Developed and developing economies alike face increased resource scarcity and competitive rivalry. In this context, science and technology appear as an essential source of competitive and sustainable advantage at national and regional levels. However, the key determinant of their efficacy is the quality and quantity of entrepreneurship-enabled innovation that unlocks and captures the benefits of the science enterprise in the form of private, public or hybrid goods.  Linking basic and applied research with the market, via technology transfer and commercialization mechanisms, including government-university-industry partnerships and capital investments, constitutes the essential trigger mechanism and driving force of sustainable competitive advantage and prosperity.  In this volume, the authors define the terms and principles of knowledge creation, diffusion, and use, and establish a theoretical framework for their study.  In particular, they focus on the "Quadruple Helix" model, through which government, academia, industry, and civil society are seen as key actors promoting a democratic approach to innovation through which strategy development and decision making are exposed to feedback from key stakeholders, resulting in socially accountable policies and practices. 

From the reviews:

"This new publication ? brings together different traditions of literature on, and different approaches towards understanding, knowledge production and innovation. For those new to the field, it will provide an overview of some of the central debates and approaches of this field. To scholars and practitioners working in the area of knowledge and innovation studies, it provides a basis upon which to think further about ways to bring discourses about democratisation into typologies of knowledge production and innovation systems ? ." (Barbara Prainsack, Minerva, Vol. 50, 2012)