IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/112482.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

What drives university-industry collaboration? Research excellence or firm collaboration strategy?

Author

Listed:
  • Atta-Owusu, Kwadwo
  • Fitjar, Rune Dahl
  • Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés

Abstract

Research and innovation policy aims to boost research output and university-industry collaboration (UIC) in part to allow firms access to leading scientific knowledge. As part of their mission, universities in many countries are expected to contribute to innovation in their regions. However, the relationship between research output and UIC is unclear: research-intensive universities can produce frontier research, which is attractive to firms, but may simultaneously suffer from a gap between the research produced and the needs of local firms, as well as mission overload. This may hinder local firms’ ability to cooperate with universities altogether or force them to look beyond the region for other suitable universities to interact with. This paper investigates the relationship between the research output of local universities and firms’ participation in UICs across different geographical scales. It uses Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data for Norwegian firms and Scopus data on Norwegian universities’ research output across various disciplines. The results demonstrate that local university research intensity and quality are negatively associated with firm participation in UICs at the local level. Firm characteristics, in particular the firm's general strategy towards cooperation and its geography, turn out to be much more important than university characteristics in explaining UICs. Notably, firms’ cooperation with other external partners at the same scale is a strong predictor of UICs.

Suggested Citation

  • Atta-Owusu, Kwadwo & Fitjar, Rune Dahl & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, 2021. "What drives university-industry collaboration? Research excellence or firm collaboration strategy?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112482, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:112482
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/112482/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Valentina Tartari & Stefano Breschi, 2012. "Set them free: scientists' evaluations of the benefits and costs of university--industry research collaboration," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 21(5), pages 1117-1147, October.
    2. Rune Dahl Fitjar & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2015. "Networking, context and firm-level innovation: Cooperation through the regional filter in Norway," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1516, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised May 2015.
    3. A. Bellucci & L. Pennacchio, 2016. "University knowledge and firm innovation: evidence from European countries," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 730-752, August.
    4. Zoltan J. Acs & David B. Audretsch & Maryann P. Feldman, 2008. "R&D Spillovers and Recipient Firm Size," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 8, pages 88-94, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Perkmann, Markus & King, Zella & Pavelin, Stephen, 2011. "Engaging excellence? Effects of faculty quality on university engagement with industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 539-552, May.
    6. 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.
    7. James D. Adams, 2002. "Comparative localization of academic and industrial spillovers," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(3), pages 253-278, July.
    8. Pablo D'Este & Simona Iammarino, 2010. "The spatial profile of university‐business research partnerships," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(2), pages 335-350, June.
    9. Rosina Moreno & Raffaele Paci & Stefano Usai, 2005. "Spatial Spillovers and Innovation Activity in European Regions," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 37(10), pages 1793-1812, October.
    10. Rune Dahl Fitjar & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2017. "Nothing is in the Air," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 22-39, March.
    11. Rachel Levy & Pascale Roux & Sandrine Wolff, 2009. "An analysis of science–industry collaborative patterns in a large European University," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 1-23, February.
    12. Anna Giunta & Filippo M. Pericoli & Eleonora Pierucci, 2016. "University–Industry collaboration in the biopharmaceuticals: the Italian case," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 818-840, August.
    13. Rune Dahl Fitjar & Martin Gjelsvik, 2018. "Why do firms collaborate with local universities?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(11), pages 1525-1536, November.
    14. Hewitt-Dundas, Nola & Gkypali, Areti & Roper, Stephen, 2019. "Does learning from prior collaboration help firms to overcome the ‘two-worlds’ paradox in university-business collaboration?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(5), pages 1310-1322.
