The drivers of efficient knowledge transfer performance: evidence from British universities

Abstract

Using data from the United Kingdom, this study explores the institutional and environmental factors that influence universities’ efficiency in knowledge transfer. While studies of universities’ knowledge transfer performance have so far focused on patent commercialisation and research contracting with industry, it is increasingly acknowledged that universities engage in a broader range of knowledge transfer activities, including consulting, public engagement and provision of knowledge-intensive services. When these are taken into account, less research-intensive universities, and those with a greater share of staff in the arts and humanities, improve their relative efficiency. More specialised, older and larger institutions are more efficient performers, while research intensity is no longer a strong predictor of efficiency.