Traditional versus Heterodox Motives for Academic Patenting: Evidence from the Netherlands

International audienceThis paper examines what motivates university researchers to patent the results of collaborative research with business firms. We provide evidence of the existence of a motivational academic patenting space comprised of: i) an industry-driven domain related to traditional-market motives (protection of inventions that will be commercialized); ii) a university-driven domain driven by various ('heterodox') motives related mostly to signalling specific research competences; iii) a 'hybrid' publicly-driven domain related to projects aligned to the research agendas of public sponsors. These three types of motivations reflect the connections between academic patenting and different types of innovation, and the roles of industry partners in proposing, financing and performing specific research projects. We use data from 16 in depth case studies of innovations developed by Dutch universities to provide preliminary empirical evidence of this typology of motivational spaces for patenting university knowledge

The governance of formal university–industry interactions: understanding the rationales for alternative models

This article develops a conceptual framework to explain the economic rationale underpinning the choice of different modes of governance of formal university–industry interactions: personal contractual interactions, where the contract regulating the collaboration involves a firm and an individual academic researcher, and institutional interactions, where the relationship between the firm and the academic is mediated by the university. Although institutional interactions, for numerous reasons, have become more important, both governance modes are currently being implemented. We would argue that they have some important specificities that need to be understood if university–industry knowledge transfer is to be managed effectively and efficiently

The paradox of openness and value protection strategies: Effect of extramural R&D on innovative performance

The e mphasis in firms on extramural research and development ( R&D ) , involv ing increased engagement with external entities in the conduct of research , can also result in knowledge leakage . Knowledge leaks can undermine firm competitiveness and to prevent this, firms deploy various isolating mechanisms to protect their knowledge. Integrating i nsights from the resource based view and evolutionary theory, we hypothesize an inverted curvilinear relationship between extramural R&D and innovation, and explain why the value protection strategies employed by firms change the relationship at various de grees of external knowledge sourcing. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 506 French manufacturing firms using data from three surveys conducted in the period 1998 to 2006. We find an inverted - U shaped relationship between extramural R&D and innovation p erformance . This relationship is moderated by employee retention and secrecy such that the benefits of extramural R&D are weakened at low er degrees of extramural R&D while its downside s are mitigated at high er degrees of extramural R&D. Our work thus sugge sts boundary conditions to the paradox of openness

The governance of formal university-industry interactions: Understanding the rationales for alternative models

This article develops a conceptual framework to explain the economic rationale underpinning the choice of different modes of governance of formal university-industry interactions: personal contractual interactions, where the contract regulating the collaboration involves a firm and an individual academic researcher, and institutional interactions, where the relationship between the firm and the academic is mediated by the university. Although institutional interactions, for numerous reasons, have become more important, both governance modes are currently being implemented. We would argue that they have some important specificities that need to be understood if university-industry knowledge transfer is to be managed effectively and efficiently. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Finding the right partners: Institutional and personal modes of governance of university-industry interactions

We study two different governance modes of university-industry interactions: in the institutional mode, interactions are mediated by the university through its administrative structures (such as departments or dedicated units such as technology transfer offices), while in the personal contractual mode interactions involve formal and binding contractual agreements between firms and individual academics, carried out without the direct involvement of the university. We argue that the choice of which form of governance to adopt involves different decision-making processes for firms and that both governance forms have important roles to play in the context of university-industry knowledge transfer. Relying on a representative sample of firms in the Italian region of Piedmont, we examine the characteristics and strategies of firms that interact with universities under different governance modes. Our results indicate that ignoring personal contractual arrangements with individual researchers, as the previous literature does, amounts to overlooking at least 50% of university-industry interactions. The econometric estimations suggest that personal contractual interactions are used relatively more by small firms involved in technology and open innovation strategies, while institutional interactions are mostly used by large firms that vertically integrate R&D activities. © 2012 Elsevier B.V

Formal and informal external linkages and firms’ innovative strategies. A cross-country comparison

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Formal and Informal External Linkages and firms’ Innovative Strategies. A Cross-Country Comparison

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