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Making university-industry collaboration work - a case study on the Deutsche Telekom Laboratories contrasted with findings in literature

Author

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  • Rohrbeck, Rene
  • Arnold, Heinrich M.

Abstract

The growing competition in consumer as well as business customer markets is forcing industry to explore new ways to foster product and service innovations. To increase the clock speed of incremental innovations and raise the number of radical innovations, university-industry collaborations (UIC) are a powerful means discussed by practitioners as well as by scholars. This paper discusses the approach of the Deutsche Telekom Group (DTAG) of building a UIC by creating a separate organization. This organization consists of R&D personnel both from industry and academia and proves to be effective in channelling innovation potential. Being an organization with its own identity and situated on university premises, the Deutsche Telekom Laboratories (DT Laboratories) offer different ways to overcome the cultural, institutional and operational barriers associated with UIC. The case study validates and challenges findings on UIC in literature. The paper closes with practical advices for the establishment and management of UIC and suggestions for further research in this field.

Suggested Citation

  • Rohrbeck, Rene & Arnold, Heinrich M., 2006. "Making university-industry collaboration work - a case study on the Deutsche Telekom Laboratories contrasted with findings in literature," MPRA Paper 5470, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:5470
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Attila Varga & Dimitrios Pontikakis & Joaquín M. Azagra-Caro, 2010. "Absorptive capacity and the delocalisation of university-industry interaction Evidence from participations in the EU's Sixth Framework Programme for Research," Working Papers 2010R01, Orkestra - Basque Institute of Competitiveness.
    2. C.M.M. Chin & E.H. Yap & A.C. Spowage, 2011. "Project Management Methodology for University-Industry Collaborative Projects," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 12(5), pages 901-918, December.
    3. Ivana Bilić & Vlatka Škokić & Marina Lovrinčević, 2021. "Academic Entrepreneurship in Post-transition Country—Case Study of Croatia," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(1), pages 41-55, March.
    4. Kroll, Henning & Schricke, Esther & Stahlecker, Thomas, 2012. "Developing new roles for higher education institutions in structurally-fragmented regional innovation systems," Working Papers "Firms and Region" R2/2012, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI).
    5. Rukhsana Kalim & Noman Arshed & Waqas Ahmad, 2021. "Aligning the Real Sector Production with Human Development: Exploring Role of Multi-sector Collaboration," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 955-976, October.
    6. Konrad Kubacki, 2013. "Wpływ współpracy przedsiębiorstw z sektorem naukowo-badawczym na innowacyjność firm notowanych na GPW w Warszawie oraz NewConnect," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 5-6, pages 97-121.
    7. Ekaterina Albats & Irina Fiegenbaum & James A. Cunningham, 2018. "A micro level study of university industry collaborative lifecycle key performance indicators," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 389-431, April.
    8. Aki Aapaoja & Jaakko Kujala & Lasse TT Pesonen, 2012. "Productization of University Services," International Journal of Synergy and Research, ToKnowPress, vol. 1(1), pages 89-106.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    university–industry collaboration; technology transfer; technological innovation; basic research; applied research; innovation development; radical innovations; incremental innovations; technology intelligence; explorative capabilities; university-industry research center (UIRC);
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M19 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Other

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