Selecting University Technology Transfer Modes: An Examination of Biotechnology Firms’ Entrepreneurial Orientation

Universities use technology transfer to disseminate groundbreaking knowledge to biotechnology firms. Each transfer mode—licensing, sponsored contract research, and consulting arrangements —offers biotechnology firms an opportunity to acquire a unique bundle of knowledge and resources. This study proposes that an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) may influence a firm’s selection of a specific technology transfer mode. An EO reflects a firm’s willingness to innovate, take risks, and become a first mover. This strategic orientation may guide managers to select a transfer mode that not only fits a firm’s needs but also enables it to gain an advantage. This study uses multinomial logistic regression to examine how a DBF’s innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking influence a DBF’s transfer mode selectio

Selecting University Technology Transfer Modes: An Examination of Biotechnology Firms’ Entrepreneurial Orientation

Universities use technology transfer to disseminate groundbreaking knowledge to biotechnology firms. Each transfer mode—licensing, sponsored contract research, and consulting arrangements —offers biotechnology firms an opportunity to acquire a unique bundle of knowledge and resources. This study proposes that an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) may influence a firm’s selection of a specific technology transfer mode. An EO reflects a firm’s willingness to innovate, take risks, and become a first mover. This strategic orientation may guide managers to select a transfer mode that not only fits a firm’s needs but also enables it to gain an advantage. This study uses multinomial logistic regression to examine how a DBF’s innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking influence a DBF’s transfer mode selectio

UNIVERSITY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FACTORS AS PREDICTORS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION

University technology transfer is a collaborative effort between academia and industry involving knowledge sharing and learning. Working closely with their university partners affords biotechnology firms the opportunity to successfully develop licensed inventions and gain access to novel scientific and technological discoveries. These factors may enhance a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation by supporting innovative, proactive, and risk-taking behaviors. This study investigates whether university technology transfer characteristics such as the transfer process, transfer modes (formal and informal), and transfer terms influence entrepreneurial orientation. Using survey data from biotechnology firms that develop human health therapies, the findings suggest that the transfer process and informal technology transfer promote a firm’s ability to act entrepreneurially. Exclusive licensing terms, on the other hand, have a negative influence, and formal technology transfer does not significantly contribute to a firm’s entrepreneurial disposition

A Distributed Knowledge Approach to Managing Innovation

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how organizations can manage innovation in a distributed environment where knowledge emerges from connections between actors and is never complete. Although this might may appear to be a daunting task, managing innovation in a distributed knowledge system is possible using the brain as a metaphor along with connectionist architecture. Integrating these two approaches improve innovation by enabling managers to model an organization's knowledge management strategies to contain brain-like connections that include redundancy and requisite variety, communications, and a decentralized control structure. These factors support knowledge transfer, trust, and heedful relationships among geographically and cognitively (functionally) distributed employee

Exploration-Exploitation Motivations: An Investigation of Biotechnology Firms’ Participation in Academic Consulting

We employ the exploration-exploitation framework to examine how firm-level motivations influence a biotechnology firm’s participation in consulting agreements with university scientists. This study presents hypotheses that explore whether biotechnology firms use consulting agreements as vehicles to explore new knowledge to develop their absorptive capacity and initiate a relationship with a scientist’s university or to exploit their entrepreneurial orientation or formal technology transfer experience. Assessing survey data collected from biotechnology firms, our analysis revealed significant and positive associations for exploration motives; however, the findings were mixed for exploitation motives. The discussion offers theoretical and managerial implications and future research areas

An Examination of Entrepreneurial Orientation in Dedicated Biotechnology Firms: Context Matters

The goal of this article is to explore under what contexts do biotechnology firms exhibit an entrepreneurial orientation? To achieve this goal, we assess entrepreneurial orientation as a configuration and individual dimension across three contexts: organizational structure, location, and age. Analyses of survey data from U.S. biotechnology firms indicate that ownership structure was the only contextual factor to yield differences in biotechnology firms’ entrepreneurial orientation when assessed as a configuration. However, the analysis identified differences at the multidimensional level within all three contexts. Both theoretical and practical implications of our findings are provided

An Examination of Façades of Conformity as a Social Mobility Strategy

This study examines the façade of conformity construct as a social mobility strategy employed by minority employees to enhance their social identity in organizations.  Results from a survey of 102 African Americans employed in higher education indicate that demographic dissimilarity moderates the relationships between both perceived value of diversity and ethnic identity and facades of conformity.  The creation of facades of conformity is positively related to work stress, and work stress is negatively related to job satisfaction

University and Biotechnology Links: A System of Entrepreneurial Knowledge Creation or Technology Exchanges

University and Biotechnology Links: A System of Entrepreneurial Knowledge Creation or Technology Exchange