Moving Ideas from Lab to Marketplace: A Guide to Research

Abstract

Many of today’s best innovations – the ones that have created powerhouse companies and have transformed industries, regions and society itself – started as a discovery in a lab. Firms that know how to turn a promising discovery into a viable product gain a tremendous competitive advantage. Science commercialization drives innovation in many industries and localities, and is an important part of innovation and technology management. New scientific inventions and knowledge creation also can impact society, and ultimately can contribute to developing a better world. Not surprisingly, more academic researchers are studying how science can be effectively commercialized, emphasizing technology-commercialization activities, university-industry collaborations, and academic entrepreneurship. We reviewed the leading management journals and identified 40 articles from the past 15 years that used empirical data from science commercialization to advance management research. Two major themes emerged. The two themes were: (a) managing the complex, bumpy and time-consuming process of moving from academic to commercial contexts, and (b) issues that arise when the people engaged in science commercialization try to balance different goals amongst stakeholders. This article highlights key areas that are addressed within each of the two themes. A deeper discussion can be found in our Journal of Management Studies article and in the other articles referenced.