The Relationship between Universities of Professional Education and SMEs: Room for Improvement

Economic growth is highly dependent on innovation, both in the private and the public sector. The private sector consists of large firms on the one hand, and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the other. Much attention is presently being paid to accelerate the innovation process among SMEs. SMEs often lack the required knowledge to promote innovations directly. Given their strong regional focus and practical nature, universities of professional education make good partners for SMEs. This chapter presents new empirical evidence on this topic, based on a case study carried out in the Eastern part of the Netherlands. The results revealed that only a small number of the SMEs examined cooperated with public knowledge institutions, and when they did, mostly collaborated with universities of professional education. Problems in establishing andmaintaining a relationship with knowledge institutions appeared to hinge on a lack of knowledge about available services and the required procedures, particularly among non-users. Users, on the other hand, had problems with the time-consuming nature of collaboration and ambiguous reference points. Accordingly, universities of professional education ought to follow a dual strategy to attract SMEs to the knowledge–interaction process. This strategy predominantly addresses firms that have not yet begun making use of such institutions. Communication plays a key role here. Once a relationship is established, cooperation must run smoothly. The most important requirement for establishing relations is an efficient organization, including a limited time impact, and clearly defined reference points.