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The relationship between interdisciplinarity and distinct modes of university-industry interaction

Author

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  • D’Este, Pablo
  • Llopis, Oscar
  • Rentocchini, Francesco
  • Yegros, Alfredo

Abstract

Interdisciplinary research (IDR) has raised increasing expectations among scholars and policymakers about its potential to produce ground-breaking scientific contributions and satisfy societal demands. While existing research highlights that novel connections across fields is beneficial for scientific contributions with high academic impact, comparatively less is known about whether IDR is positively associated to scientists’ engagement with non-academic actors. To investigate this, we examine whether there is a systematic relationship between scientists’ IDR-orientation and their interactions with industry. We conceptually distinguish four stylized modes of interaction (firm creation, technology transfer, co-production and response modes) and employ three distinct indicators of IDR. We use data on 1,170 scientists affiliated to public research organizations in Spain, bibliometric dataset of scientists’ publications, and details of scientists’ past involvement in interactions with industry. Our results show that IDR has a transversal influence on all four modes. However, IDR-oriented scientists are more strongly associated to transactional (market-mediated) compared to relational (personal-based) interaction mechanisms; while we find no evidence of a significant difference between IDR-oriented scientists and their propensity to engage in different modes of U-I interaction according to the degree of goal specificity.

Suggested Citation

  • D’Este, Pablo & Llopis, Oscar & Rentocchini, Francesco & Yegros, Alfredo, 2019. "The relationship between interdisciplinarity and distinct modes of university-industry interaction," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:9:1
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2019.05.008
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    Cited by:

    1. D’Este, Pablo & Robinson-García, Nicolás, 2023. "Interdisciplinary research and the societal visibility of science: The advantages of spanning multiple and distant scientific fields," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    2. Kevin M. Kniffin & Andrew S. Hanks & Xuechao Qian & Bo Wang & Bruce A. Weinberg, 2020. "Dissertators with Distantly Related Foci Face Divergent Near-Term Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 27825, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Cantner, Uwe & Doerr, Philip & Göthner, Maximilian & Huegel, Matthias & Kalthaus, Martin, 2021. "A Procedural Perspective on Academic Spin-off Creation: The Changing Relevance of Academic and Commercial Logics," IZA Discussion Papers 14928, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Revet, Karine & Bodas-Freitas, Isabel Maria & Chollet, Barthélemy & D'Este, Pablo, 2023. "Exploring resource seeking in a scientific collaboration network and its effect on scientists' knowledge creation," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 202311, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), revised 15 May 2024.
    5. Perkmann, Markus & Salandra, Rossella & Tartari, Valentina & McKelvey, Maureen & Hughes, Alan, 2021. "Academic engagement: A review of the literature 2011-2019," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    6. Joaquín M. Azagra-Caro & Carlos Benito-Amat & Ester Planells-Aleixandre, 2022. "Academic artists’ engagement and commercialisation," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1273-1296, August.
    7. Eva Seidlmayer & Tetyana Melnychuk & Lukas Galke & Lisa Kühnel & Klaus Tochtermann & Carsten Schultz & Konrad U. Förstner, 2024. "Research topic displacement and the lack of interdisciplinarity: lessons from the scientific response to COVID-19," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(9), pages 5141-5179, September.
    8. Rosivalda Pereira & Mário Franco, 2023. "University-Firm Cooperation and Regional Development: Proposal of a Model of Analysis," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(2), pages 676-690, June.
    9. Kwon, Seokbeom, 2022. "Interdisciplinary knowledge integration as a unique knowledge source for technology development and the role of funding allocation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    10. Fontana, Magda & Iori, Martina & Montobbio, Fabio & Sinatra, Roberta, 2020. "New and atypical combinations: An assessment of novelty and interdisciplinarity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(7).
    11. Huegel, Matthias, 2024. "University scientists’ multiple goals achievement: Social capital and its impact on research performance and research commercialization," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    12. Xin Liu & Yi Bu & Ming Li & Jiang Li, 2024. "Monodisciplinary collaboration disrupts science more than multidisciplinary collaboration," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 75(1), pages 59-78, January.
    13. Zhang, Jing A. & O'Kane, Conor & Bai, Tao, 2024. "How do university-firm interactions affect firm innovation speed? The case of Chinese science-intensive SMEs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(7).
    14. He, Vivianna Fang & von Krogh, Georg & Sirén, Charlotta & Gersdorf, Thomas, 2021. "Asymmetries between partners and the success of university-industry research collaborations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(10).
    15. Uwe Cantner & Martin Kalthaus & Indira Yarullina, 2024. "Outcomes of science-industry collaboration: factors and interdependencies," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 542-580, April.
    16. Carla Mascarenhas & Telma Mendes & Anderson R. Galvão & Carla S. Marques & João J. Ferreira, 2024. "Academic researchers’ motivations to engage in university–industry collaboration in cross-border regions," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 49(6), pages 2104-2134, December.
    17. Blandinieres, Florence & Pellens, Maikel, 2021. "Scientist's industry engagement and the research agenda: Evidence from Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-001, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    18. Nasirov, Shukhrat & Joshi, Amol M., 2023. "Minding the communications gap: How can universities signal the availability and value of their scientific knowledge to commercial organizations?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    19. Uwe Cantner & Philip Doerr & Maximilian Goethner & Matthias Huegel & Martin Kalthaus, 2024. "A procedural perspective on academic spin-off creation: the changing relative importance of the academic and the commercial sphere," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1555-1590, April.
    20. Qing Ke, 2023. "Interdisciplinary research and technological impact: evidence from biomedicine," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(4), pages 2035-2077, April.
    21. David Bamford & Iain Reid & Paul Forrester & Benjamin Dehe & Jim Bamford & Marina Papalexi, 2024. "An empirical investigation into UK university–industry collaboration: the development of an impact framework," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 1411-1443, August.
    22. Lacy, William & Merilus, Jean-Yves & Liu , Xiaoguang & Lacy , Laura R., 2022. "Role of University International Partnerships for Research & Education: Leaders’ Critical Insights & Recommendations," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt8vx8p3nv, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.

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