The funnel model of firms’ R&D cooperation with universities

[Abstract]: This paper explores the determinants of firms’ attitudes towards R&D cooperation with research groups understanding university-industry cooperation as a sequential process. In so doing, we study the determinants of both firms’ interest in and decision to engage in cooperation agreements. We applied both probit models and regression models for count data on a sample of 375 firms from Spain, Portugal and France. Although most of these firms showed interest in collaborating with universities, actually only 10% of the firms ended up cooperating with them. Our findings firstly indicate that innovative firms tend to show a more proactive attitude towards R&D collaboration. Secondly, within the group of firms interested in R&D collaboration, the firms really involved are the independent or small firms and we also provide evidence that country factors affect firms’ attitudes to R&D cooperation with universities

Is university-industry collaboration biased by sex criteria?

[Abstract]: This paper studies the attitudes and decisions of research groups led by men or women towards the collaboration with firms in research and development joint projects. We worked with a sample of 420 research groups of eight regions of Spain, France and Portugal in a sequential process. First, we studied the interest of the research groups to collaborate and, then, if the final decision of collaborating with firms changed according to the sex criteria. The results show that women are worse positioned in the social networks of collaboration and commercialization with industry. Research groups led by men have around 10% higher probability of showing interest in R&D cooperation with firms. However, when men and women leaders of research groups have the same motivation to collaborate, they do not differ in their decision of collaborating. These results evidence different initial attitudes towards university-industry collaboration according to sex criteria

Mujeres: efecto palanca del empleo en las spin-offs universitarias

[Resumen] En las últimas décadas el número de spin-offs creadas en los sistemas universitarios se ha incrementado considerablemente. El objetivo de este trabajo es contrastar si la presencia de mujeres en el capital social de las spinoffs universitarias españolas ejerce algún efecto sobre su crecimiento. Adicionalmente se contrasta esta misma hipótesis en un grupo de empresas de control no originadas a partir de la investigación universitaria con el fin de identificar posibles diferencias en el efecto del factor mujer. n Europa dende finais do século XIX, analizamos tamén a situació

Are firms interested in collaborating with universities? An openinnovation perspective in countries of the South West European Space

[Abstract]: This paper explores the determinants of a firm’s interest in collaborating with universities and whether they differ by the technological level of the company’s industry. Based on the conceptual framework of Open Innovation (OI) model, it is included some aspects related to the transaction costs and roles of innovation diffusion that justifies the study of firm´s interest as previous step of an open-innovation relation among firms and partners. The evidence is based on data collected through semistructured interviews between January 2009 and October 2009, on a sample of 375 firms from three countries: Spain, Portugal and France. The results indicate that more innovative firms tend to be more interested in collaborating with universities. The paper provides evidence that country factors also affect a firm’s intention of collaborating with universities. Finally, the results show that the determinants of a high-tech firm’s attitudes to cooperation differ from those found in a non high-tech firm. In the future, the study of the determinants of those firms’ formal decision to cooperate may let us to understand whether the driving forces of both interest in and decision to cooperate differ

The effect of population size and technological collaboration on firms' innovation

[Abstract]: In the current knowledge economy, firms hardly innovate alone; the collaboration with other partners has become crucial for successful innovation. Literature has recently focused on two modes of collaboration: the learning-by-doing, by-using and by-interacting (DUI) and science and technology-based innovation (STI). Nevertheless, collaboration seems to be easier if firms are located in highly populated areas. This paper aims to analyse whether the population size of municipalities where firms are located influences firm innovation either in a direct way or by shaping the effect of the DUI and STI partnerships. Applying panel data methodology to a sample of 3004 Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 2009 to 2016, the results show that innovative performance benefits from STI and DUI innovation modes, especially product innovation. In contrast, location in less populated municipalities seems to have no effect on innovation, regardless of the threshold used to limit the number of inhabitants. Also, weak evidence of the moderating role of the population size on the effect of DUI and STI partnerships on firm innovation is found

Does self-control constitute a driver of millennials’ financial behaviors and attitudes?

