Who instigates university–industry collaborations? University scientists versus firm employees

Rajeev K. Goel, Devrim Göktepe-Hultén, Christoph Grimpe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

While evidence on the causes and effects of university–industry interaction is abundant, little is known about how, and particularly by whom, such interaction is instigated in the first place and subsequently managed. In this paper, we investigate which mode of collaboration (joint research, contract research, consulting, in-licensing, or informal contacts) is more likely to be initiated and managed by firm employees versus by university scientists. Moreover, we are interested in the differences between small and large firms to see whether initiation and management are affected by firm size. Using a sample of 833 German manufacturing firms, our results indicate that university scientists typically start collaborations with industry, while firm employees would take over the management of projects. Results vary markedly between small and large firms, with university scientists having somewhat higher difficulties initiating collaborations with large firms than with small firms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)503-524
JournalSmall Business Economics
Volume48
Issue number3
Early online date2016 Aug 23
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017 Mar

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Business Administration

Free keywords

  • Firm size
  • Initiation
  • Management
  • University–industry collaboration

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