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The determinants of university–industry collaboration in food science in Italy

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  • Muscio, Alessandro
  • Nardone, Gianluca

Abstract

Firms’ collaboration with academic institutions expands their range of expertise and can support the development of business innovations in several industries. For technological as well as structural reasons, university–industry collaborations are especially important in the case of the food industry. This paper aims at assessing the drivers of knowledge transfer from academic departments to industry. We analyse the dynamics of private funding of university research activities and investigate the drivers of university knowledge transfer from food science university departments, identifying how they differ from drivers in other areas of science. The empirical investigation is based on the econometric analysis of financial data on the whole population of university departments in Italy. We provide some implications for policy, highlighting whether and how university food science departments differ from university departments engaged in other areas of science, and how their interactions with industry can be increased.

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  • Muscio, Alessandro & Nardone, Gianluca, 2012. "The determinants of university–industry collaboration in food science in Italy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 710-718.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:37:y:2012:i:6:p:710-718
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.07.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Maietta, Ornella Wanda, 2014. "The Roles of Research at Universities and Public Labs in Innovation Systems: a Perspective from the Italian Food and Drink industry," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182812, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Rossi, Federica & Fassio,Claudio & Geuna, Aldo, 2014. "The Role of Institutional Characteristics in Knowledge Transfer: A Comparative Analysis of Two Italian Universities," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201425, University of Turin.
    3. Olszewski Marcin, 2018. "The Potential of Knowledge Transfer from Universities to the Tourism Industry in Poland: Assessment on the Basis of Research Projects Financed by the National Science Centre," Turyzm / Tourism, Sciendo, vol. 28(2), pages 57-62, December.
    4. Maietta, Ornella Wanda, 2015. "Determinants of R&D University-Frim Collaboration and Its Impact on Innovation: a Perspective from the Italian Food and Drink Industry," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 225668, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Cristian Barra & Ornella Wanda Maietta & Roberto Zotti, 2017. "First, Second and Third Tier Universities: Academic Excellence, Local Knowledge Spillovers and Innovation in Europe," CSEF Working Papers 468, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    6. Tommaso Agasisti & Cristian Barra & Roberto Zotti, 2019. "Research, knowledge transfer, and innovation: The effect of Italian universities’ efficiency on local economic development 2006−2012," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(5), pages 819-849, November.
    7. Ornella Wanda Maietta, 2014. "Innovation Systems Research in the Italian Food Industry," CSEF Working Papers 358, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    8. Ornella W. Maietta & Cristian Barra & Roberto Zotti, 2017. "Innovation and University-Firm R&D Collaboration in the European Food and Drink Industry," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(3), pages 749-780, September.
    9. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Daniele Biancardi & Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo & Federico Biagi, 2019. "Study on Higher Education Institutions and Local Development," JRC Research Reports JRC117272, Joint Research Centre.
    10. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Brigida Blasi & Carmela Anna Nappi & Sandra Romagnosi, 2022. "Quality of research as source and signal: revisiting the valorization process beyond substitution vs complementarity," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 407-434, April.
    11. Maietta, Ornella Wanda, 2015. "Determinants of university–firm R&D collaboration and its impact on innovation: A perspective from a low-tech industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1341-1359.
    12. Manuel Acosta & Daniel Coronado & Esther Ferrándiz & M. Dolores León & Pedro J. Moreno, 2017. "The geography of university scientific production in Europe: an exploration in the field of Food Science and Technology," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(1), pages 215-240, July.
    13. Pantano, Eleonora & Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios & Viassone, Milena & Migliano, Giuseppe, 2020. "Does the stakeholder engagement result in new drinks? Evidence from family owned SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 185-194.
    14. Cristian Barra & Roberto Zotti, 2018. "The contribution of university, private and public sector resources to Italian regional innovation system (in)efficiency," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 432-457, April.
    15. Rosa Grimaldi & Martin Kenney & Andrea Piccaluga, 2021. "University technology transfer, regional specialization and local dynamics: lessons from Italy," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 855-865, August.
    16. Xu Wang & Hong Fang & Fang Zhang & Siran Fang, 2018. "The Spatial Analysis of Regional Innovation Performance and Industry-University-Research Institution Collaborative Innovation—An Empirical Study of Chinese Provincial Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    17. Alessandro Muscio & Roberta Sisto, 2020. "Are Agri-Food Systems Really Switching to a Circular Economy Model? Implications for European Research and Innovation Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-15, July.

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