Evolution from triple helix into penta helix: the case of Nuevo Leon 4.0 and the push for industry 4.0 Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.The emergence of technological breakthroughs that merge the boundaries between the physical and digital world has marked the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution. The democratisation of artificial intelligence, the sprawling application of robotics, the Internet of things, additive manufacturing, nanotechnology, and blockchain are some of the technologies transforming manufacturing processes. They enable the creation of novel products and services, changing business models that are destroying traditional industrial paradigms and value chains. Established economic regions risk losing industrial leadership, technology obsolescence, and the relocation of employment positions, ultimately affecting their economic development. The threat to remain locked in low-value activities demands for coordinated efforts of an Innovation Penta Helix Strategy consisting of 1) industry, 2) academia, 3) government, 4) entrepreneurs, and 5) risk capital aligned in a single vision to create an innovation ecosystem capable of exploiting the benefit of the emerging technological wave. Nuevo Leon 4.0 is a regional strategy developed in the State of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, to position the State of Nuevo Leon as the leader of industry 4.0 in Latin America and built initially on a Triple Helix structure with support from the local Government, managed by the local Industry and empowered by local Academia. The strategy has evolved into a Penta Helix system incorporating Entrepreneurs and Venture Capital to trigger a steady demand for novel technologies within the regional economic Ecosystem, resulting in a growing number of technology startups nurtured by risk capital in the region. The work here presented describes the evolution of the Nuevo Leon 4.0 program from a Triple Helix into a Penta Helix, its organisation model, management and execution practices, the strategy roadmap, and the results achieved during the first two years of operation along with a series of recommendations born out of the experience of the executioners of Nuevo Leon 4.0.

publication date

  • January 1, 2021