    15. Bishop, Kate & D'Este, Pablo & Neely, Andy, 2011. "Gaining from interactions with universities: Multiple methods for nurturing absorptive capacity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 30-40, February.
    16. Louise Kempton, 2019. "Wishful thinking? Towards a more realistic role for universities in regional innovation policy," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(11), pages 2248-2265, November.
    17. Alessandro Muscio, 2007. "THE IMPACT OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY ON SMEs' COLLABORATION," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(8), pages 653-668.
    18. Audretsch, David B & Feldman, Maryann P, 1996. "R&D Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation and Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 630-640, June.
    19. Audretsch, David B. & Lehmann, Erik E. & Warning, Susanne, 2005. "University spillovers and new firm location," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1113-1122, September.
    20. Claudia Fuentes & Gabriela Dutrénit, 2016. "Geographic proximity and university–industry interaction: the case of Mexico," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 329-348, April.
    21. Jaffe, Adam B, 1989. "Real Effects of Academic Research," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(5), pages 957-970, December.
    22. Fontana, Roberto & Geuna, Aldo & Matt, Mireille, 2006. "Factors affecting university-industry R&D projects: The importance of searching, screening and signalling," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 309-323, March.
    23. Keld Laursen & Toke Reichstein & Ammon Salter, 2011. "Exploring the Effect of Geographical Proximity and University Quality on University-Industry Collaboration in the United Kingdom," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(4), pages 507-523.
    24. Laursen, Keld & Salter, Ammon, 2004. "Searching high and low: what types of firms use universities as a source of innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1201-1215, October.
    25. Hewitt-Dundas, Nola, 2012. "Research intensity and knowledge transfer activity in UK universities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 262-275.
    26. D. Schartinger & C. Rammer & J. Fröhlich, 2006. "Knowledge Interactions between Universities and Industry in Austria: Sectoral Patterns and Determinants," Springer Books, in: Innovation, Networks, and Knowledge Spillovers, chapter 7, pages 135-166, Springer.
    27. Jung Won Sonn & Michael Storper, 2008. "The Increasing Importance of Geographical Proximity in Knowledge Production: An Analysis of US Patent Citations, 1975–1997," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 40(5), pages 1020-1039, May.
    28. Santoro, Michael D. & Chakrabarti, Alok K., 2002. "Firm size and technology centrality in industry-university interactions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1163-1180, September.
    29. Jan Fagerberg & David C Mowery & Bart Verspagen, 2009. "The evolution of Norway's national innovation system," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 36(6), pages 431-444, July.
    30. Ina Drejer & Christian Richter Østergaard, 2017. "Exploring determinants of firms’ collaboration with specific universities: employee-driven relations and geographical proximity," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 1192-1205, August.
    31. Roderik Ponds & Frank Van Oort & Koen Frenken, 2007. "The geographical and institutional proximity of research collaboration," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 86(3), pages 423-443, August.
    32. Ornella W. Maietta & Cristian Barra & Roberto Zotti, 2017. "Innovation and University-Firm R&D Collaboration in the European Food and Drink Industry," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(3), pages 749-780, September.
    33. Kwadwo Atta-Owusu, 2019. "Oasis in the desert? Bridging academics’ collaboration activities as a conduit for global knowledge flows to peripheral regions," Regional Studies, Regional Science, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 265-280, January.
    34. Zucker, Lynne G. & Darby, Michael R. & Furner, Jonathan & Liu, Robert C. & Ma, Hongyan, 2007. "Minerva unbound: Knowledge stocks, knowledge flows and new knowledge production," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 850-863, July.
    35. Andres Rodriguez-Pose & Riccardo regstdcenzi, 2008. "Research and Development, Spillovers, Innovation Systems, and the Genesis of Regional Growth in Europe," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 51-67.
    36. Aldieri, Luigi & Kotsemir, Maxim & Vinci, Concetto Paolo, 2018. "The impact of research collaboration on academic performance: An empirical analysis for some European countries," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 13-30.
    37. 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.
    38. Bercovitz, Janet E.L. & Feldman, Maryann P., 2007. "Fishing upstream: Firm innovation strategy and university research alliances," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 930-948, September.
    39. de Faria, Pedro & Lima, Francisco & Santos, Rui, 2010. "Cooperation in innovation activities: The importance of partners," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1082-1092, October.
    40. Mansfield, Edwin, 1995. "Academic Research Underlying Industrial Innovations:," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 77(1), pages 55-65, February.
