BEYOND SYNERGY METRICS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF FIRM-LEVEL INNOVATION OUTCOMES IN COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56238/revgeov17n6-039Abstract
In the Triple Helix (TH) literature, measurement has advanced through macro and meso-level metrics of interaction and synergy, yet it remains limited in explaining how these relationships connect, at the firm level, to innovation outcomes (post-implementation results) captured during commercialization and diffusion. In response to this gap, this article aims to analyze how to measure innovation outcomes in firms participating in collaborative arrangements, extracting lessons for university-industry-government contexts. To this end, we conducted a systematic review of 5,155 records retrieved from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The findings indicate a predominance of financial and operational indicators, with reduced attention to adoption/use measures, intangibles, and temporal lags. Methodologically, cross-sectional designs and mediation-based econometric estimations prevail; external agents are generally operationalized as individualized effects, which hinders representing the trilateral synergy typical of TH. The study contributes by clarifying that systemic synergy is not automatically convertible into firm-level outcomes, by organizing a repertoire of indicators and measurement designs (mediation, comparison, and lag structures), and by outlining a research agenda focused on trilaterality, intangibles, and temporal dynamics. Practical implications include lean dashboards that combine financial metrics, comparative benchmarks, adoption signals, and intangibles to make visible the additionality associated with collaboration.
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