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Quantifying the benefits of participating in an industry university research center: An examination of research cost avoidance

Author

Listed:
  • Denis O. Gray

    (North Carolina State University)

  • Harm-Jan Steenhuis

    (Eastern Washington University Spokane)

Abstract

The challenges to conducting valid and complete outcome evaluations of cooperative research activities, like the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) Program, are daunting. The current study tries to make a small but important contribution to this area by attempting to develop quantitative estimates of one center benefit - R&D cost avoidance. Cost avoidance is operationalized as R&D costs industrial members would have incurred but did not, because they participated in university-based industrial consortia, minus the costs of belonging to the consortia. Data were collected from a total of 18 industrial sponsors from three IUCRCs on 35 different research projects. Findings indicate that some firms do avoid R&D costs by participating in an IUCRC but the prevalence of this benefit varies across centers and across firms. The implications of these findings for policy, practice and future research are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Denis O. Gray & Harm-Jan Steenhuis, 2003. "Quantifying the benefits of participating in an industry university research center: An examination of research cost avoidance," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 58(2), pages 281-300, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:58:y:2003:i:2:d:10.1023_a:1026236626942
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1026236626942
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Edwin Mansfield & John Rapoport & Anthony Romeo & Samuel Wagner & George Beardsley, 1977. "Social and Private Rates of Return from Industrial Innovations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 91(2), pages 221-240.
    2. Adams, James D & Chiang, Eric P & Starkey, Katara, 2001. "Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 26(1-2), pages 73-86, January.
    3. David Roessner, 2000. "Quantitative and qualitative methods and measures in the evaluation of research," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 125-132, August.
    4. Feller, Irwin & Ailes, Catherine P. & Roessner, J. David, 2002. "Impacts of research universities on technological innovation in industry: evidence from engineering research centers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 457-474, March.
    5. Susan E Cozzens, 2000. "Assessing federally-supported academic research in the United States," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 5-10, April.
    6. Denis O Gray, 2000. "Government-sponsored industry-university cooperative research: an analysis of cooperative research center evaluation approaches," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 57-67, April.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Denis Gray & Lindsey McGowen & Timothy L. Michaelis & Olena Leonchuk & Drew Rivers, 2022. "A policy mix experiment to promote start-up success: exploratory evaluation of the NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Industry University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) membership supplement," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 176-212, February.
    2. Maria Cohen & Gabriela Fernandes & Pedro Godinho, 2025. "Measuring the impacts of university-industry R&D collaborations: a systematic literature review," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 345-374, February.
    3. Gibson, Elizabeth & Daim, Tugrul U. & Dabic, Marina, 2019. "Evaluating university industry collaborative research centers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 181-202.
    4. 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.
    5. Olena Leonchuk & Denis O. Gray, 2019. "Scientific and technological (human) social capital formation and Industry–University Cooperative Research Centers: a quasi-experimental evaluation of graduate student outcomes," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(5), pages 1638-1664, October.
    6. Barry Bozeman & Daniel Fay & Catherine Slade, 2013. "Research collaboration in universities and academic entrepreneurship: the-state-of-the-art," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 1-67, February.
    7. Bin Zheng & Wenfeng Chen & Hui Zhao, 2021. "The Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Industry–University Research Collaboration Efficiency in Chinese Mainland Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-13, November.

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