Scientific yield from collaboration with industry: The relevance of researchers’ strategic approaches

While recent research indicates that combining scientific and entrepreneurial activities at the level of academic scientists is feasible, the literature has remained muted on the dynamics behind such successful combinations. Indeed, little is known about how researchers avoid conflicts of commitment and conflicts of interest as well as the so-called ‘skewing’ of research agendas. This study, in seeking to address this gap in the literature, analyses the relevance of academics’ strategic approaches to collaborative projects with industry. Based on survey data collected from engineering professors at two European universities (Politecnico di Milano, Italy: n=117; and KU Leuven, Belgium: n=70), we analyze whether the scientific yield from collaborative projects with industry depends on the degree of proactiveness, selectiveness and novelty of research topics. We observe that the scientific leverage of collaborating with industrial partners is higher when academics pursue a more proactive strategy and are selective. At the same time, our findings reveal that this impact is indirect: selectiveness and pro-activeness influence the amount of financial resources obtained from industrial partners, while the scientific yield itself is contingent on these resources.