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Knowledge Transfers between Canadian Business Enterprises and Universities: Does Distance Matter?

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Listed author(s):
  • Rosa, Julio M.

    ()

    (Statistics Canada)

  • Mohnen, Pierre

    ()

    (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University)

Abstract

This study examines whether the transfer of knowledge flows from universities to enterprises in Canada is hampered by the geographical distance that separates them. The transfer of knowledge flows are measured by the amount of R&D payments from business enterprises to universities that are directly reported in Statistics Canada's survey on Research and Development in Canadian Industry. We use data from the 1997 to 2001 surveys. After controlling for unobserved individual heterogeneity, selection bias as well as for other covariates that could affect the extent of industry-university R&D transactions such as absorptive capacity, foreign control, belonging to the same province, past experience with a given university and other firm and university characteristics, it is found that a 10% increase in distance decreases the proportion of total R&D paid to a university by 1.4 percent for enterprises that do not report any codified transfer of knowledge flow, and by half as much for enterprises that report codified knowledge flows.

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File URL: http://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2008/wp2008-017.pdf
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Paper provided by United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT) in its series MERIT Working Papers with number 017.

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Date of creation: 2008
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2008017
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Keywords: knowledge transfer; university-industry relationships; codified knowledge; tacit knowledge; spatial proximity;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
  • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
  • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
  • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation

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  1. Manfred M. Fischer & Thomas Scherngell & Eva Jansenberger, 2005. "The Geography of Knowledge Spillovers between High-Technology Firms in Europe - Evidence from a Spatial Interaction Modelling Perspective," ERSA conference papers ersa05p5, European Regional Science Association.
  2. Veugelers, Reinhilde & Cassiman, Bruno, 2005. "R&D cooperation between firms and universities. Some empirical evidence from Belgian manufacturing," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 355-379, June.
  3. Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 108(3), pages 577-598.
  4. Wolfgang Keller, 2002. "Geographic Localization of International Technology Diffusion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 120-142, March.
  5. Charlie Karlsson & Martin Andersson, 2005. "Company R&D and University R&D - How Are They Related?," ERSA conference papers ersa05p305, European Regional Science Association.
  6. Carrincazeaux, Christophe & Lung, Yannick & Rallet, Alain, 2001. "Proximity and localisation of corporate R&D activities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 777-789, May.
  7. Myriam Mariani, 2002. "Next to Production or to Technological Clusters? The Economics and Management of R&D Location," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 6(2), pages 131-152, May.
  8. Anselin, Luc & Varga, Attila & Acs, Zoltan, 1997. "Local Geographic Spillovers between University Research and High Technology Innovations," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 422-448, November.
  9. Jaffe, Adam B, 1989. "Real Effects of Academic Research," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(5), pages 957-970, December.
  10. Corinne Autant-Bernard, 2001. "The Geography Of Knowledge Spillovers And Technological Proximity," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 237-254.
  11. Müge Ozman, 2006. "Networks and Innovation : A Survey of Empirical Literature," Working Papers of BETA 2006-07, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
  12. Bottazzi, Laura & Peri, Giovanni, 2003. "Innovation and spillovers in regions: Evidence from European patent data," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 687-710, August.
  13. Anthony Arundel & Aldo Geuna, 2004. "Proximity and the use of public science by innovative European firms," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(6), pages 559-580.
  14. Masao Nakamura & Pierre Mohnen & Cathy Hoareau, 2003. "What type of enterprise forges close links with universities and government labs? Evidence from CIS 2," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(2-3), pages 133-145.
  15. Jarle Moen, 2005. "Is Mobility of Technical Personnel a Source of R&D Spillovers?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(1), pages 81-114, January.
  16. 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.
  17. Lynne G. Zucker & Michael R. Darby & Jeff Armstrong, 1994. "Intellectual Capital and the Firm: The Technology of Geographically Localized Knowledge Spillovers," NBER Working Papers 4946, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  18. Peter Thompson & Melanie Fox-Kean, 2005. "Patent Citations and the Geography of Knowledge Spillovers: A Reassessment: Reply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 465-466, March.
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  20. 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.
  21. Audretsch, David B & Stephan, Paula E, 1996. "Company-Scientist Locational Links: The Case of Biotechnology," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 641-652, June.
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Cited by:

  1. A.A. Egbetokun & A.A. Adeniyi & W.O. Siyanbola, 2012. "On the capability of SMEs to innovate: the cable and wire manufacturing subsector in Nigeria," International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(1/2), pages 64-85.
  2. Davide Fantino & Alessandra Mori & Diego Scalise, 2015. "Collaboration Between Firms and Universities in Italy: The Role of a Firm’s Proximity to Top-Rated Departments," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 1(2), pages 219-251, July.
  3. Laura Abramovsky & Helen Simpson, 2011. "Geographic proximity and firm--university innovation linkages: evidence from Great Britain," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(6), pages 949-977, November.
  4. Dirk Engel & Michael Rothgang & Verena Eckl, 2016. "Systemic aspects of R&D policy subsidies for R&D collaborations and their effects on private R&D," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 206-222, February.
  5. A.A. Egbetokun & A.A. Adeniyi & W.O. Siyanbola & O.O. Olamade, 2012. "The types and intensity of innovation in developing country SMEs: evidences from a Nigerian subsectoral study," International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(1/2), pages 98-112.
  6. Mowery, David C. & Ziedonis, Arvids A., 2015. "Markets versus spillovers in outflows of university research," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 50-66.

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