Abstract
The paper focuses on a key uniqueness of the simultaneous generation of social and business value - across science, technology and society - involving academics, businesses, policy makers, innovation intermediaries, NGOs and citizens that share and integrate assets in developing solutions to address economic and societal challenges.By contrasting with a broad literature using the term ‘co-creation’ to denote close working relationship between actors, the paper outlines a conceptual framework explaining how the diversity of agents involved, their motivations and goals, and incentive structures in which they operate impact on science-based co-creation. This multidimensional perspective is discussed with regard to the scope of innovation, reach and types of values that are generated, and the distinctive features to be considered when both social and business value are at the core of collaboration.Policy implications to support science-based co-creation are discussed with regard to the rationale for public interventions and the critical dimensions of policy implementation and assessment. It highlights that policy design aiming at supporting societal challenges through co-creation should address mechanisms to integrate tangible and intangible inputs, define suitable operational models and enhance specific capabilities and practices.
Highlights
In recent years, increased attention has been placed upon collaboration aimed at enhancing the application of science through co-creation among universities, businesses, government, intermediaries, and society (Jones et al 2013; Chesbrough and Di Minin 2015)
The transfer and exchange of knowledge and technology between academia and industry have been discussed as an important means for generating commercial value
The underlying rationale for such collaboration is that knowledge and technology from academia lead to firms’ competitive advantages
Summary
In recent years, increased attention has been placed upon collaboration aimed at enhancing the application of science through co-creation among universities, businesses, government, intermediaries, and society (Jones et al 2013; Chesbrough and Di Minin 2015). Notwithstanding the several dimensions explored by the literature so far, scant attention is paid to how science-based co-creation simultaneously generates business value and social value Against this backdrop, this paper aims at conceptualising the determinants of such a process, with special attention paid to the types of value generated, the specific inputs to co-creation provided by the various actors involved in such a process of interaction, the intentional dimension of engagement and the potential impact of external factors in influencing the co-creation initiative. These studies have discussed how universities with societal stakeholders co-create knowledge, especially through mutual learning in a community of practice model, motivations for these actors to collaborate with universities and factors influencing the co-creative potential of the university (Cervantes and Meissner 2014; Trencher et al 2017, Trencher et al 2014, Van Veen et al 2013)
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