to analyze what benefits Government found in the Triple Helix in the Japan water utility works whichis public utilities and also which factors (Take-out incentive, In-house incentive, Exploitative strategy or Explorative strategy)had influence on their willingness to collaborate with other institutions. Out of the 1473 water utility works to which the questionnairehad been sent, 740 (50.2%) works responded, among which 697 were valid responses (response rate: 47.3%)Reference[1] Takashi Watanabe. 2008. Academic innovation: Tokyo. Hakutou-Shobou Publishing Company[2] Henry Etskowits.2008. The Triple Helix: University-Industry-Government Innovation in Action: New York. Taylor & FrancisGroup, LLC[3] Nishimura Tomoyuki.2005. The concept of the autonomous and cooperative systems: Japan Association for ManagementSystems. pp.23-31.vol.22.No.1Madrid, October 20, 21 & 22 - 2010175