Factors Influencing the Performance of Technology Transfer Offices: the Case of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities

Lina Užienė,Rūta Žmuidzinaitė,Sandra Žalgevičienė

doi:10.5755/j01.ee.32.3.25785

Abstract

Technology transfer offices (TTOs) play an important role in innovation ecosystems. There is a global strive to make these offices more efficient and improve their performance. This study aims to reason the key factors influencing the performance of TTOs at the members of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU). To reach this aim, the comparative literature review of the factors influencing the performance of the TTOs was performed first. The survey along with the semi-structured interviews interviewing leaders of the TTOs with the aim to validate the relevance of the factors was conducted afterwards. The discussion on the key factors influencing the performance of TTOs at ECIU members is presented at the end of the study. The study reveals the following as the key factors influencing the performance of TTOs at the ECIU network: i) TTO strategy; ii) relationships with investors; iii) networking; iv) functioning of a special TTO unit dedicated to working with industry; and v) business experience of TTO staff. It also brings an extension to the technology transfer literature by discussing organizational issues of technology transfer in the European context. The study reveals that the key factors influencing the performance of TTOs at ECIU members are quite similar regardless of the age of TTOs or the country of operation.

Highlights

It is widely accepted that one of the essential sources of a country’s economic growth is knowledge spillovers (Hsu et al, 2014)
This study aims to reason factors influencing the performance of TTOs at the members of European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) as research and technology transfer oriented universities
The survey was employed in the initial stage of the study with the purpose to grasp subjective views of the representatives of TTOs on the factors influencing the performance of TTOs

Summary

Introduction

It is widely accepted that one of the essential sources of a country’s economic growth is knowledge spillovers (Hsu et al, 2014). It is extensively recognized that the individual players related to science, technology and innovation (such as companies, universities, or governmental research labs) are not able to fulfil the country’s innovative capacity on their own but rather need to link their strengths (Weckowska, 2014). To achieve synergy stimulating economic growth, industry and universities need fruitful collaboration. The latter can be designed by exploiting resources from both sides, meaning, commercializing technologies resulting from scientific research. This linking process is usually called technology transfer

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