Balancing old and new organisational forms: changing dynamics of government, industry and university interaction in South Africa

Abstract

The paper considers changing triple helix relations in South African context after 1994. The organisational form of university-industry partnership, stimulated by government incentives, is emerging. However, old and new organisational forms, shaped by a tension between financial and intellectual imperatives, co-exist in the shifting relationship between university, industry and government. The capacity to harness the potential of research for innovation by creating new institutional interface structures is evident on a significant scale in a small number of universities, and in isolated pockets in others. Old farms tend to prevail, and may have counterproductive implications. Creating new forms of knowledge-intensive networks requires analysis of the complex inter-dependence between firms, universities and government intermediaries. The paper considers implications for universities, arguing for a strategic balance of old and new forms of partnership across more institutions, taking into account the diversity of university contexts, knowledge fields, industrial sectors and technology platforms.