    41. Segarra-Blasco, Agusti­ & Arauzo-Carod, Josep-Maria, 2008. "Sources of innovation and industry-university interaction: Evidence from Spanish firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1283-1295, September.
    42. Perkmann, Markus & Tartari, Valentina & McKelvey, Maureen & Autio, Erkko & Broström, Anders & D’Este, Pablo & Fini, Riccardo & Geuna, Aldo & Grimaldi, Rosa & Hughes, Alan & Krabel, Stefan & Kitson, Mi, 2013. "Academic engagement and commercialisation: A review of the literature on university–industry relations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 423-442.
    43. Maietta, Ornella Wanda, 2015. "Determinants of university–firm R&D collaboration and its impact on innovation: A perspective from a low-tech industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1341-1359.
    44. Ina Drejer & Anker Lund Vinding, 2007. "Searching Near and Far: Determinants of Innovative Firms' Propensity to Collaborate Across Geographical Distance," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 259-275.
    45. Roberta Piergiovanni & Enrico Santarelli, 2001. "Patents and the Geographic Localization of R&D Spillovers in French Manufacturing," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(8), pages 697-702.
    46. Leten, Bart & Landoni, Paolo & Van Looy, Bart, 2014. "Science or graduates: How do firms benefit from the proximity of universities?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1398-1412.
    47. Andrew Johnston & Robert Huggins, 2017. "University-industry links and the determinants of their spatial scope: A study of the knowledge intensive business services sector," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(2), pages 247-260, June.
    48. Feldman, Maryann P. & Audretsch, David B., 1996. "Location, location, location: The geography of innovation and knowledge spillovers," Discussion Papers, various Research Units FS IV 96-28, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    49. Chrys Gunasekara, 2006. "Reframing the Role of Universities in the Development of Regional Innovation Systems," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 101-113, January.
    50. Maietta, Ornella Wanda, 2015. "Determinants of R&D University-Frim Collaboration and Its Impact on Innovation: a Perspective from the Italian Food and Drink Industry," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 225668, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    51. Mansfield, Edwin & Lee, Jeong-Yeon, 1996. "The modern university: contributor to industrial innovation and recipient of industrial R&D support," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 1047-1058, October.
    52. Bramwell, Allison & Wolfe, David A., 2008. "Universities and regional economic development: The entrepreneurial University of Waterloo," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1175-1187, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Krieger, Bastian, 2024. "Heterogeneous university funding programs and regional firm innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    2. Marra, Mita & Alfano, Vincenzo & Celentano, Roberto Michele, 2022. "Assessing university-business collaborations for moderate innovators: Implications for university-led innovation policy evaluation," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    3. Zihanxin Li & Ting Wan & Jing Lan, 2022. "Substitution or Complementarity: Influence of Industry–University–Research-Institute Cooperation Governance Mechanism on Knowledge Transfer—An Empirical Analysis from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-24, June.
    4. Marra, Mita, 2022. "Productive interactions in digital training partnerships: Lessons learned for regional development and university societal impact assessment," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    5. Xiaojie Yao & Yuan Hu & Huaping Gong & Dongyou Chen, 2021. "Characteristics and Evolution of China’s Industry–University–Research Collaboration to Promote the Sustainable Development: Based on Policy Text Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-18, November.
    6. Rosado-Cubero, Ana & Hernández, Adolfo & Blanco Jiménez, Francisco José & Freire-Rubio, Teresa, 2023. "Promotion of entrepreneurship through business incubators: Regional analysis in Spain," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    7. Joana Costa & Inês Amorim & João Reis & Nuno Melão, 2023. "User communities: from nice-to-have to must-have," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-35, December.
    8. Clauss, Thomas & Kesting, Tobias & Franco, Matheus, 2024. "Innovation generation through formalisation and fairness in university – Industry collaboration," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    9. Iacobucci, Donato & Perugini, Francesco, 2023. "Innovation performance in traditional industries: Does proximity to universities matter," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    10. Afcha, S. & García-Quevedo, J. & Mas-Verdú, F., 2023. "Gaining or losing PhDs: What are the effects on firms' linkages with universities?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PA).
