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The relationship between interdisciplinarity and distinct modes of university-industry interaction

Author

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  • D’Este, Pablo
  • Llopis, Oscar
  • Rentocchini, Francesco
  • Yegros, Alfredo

Abstract

Interdisciplinary research (IDR) has raised increasing expectations among scholars and policymakers about its potential to produce ground-breaking scientific contributions and satisfy societal demands. While existing research highlights that novel connections across fields is beneficial for scientific contributions with high academic impact, comparatively less is known about whether IDR is positively associated to scientists’ engagement with non-academic actors. To investigate this, we examine whether there is a systematic relationship between scientists’ IDR-orientation and their interactions with industry. We conceptually distinguish four stylized modes of interaction (firm creation, technology transfer, co-production and response modes) and employ three distinct indicators of IDR. We use data on 1,170 scientists affiliated to public research organizations in Spain, bibliometric dataset of scientists’ publications, and details of scientists’ past involvement in interactions with industry. Our results show that IDR has a transversal influence on all four modes. However, IDR-oriented scientists are more strongly associated to transactional (market-mediated) compared to relational (personal-based) interaction mechanisms; while we find no evidence of a significant difference between IDR-oriented scientists and their propensity to engage in different modes of U-I interaction according to the degree of goal specificity.

Suggested Citation

  • D’Este, Pablo & Llopis, Oscar & Rentocchini, Francesco & Yegros, Alfredo, 2019. "The relationship between interdisciplinarity and distinct modes of university-industry interaction," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:9:1
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2019.05.008
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    Cited by:

    1. D’Este, Pablo & Robinson-García, Nicolás, 2023. "Interdisciplinary research and the societal visibility of science: The advantages of spanning multiple and distant scientific fields," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    2. Kevin M. Kniffin & Andrew S. Hanks & Xuechao Qian & Bo Wang & Bruce A. Weinberg, 2020. "Dissertators with Distantly Related Foci Face Divergent Near-Term Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 27825, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Cantner, Uwe & Doerr, Philip & Göthner, Maximilian & Huegel, Matthias & Kalthaus, Martin, 2021. "A Procedural Perspective on Academic Spin-off Creation: The Changing Relevance of Academic and Commercial Logics," IZA Discussion Papers 14928, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Revet, Karine & Bodas-Freitas, Isabel Maria & Chollet, Barthélemy & D'Este, Pablo, 2023. "Exploring resource seeking in a scientific collaboration network and its effect on scientists' knowledge creation," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 202311, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV).
    5. Perkmann, Markus & Salandra, Rossella & Tartari, Valentina & McKelvey, Maureen & Hughes, Alan, 2021. "Academic engagement: A review of the literature 2011-2019," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    6. Joaquín M. Azagra-Caro & Carlos Benito-Amat & Ester Planells-Aleixandre, 2022. "Academic artists’ engagement and commercialisation," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1273-1296, August.
    7. Rosivalda Pereira & Mário Franco, 2023. "University-Firm Cooperation and Regional Development: Proposal of a Model of Analysis," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(2), pages 676-690, June.
    8. Kwon, Seokbeom, 2022. "Interdisciplinary knowledge integration as a unique knowledge source for technology development and the role of funding allocation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    9. Fontana, Magda & Iori, Martina & Montobbio, Fabio & Sinatra, Roberta, 2020. "New and atypical combinations: An assessment of novelty and interdisciplinarity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(7).
    10. He, Vivianna Fang & von Krogh, Georg & Sirén, Charlotta & Gersdorf, Thomas, 2021. "Asymmetries between partners and the success of university-industry research collaborations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(10).
    11. Uwe Cantner & Martin Kalthaus & Indira Yarullina, 2022. "Outcomes of Science-Industry Collaboration: Factors and Interdependencies," Jena Economics Research Papers 2022-003, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    12. Blandinieres, Florence & Pellens, Maikel, 2021. "Scientist's industry engagement and the research agenda: Evidence from Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-001, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. Nasirov, Shukhrat & Joshi, Amol M., 2023. "Minding the communications gap: How can universities signal the availability and value of their scientific knowledge to commercial organizations?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    14. Qing Ke, 2023. "Interdisciplinary research and technological impact: evidence from biomedicine," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(4), pages 2035-2077, April.
    15. Lacy, William & Merilus, Jean-Yves & Liu , Xiaoguang & Lacy , Laura R., 2022. "Role of University International Partnerships for Research & Education: Leaders’ Critical Insights & Recommendations," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt8vx8p3nv, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.

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