From one-off collaboration to embedded practices: Accounting for diversity in Small and Medium Enterprises’ university–industry collaborative research trajectories

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), despite their importance for innovation and economic growth, remain underrepresented in Open Innovation (OI) activities with universities, particularly in the form of university–industry collaborations (UIC). Prior research mainly focuses on large firms or analyzes UIC at the level of individual projects, leaving the firm-level dynamics of SMEs' sustained engagement in collaborative research underexplored. This study adopts an evolutionary perspective to examine how SMEs initiate, structure, and institutionalize collaborative research with universities. Drawing on a longitudinal multiple-case analysis of 21 French SMEs engaged in repeated UICs. Based on 32 semi-structured interviews and 83 secondary data sources, we reconstruct firms' engagement trajectories across multiple collaborative research initiatives. Using an inductive process approach, we identify three interrelated phases: preconditions, in which organizational transitions, sectoral needs and CEO exposure to scientific networks shape latent research orientations; formalization, characterized by the adoption of standardized collaboration instruments and explicit research roles; and institutionalization/transformation, where collaborative research becomes embedded in organizational routines, exceeding initial expectations and occasionally becoming a component of the client relationship. By shifting the focus from individual projects to firm-level trajectories, this study contributes a process model of SMEs' sustainable engagement in UIC and offers insights for managers and policymakers seeking to foster durable collaborative research strategies.