An Interaction Of Business Organizations With Higher Education Institutions In Bulgaria In The Field Of Logistics And Supply Chain Management

Over the last decade the interest of the scientific community, business managers and policymakers in the cooperation between higher education institutions (HEIs) and business organizations, and the benefits of the relationship for both parties has increased. This paper presents part of the results of a research project (2018-2020) conducted by the Department of Logistics and Supply Chains at the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, which aims to evaluate the collaboration regarding education, research and innovations between HEIs and business organizations in the field of the logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM) in Bulgaria. This research expands the available scientific knowledge about such collaboration from the business perspective studying different aspects of the relationship – motives, barriers, forms of interactions, key success factors and outcomes. The analysis of the data, collected by questionnaire survey from 80 organizations in Bulgaria, shows that the leading factors for cooperation with HEIs in the field of logistics and SCM are as follows: effective communication, HEI experience, team commitment and trust. Business organizations are motivated to engage in collaborative activities with HEIs in order to increase competitiveness, rather than receiving financial and material support. In spite of their strong motivation, they are involved in limited forms of interactions with HEIs in the field of logistics and SCM. The lack of time is the main barrier that reduces business-academia collaboration. Outcomes achieved by the interaction between business organizations and HEIs in Bulgaria are unsatisfactory. Some guidelines for future studies are also outlined.