[Abstract] Millennials are currently facing particular financial challenges that will condition the future financial well-being of the society as a whole, and the decision-making process happening in worse circumstances than those of preceding generations. However, few studies to date have deeply analyzed millennials’ financial behaviors, and particularly, how self-control operationalizes their financial choices. Using data from the 2017 Survey of Financial Competences of Spanish individuals, this paper analyzes how self-control influences different financial behaviors and attitudes and whether this effect differs between millennials and older generations. The results indicate that self-control does influence the individuals’ financial attitudes regardless of generation, whereas in the case of financial behaviors, only those millennials exhibiting the highest levels of self-control are affected by it when deciding on a saving account or a personal loan. These outcomes have numerous significant implications, in addition to providing recommendations to policy makers aimed at engaging millennials in healthier financial behaviors

What knowledge management approach do entrepreneurial universities need?

[Abtract]: This paper explores how the entrepreneurial outcomes (patents, university spin-offs, research projects and R&D contracts) of universities relate to the availability and use of information and telecommunications (IT) solutions for knowledge management (KM) over the period 2011-2014. We hypothesize that entrepreneurial universities may benefit from a good connection between knowledge infrastructure (IT solutions) and knowledge management processes for KM. We tested this hypothesis by estimating generalized least squares models and negative binomial regression models in a sample of 63 Spanish universities over the period 2011-2014. The results show that using data grouping infrastructure increases several measures of entrepreneurial outcomes of universities. Unexpectedly, institutional tools of collaborative work and data warehouse significantly decrease the number of patents. According to these results we suggest that process-oriented approaches for KM may decrease the entrepreneurial outcomes of universities. The contribution of this analysis is twofold. First, it allows a better empirical understanding of how IT solutions for KM affect the entrepreneurial outcomes of universities. Second, this analysis could guide a new design of IT solutions in order to increase these outcomes

The effect of Strategic Knowledge Management on the universities’ performance: An empirical approach

[Abstract]: Purpose. This article explores the relationship between the availability and use of IT solutions for SKM and the universities´ performance, measured in terms of scientific production. Design/methodology/approach. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) and the Knowledgebased theory, we develop a conceptual framework for exploring the effect of SKM based on IT on the organization’s performance that we empirically test by applying panel data methodology to a sample of 70 Spanish universities over the period 2011-2014. Findings. We confirm that the SKM based on IT influences the university’s performance. This effect is positive in the case of the IT solutions referred to the infrastructure of data grouping and more evident when the university’s performance is measured by indicators more directly related to scientific quality. Contrary to expected, the percentage of training and research staff that uses institutional tools of collaborative work is negatively related with the universities´ capacity of publication. Practical implications. We followed the system dynamics approach to identify a causal diagram and a flow sequence that lets us group universities in three different profiles in the KM flow diagram. Originality/value: First, we develop a conceptual framework for exploring the effect of SKM based on IT on the organization’s performance that could be applicable to analyse the case of other knowledgedriven organizations. Second, in contrast with the large number of studies dealing with SKM and performance focused on firms, we analyse universities. Third, our empirical approach used panel data methodology with a large sample of universities over the period 2011-2014

Sustainable university entrepreneurship: Revisiting firm growth patterns

[Abstract]: Previous research on the firm growth of the university spin-offs (USOs) and its drivers yields inconclusive results. Recently, the literature on the high-growth firms (HGFs) has relied on regression quantile methods to study how the effects of growth determinants may differ along the firm growth distribution. This study builds a bridge between the two strands of literature by exploring how firm-specific characteristics may shape sales and employment growth patterns of USOs. To this end, it applies panel data quantile regression models in a sample of 531 Spanish USOs over the period of 2001–2013. The results show that the growth drivers not only differ between employment growth and sales growth but also along the growth distributions