Abstract

This article presents a discussion on the application of the well-known Quadruple Helix Model (QHM) of innovation that emphasizes that the locus of innovation and knowledge production stems from the interactions between the government, industry, academia, and people. The QHM is an adapted version of the Triple Helix Model (THM) of innovation that earlier recognized only government, industry, and academia as key players in innovation. Being a finer and upgraded version of THM, the QHM recognizes that people are also prominent players in innovation and knowledge production. The approach of QHM is bottom-up, making it imperative to study the participation of people in innovation. One way individuals contribute to a society’s innovation process is by creating their start-ups or businesses. Start-up establishment, growth, innovation contribution, and survival process require interaction with government, industry, and academia. This interaction and alliances support and build the entrepreneurial ecosystem and foster innovations by the entrepreneurs of start-ups. Through empirical data collected from 214 start-up founders in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and ICT-allied sectors from Delhi NCR, the article aims to elucidate how start-up founders are collaborating/forging alliances with government, academia, and industry, which are the other three helixes of QHM. In addition, the article discusses the gaps in this process of co-creation of technological knowledge. The article presents key findings concerning the expectations of start-up founders in their quest to strengthen alliances in the innovation ecosystem.