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How do Organisational and Cognitive Distances Shape Firms’ Interactions with Universities and Public Research Institutes?

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Author Info
Broström, Anders () (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology)
McKelvey, Maureen (RIDE and Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship)

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Abstract

This paper examines how the institutional set-up of public research organisations (PROs) affects how firms are able to utilise direct interaction with publicly employed researchers. We argue that the role that PRO interaction has to play in the firm’s innovation processes depend on the organisational and cognitive distances between the firm and the PRO. In particular, this paper empirically explores how Swedish engineering firms assess the value of R&D partnerships with universities and research institutes. Our theoretical discussion of organizational distance suggests that managers should perceive institute contacts to be more strongly associated with short-term R&D projects than university contacts. This hypothesis cannot be verified. Following from our discussion of cognitive distance, we find that firms with advanced R&D capabilities obtain differential benefits. Their interaction with universities provides impulses for innovation and offers opportunities to learn to a greater extent than contacts with public research institutes. However, firms with less advanced R&D capabilities perceive no significant differences between university and institute interaction. Thus, both organizational and cognitive distance affect firms’ interactions with PROs, and our results have implications for the current push in Europe to reform universities and institutes.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies in its series Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation with number 188.

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Length: 25 pages
Date of creation: 26 Aug 2009
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0188

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Postal: CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 790 95 63
Web page: http://www.infra.kth.se/cesis/
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Related research
Keywords: public research organisations; organisation of public research; universities; institutes; R&D interaction;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
M21 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Economics - - - Business Economics
O31 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
O32 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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References listed on IDEAS
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    Other versions:
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