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What’s the price of academic consulting? Effects of public and private sector consulting on academic research

Author

Listed:
  • Roman Fudickar
  • Hanna Hottenrott
  • Cornelia Lawson

Abstract

Academic consulting is an important and effective means of knowledge transfer between the public and private sectors. It offers opportunities for research application but also raises concerns over potentially negative consequences for academic research and its dissemination. For a sample of social, natural, and engineering science academics in Germany, and controlling for the selection into consulting, we investigate the effect of consulting with public and private sector organizations on research performance. While previous research suggested that consulting activities might come at the cost of reduced research output, our analysis provides a more nuanced picture. Public sector consulting comes with lower average citations, particularly for junior researchers. Moreover, engagement in consulting increases the probability to cease publishing research altogether, particularly for private sector consulting. The probability of exit from academic research increases with the intensity of consulting engagement for those at the start or towards the end of their academic career and in fields for which the public–private wage gap and opportunities for engagement in duties outside academia are higher. We draw lessons for research institutions and policy about the promotion of academic consulting.

Suggested Citation

  • Roman Fudickar & Hanna Hottenrott & Cornelia Lawson, 2018. "What’s the price of academic consulting? Effects of public and private sector consulting on academic research," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 27(4), pages 699-722.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:indcch:v:27:y:2018:i:4:p:699-722.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/icc/dty007
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    Cited by:

    1. Ryazanova, Olga & Jaskiene, Jolanta, 2022. "Managing individual research productivity in academic organizations: A review of the evidence and a path forward," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(2).
    2. 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.
    3. Kuckertz, Andreas & Scheu, Maximilian, 2024. "From chalkboard to boardroom: Unveiling the role of entrepreneurship in bolstering academic achievement among professors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    4. Ingvild Reymert & Taran Thune, 2020. "Complementarity and trade-off between academic work tasks," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20200825, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    5. Céline Bonnet & Jan Philip Schain, 2020. "An Empirical Analysis Of Mergers: Efficiency Gains And Impact On Consumer Prices," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 1-35.
    6. Ingvild Reymert & Taran Thune, 2023. "Task complementarity in academic work: a study of the relationship between research, education and third mission tasks among university professors," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 331-360, February.
    7. Rachel Heyard & Hanna Hottenrott, 2020. "The Impact of Research Funding on Knowledge Creation and Dissemination: A study of SNSF Research Grants," Papers 2011.11274, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2021.
    8. Chaudhary, Sanjay & Kaur, Puneet & Ferraris, Alberto & Bresciani, Stefano & Dhir, Amandeep, 2024. "Connecting entrepreneurial ecosystem and innovation. Grasping at straws or hitting a home run?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    9. Lawson, Cornelia & Geuna, Aldo & Finardi, Ugo, 2021. "The funding-productivity-gender nexus in science, a multistage analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(3).
    10. Rachel Heyard & Hanna Hottenrott, 2021. "The value of research funding for knowledge creation and dissemination: A study of SNSF Research Grants," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-16, December.
    11. Eunhee Sohn, 2021. "How Local Industry R&D Shapes Academic Research: Evidence from the Agricultural Biotechnology Revolution," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(3), pages 675-707, May.

    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
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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