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Does academic consulting require any research? Examining the relationship between research funding and academic consulting

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  • D'Este,Pablo
  • Rentocchini,Francesco
  • Manjarrés-Henríquez,Liney
  • Grimaldi,Rosa

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the sources of funding for research activities and the engagement of scientists in one specific type of knowledge transfer: academic consulting. By relying on a sample of 2603 individual faculty, from five Spanish universities, who have been recipients of publicly funded grants or have been principal investigators in activities contracted by external agents over the period 1999-2004, we find a positive effect of research funding on the amount of consulting contracts obtained by academic scientists. We also find that both networking and signalling effects are present and contribute to explain the amount of consulting activity acquired by academic scientists. By offering evidence of a positive correlation between the volume of academic consulting and different types of extramural research funding, our paper shows that: a) consulting is largely a function of strong involvement in research, knowledge-generation activities; b) the positive connection is particularly strong for the social sciences, where the type of knowledge transferred is more likely to be conceptual and symbolic than instrumental.

Suggested Citation

  • D'Este,Pablo & Rentocchini,Francesco & Manjarrés-Henríquez,Liney & Grimaldi,Rosa, 2012. "Does academic consulting require any research? Examining the relationship between research funding and academic consulting," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 201203, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), revised 21 May 2012.
    • Handle: RePEc:ing:wpaper:201203
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bruneel, Johan & D'Este, Pablo & Salter, Ammon, 2010. "Investigating the factors that diminish the barriers to university-industry collaboration," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 858-868, September.
    2. Bozeman, Barry & Gaughan, Monica, 2007. "Impacts of grants and contracts on academic researchers' interactions with industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 694-707, June.
    3. D'Este, P. & Patel, P., 2007. "University-industry linkages in the UK: What are the factors underlying the variety of interactions with industry?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 1295-1313, November.
    4. Ajay Agrawal & Rebecca Henderson, 2002. "Putting Patents in Context: Exploring Knowledge Transfer from MIT," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(1), pages 44-60, January.
    5. Gabriela Dutrénit & Valeria Arza, 2010. "Channels and benefits of interactions between public research organisations and industry: comparing four Latin American countries," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 37(7), pages 541-553, August.
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Are consulting and research substitues or complements?
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2012-06-22 19:50:00

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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