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Bridging science and technology through academic–industry partnerships

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  • Chai, Sen
  • Shih, Willy

Abstract

Partnerships that foster the translation of scientific advances emerging from academic research organizations into commercialized products at private firms are a policy tool that has attracted increased interest. This paper examines empirical data from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation, an agency that funds partnerships between universities and private companies. We assess the effect on participating firms’ innovative performance, comparing patent count, publication count and proportion of cross-institutional publications between funded and unfunded firms. Specifically, we measure the impact on each of these variables based on three dimensions – small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), younger firms, and size of the collaboration firms participated in – to establish boundary conditions. Our results suggest that receiving funding affects firms’ innovative behavior differently depending on the type of firm, where (1) peer-reviewed publications increased significantly more for SMEs and larger projects, (2) granted patents increased significantly up to 4 years after funding for young firms and those in larger projects, and (3) proportion of cross-institutional publications increased significantly more 3 years after funding for all three sample specifications.

Suggested Citation

  • Chai, Sen & Shih, Willy, 2016. "Bridging science and technology through academic–industry partnerships," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 148-158.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:45:y:2016:i:1:p:148-158
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2015.07.007
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    2. Michaël Bikard & Matt Marx, 2020. "Bridging Academia and Industry: How Geographic Hubs Connect University Science and Corporate Technology," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(8), pages 3425-3443, August.
    3. Michele O’Dwyer & Raffaele Filieri & Lisa O’Malley, 2023. "Establishing successful university–industry collaborations: barriers and enablers deconstructed," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 900-931, June.
    4. Anna‐Maria Kindt & Matthias Geissler & Kilian Bühling, 2022. "Be my (little) partner?!—Universities' role in regional innovation systems when large firms are rare," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(5), pages 1274-1295, November.
    5. Jonas Van Lancker & Erwin Wauters & Guido Van Huylenbroeck, 2019. "Open Innovation In Public Research Institutes — Success And Influencing Factors," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(07), pages 1-37, October.
    6. Mohammad Daradkeh, 2023. "Exploring the Curvilinear Relationship between Academic-Industry Collaboration Environment and Innovation Performance: A Multilevel Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-20, May.
    7. Sarpong, David & Boakye, Derrick & Ofosu, George & Botchie, David, 2023. "The three pointers of research and development (R&D) for growth-boosting sustainable innovation system," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    8. Roberto Camerani & Daniele Rotolo & Nicola Grassano, 2018. "Do firms publish? A multi-sectoral analysis," JRC Working Papers on Corporate R&D and Innovation 2018-05, Joint Research Centre.
    9. Huimin Xu & Yi Bu & Meijun Liu & Chenwei Zhang & Mengyi Sun & Yi Zhang & Eric Meyer & Eduardo Salas & Ying Ding, 2022. "Team power dynamics and team impact: New perspectives on scientific collaboration using career age as a proxy for team power," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 73(10), pages 1489-1505, October.
    10. Ruben Fotso, 2020. "Evaluation of indirect effects of place-based science-industry transfer policies: Case of French Technological Research Institutes," Working Papers 2031, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    11. María Elena Murrieta-Oquendo & Iván Manuel De la Vega, 2022. "State and Dynamics of the Innovative Performance of Medium and Large Firms in the Manufacturing Sector in Emerging Economies: The Cases of Peru and Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, December.
    12. Liefner, Ingo & Si, Yue-fang & Schäfer, Kerstin, 2019. "A latecomer firm's R&D collaboration with advanced country universities and research institutes: The case of Huawei in Germany," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 86, pages 3-14.
    13. Curado, Carla & Henriques, Paulo Lopes & Oliveira, Mírian & Matos, Pedro Verga, 2016. "A fuzzy-set analysis of hard and soft sciences publication performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 5348-5353.
    14. Isabel Cavalli & Charlie Joyez, 2021. "The Dynamics of French Universities in Patent Collaboration Networks," GREDEG Working Papers 2021-38, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    15. Ruben Fotso, 2020. "Evaluation of indirect effects of place-based science-industry transfer policies: Case of French Technological Research Institutes," Working Papers halshs-02998262, HAL.
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    18. Marco Ferretti & Salvatore Ferri & Raffaele Fiorentino & Adele Parmentola & Alessandro Sapio, 2019. "Neither absent nor too present: the effects of the engagement of parent universities on the performance of academic spin-offs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 153-173, January.
    19. Ruben Fotso, 2020. "Evaluation of the effectiveness of technological platforms as a technology transfer tool: the impact of French Technological Research Institutes on the socio-economic performance of SMEs," Working Papers 2032, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    20. Paulo Lopes Henriques & Carla Curado & Mírian Oliveira & Antônio Carlos Gastaud Maçada, 2019. "Publishing? You can count on knowledge, experience, and expectations," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 1301-1324, May.
    21. Marco Ferretti & Salvatore Ferri & Raffaele Fiorentino & Adele Parmentola & Alessandro Sapio, 2020. "What drives the growth of academic spin-offs? Matching academics, universities, and non-research organizations," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 137-163, March.
    22. Gibson, Elizabeth & Daim, Tugrul U. & Dabic, Marina, 2019. "Evaluating university industry collaborative research centers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 181-202.
    23. Ruben Fotso, 2022. "Evaluating the indirect effects of cluster-based innovation policies: the case of the Technological Research Institutes in France," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1070-1114, August.

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