    11. Krieger, Bastian, 2023. "Heterogeneous regional university funding and firm innovation: An empirical analysis of the German excellence initiative," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-006, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yongli Tang & Kazuyuki Motohashi & Xinyue Hu & Angeles Montoro-Sanchez, 2020. "University-industry interaction and product innovation performance of Guangdong manufacturing firms: the roles of regional proximity and research quality of universities," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 578-618, April.
    2. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Daniele Biancardi & Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo & Federico Biagi, 2019. "Study on Higher Education Institutions and Local Development," JRC Research Reports JRC117272, Joint Research Centre.
    3. Claudia Fuentes & Gabriela Dutrénit, 2016. "Geographic proximity and university–industry interaction: the case of Mexico," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 329-348, April.
    4. Igors Skute & Kasia Zalewska-Kurek & Isabella Hatak & Petra Weerd-Nederhof, 2019. "Mapping the field: a bibliometric analysis of the literature on university–industry collaborations," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 916-947, June.
    5. Alessandra Scandura & Simona Iammarino, 2022. "Academic engagement with industry: the role of research quality and experience," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1000-1036, August.
    6. Leten, Bart & Landoni, Paolo & Van Looy, Bart, 2014. "Science or graduates: How do firms benefit from the proximity of universities?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1398-1412.
    7. Cristian Barra & Ornella Wanda Maietta & Roberto Zotti, 2021. "The effects of university academic research on firm’s propensity to innovate at local level: evidence from Europe," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 483-530, April.
    8. Fernández-Esquinas, Manuel & Pinto, Hugo & Yruela, Manuel Pérez & Pereira, Tiago Santos, 2016. "Tracing the flows of knowledge transfer: Latent dimensions and determinants of university–industry interactions in peripheral innovation systems," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 113(PB), pages 266-279.
    9. Johnston, Andrew & Huggins, Robert, 2018. "Partner selection and university-industry linkages: Assessing small firms' initial perceptions of the credibility of their partners," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 15-26.
    10. Bodas Freitas Isabel Maria & Federica Rossi & Aldo Geuna, 2014. "Collaboration objectives and the location of the university partner: Evidence from the Piedmont region in Italy," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93, pages 203-226, November.
    11. Maietta, Ornella Wanda, 2015. "Determinants of university–firm R&D collaboration and its impact on innovation: A perspective from a low-tech industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1341-1359.
    12. Ankrah, Samuel & AL-Tabbaa, Omar, 2015. "Universities–industry collaboration: A systematic review," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 387-408.
    13. Ornella W. Maietta & Cristian Barra & Roberto Zotti, 2017. "Innovation and University-Firm R&D Collaboration in the European Food and Drink Industry," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(3), pages 749-780, September.
    14. Utku Ali Rıza Alpaydın & Rune Dahl Fitjar, 2021. "Proximity across the distant worlds of university–industry collaborations," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(3), pages 689-711, June.
    15. Nasirov, Shukhrat & Joshi, Amol M., 2023. "Minding the communications gap: How can universities signal the availability and value of their scientific knowledge to commercial organizations?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    16. Sebastian Kobarg & Jutta Stumpf-Wollersheim & Isabell M. Welpe, 2018. "University-industry collaborations and product innovation performance: the moderating effects of absorptive capacity and innovation competencies," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(6), pages 1696-1724, December.
    17. Andrew Johnston & Robert Huggins, 2017. "University-industry links and the determinants of their spatial scope: A study of the knowledge intensive business services sector," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(2), pages 247-260, June.
    18. Lascaux, Alexander, 2019. "Absorptive Capacity, Research Output Sharing, and Research Output Capture in University-Industry Partnerships," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).
    19. Robert Huggins & Daniel Prokop & Piers Thompson, 2020. "Universities and open innovation: the determinants of network centrality," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 718-757, June.
    20. Diekhoff, Josefine & Krieger, Bastian & Licht, Georg & Rammer, Christian, 2019. "Stand der Messung von Interaktionen zwischen Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft im internationalen Vergleich," ZEW Expertises, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, number 248650, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firms; Norway; Research; Universities; University-industry collaboration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:112482. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.