Evaluation of the Marketing Communication of Scientific Units in the Context of Cooperation with the Sector of small and Medium Enterprises in Lodz Region

An essential role in the constant overcoming of barriers as well as in the development of cooperation on the line “science-business” is played by proper marketing communication carried out by scientific units, being the party initiating the commercialization processes. The aim of the article is to evaluate selected aspects of marketing communication carried out by scientific units during cooperation with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) representing the smart specializations of the Lodz region. The article discusses the results of research carried out in the second and third quarter of 2018, based on the method of indirect communication with respondents, using a questionnaire among the representatives of companies belonging to the smart specializations of the Lodz region. The research results prove that scientific units do not use the available spectrum of marketing communication tools in cooperation with companies and do not use the language of market benefits in the description of knowledge being the subject of commercialization. The majority of respondents are convinced that the level of use of online communication tools by scientific units is low and medium, which automatically transfers into lowering its perception as innovative partners. On the other hand, in the opinion of the surveyed companies, the use of the possibilities created by the Internet Web 2.0 era by scientific units in marketing communication, can positively affect their image in the business environment.