The Complementarity Investment in University-Industry Collaboration

Abstract

University-industry collaborations have been largely met with skepticism and resistance from faculty critics, who are concerned about the Academy adopting market-like behaviors and relying too heavily on industry. Yet, the pressures to engage in collaborations with industry, particularly to provide capital for universities, are likely to continue to increase. Guided by the capital-skill hypothesis, this study seeks to examine these realities through a case of a university-industry collaboration. We use an action research approach to analyze a collaboration between an academic college with a non-corporate centric focus at a public research university and a corporate entity within the healthcare field in which the college was contracted to develop a diversity, equity, and inclusion plan for the healthcare company. Findings illustrate how universities and industry can mutually benefit from collaborations when they adhere to what the authors refer to as the complementarity investment framework. Generated from the findings, this framework consists of four UIC design components: (a) the parties identify and clarify their roles, activities, and contributions to manage expectations; (b) the parties participate in learning exchanges, which are significantly valued as a component to this UIC; (c) the parties are open to experiences including unintended, yet positive, outcomes emerging from the UIC; and (d) the parties capitalize on the expert development by guiding and mentoring students as apprentices.