Does A Favorable Environment Have A Positive Effect On University Technology Transfer Activities?: A Case Study On Two Texas State Universities

Universities are being increasingly recognized as important players in local economic development. In the U.S., a considerable number of universities have a mechanism for developing strong associations with the industry, such as Technology Licensing Offices (TLOs). Many researchers have pointed out that universities' technology transfer activities are associated with the regional business environment, particularly local companies' activities. Their discussion is implicitly based on the presumption that the business environment that is seemingly favorable to business or start-ups is always favorable to university technology transfer. We selected two state universities—the Texas A&M University (A&M) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin)—and compared their activities. Based on this comparative research, it became evident that a favorable business environment does not necessarily have a positive effect on the university's technology transfer activities; rather, the strategy that each university adopts is more important than the environmental factors.