This study examines the University-Industry-Government (UIG) collaboration as a potential driver for innovation in Nigeria. While Nelson and Rosenberg (1993), Freeman and Soete (1997) and Lundvall (1998) acknowledge the roles of innovation in economic development, Wallin et al. (2014) and Ankrah and Omar (2015) note that University-Industry-Government interactions are central to stimulating regional and national economic growth. However, most of these studies focus on developed countries, unlike developing economies like Nigeria, whose institutions are weak occasioned with limited resources (Lehrer, Nell and Gärber, 2009; Datta and Souleh, 2018). This study, therefore, draws on the various theories of innovations such as National Systems of Innovation (NIS), National Innovative Capacity (NIC) and Triple Helix Model (THM) to examine the trilateral interaction in Nigeria based on three parameters, including channels of interaction, developmental stages of the Triple Helix and inhibiting factors. The study is based on a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews from 28 participants drawn from 6 universities - one each from the 6 geo-political zones in Nigeria, 12 knowledge-intensive companies and 10 government organisations. Findings from this study indicate heterogeneity in the level of interactions between the UIG components. For the channels of interaction, inter-organisational human capital mobility, facility sharing, and contract and consultancy are strong, whereas joint curricula design is weak. While internal transformation and role talking, the influence of each helix on the other, and the creation of a new overlay of communication are strong, and the recursive effect is weak. The results also identified social and institutional factors inhibiting UIG interactions. The study concludes that despite the tremendous effort of the government and the considerable transformation within each institutional sphere, many factors are inhibiting the effectiveness of the UIG in Nigeria. Consequently, the theories of innovation developed in advanced countries have limited application in Nigeria, resulting in a gap between the science system and the technological sub-system.
Permanent link to this resource: https://doi.org/10.24384/4ba0-ec54
Alkali, Usman
Supervisors: Adesola, Sola ; Singh, Pritam
Oxford Brookes Business School
Year: 2020
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