How innovation intermediaries work: functions, mechanisms, and outcomes in developing countries

This study advances the literature by recentering innovation intermediaries as individual actors within the triple helix and by making explicit the causal mechanisms linking their functions to technology-transfer outcomes in low-maturity innovation ecosystems. We ask how these professionals overcome cultural, organizational, and institutional barriers and strengthen innovation ecosystems in developing countries. We conducted a systematic literature review of Scopus and Web of Science (2016–2024), complemented by citation snowballing, to synthesize comparable evidence across contexts. The analysis identifies: (i) core functions (knowledge translation, orchestration, IP/TT mediation, capability building in SMEs); (ii) five mechanisms explaining effectiveness (cognitive translation, reduction of information asymmetries, trust-building, temporal alignment, and risk/IP management); and (iii) contextual moderators salient in developing economies (institutional voids, limited absorptive capacity, discontinuous funding, and heterogeneous IP regimes). Comparative insights show that practices common in developed countries are transferable only with adaptation in governance, contracting, and incentives. The study's original contribution is to frame professionalization and certification (e.g., competence standards, structured training, ATTP-aligned pathways) as an institutional lever to raise intermediation performance in developing countries. We translate these insights into actionable implications for universities/TTOs, firms, and policy makers and advance testable propositions to guide field research. Targeted capacity-building and the institutional recognition of intermediaries can accelerate technology transfer and collaborative R&D, enhancing the economic and social impact of innovation ecosystems in developing countries.