The use of QCA in science, technology and innovation studies: a review of the literature and an empirical application to knowledge transfer

Manuel Fernández-Esquinas,Rocío Muñoz-Benito,María Isabel Sánchez-Rodríguez,José Antonio Pedraza-Rodríguez

doi:10.1007/s11192-021-04012-y

Manuel Fernández-Esquinas, Rocío Muñoz-Benito + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-04012-y

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Journal: Scientometrics	Publication Date: Jun 23, 2021
Citations: 14	License type: open-access

Affiliation: University of Córdoba

Abstract

This article analyses the use of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) in social studies on science, technology and innovation. The goals are to address how and why the method is used, and to explore the advantages and shortcomings for this research area. A review of the literature and practical application are combined. Firstly, the article finds that the acceptance of QCA is unevenly distributed in the major research fields related to knowledge production. It is used mainly to study innovation in firms but is largely absent in science and technology studies. Second, an original study on university–industry links provides a strategic site that displays how research unfolds. Its findings demonstrate the combinations of factors that shape knowledge transfer and the configurational nature of the process. The article offers an account of challenges and directions for future research and discusses the possibilities of the method as a third way between qualitative and quantitative traditions in science, technology and innovation.

Highlights

There has been a marked division between qualitative and quantitative approaches in social studies on science and technology (Leydesdorff, 1989)
There are a few articles in the leading journals in the research field of innovation studies (SPIS)
For the attributes related to absorptive capacity, we considered whether the firm has a special presence of graduates (QUAL), an R&D department (RDDPT), or at least a person in charge of those functions, and a technological profile (TECPROF)

Summary

Introduction

There has been a marked division between qualitative and quantitative approaches in social studies on science and technology (Leydesdorff, 1989). The more transversal research field of Science Policy and Innovation Studies (SPIS) is more interested in knowledge production and application with a practical orientation towards policy and management This field shows a greater variety of methodological approaches, despite the presence of a marked division between quantitative and qualitative approaches (Fabergerg et al, 2013). Quantitative studies on science and technology as a distinctive research field (including bibliometrics) are usually closer to the latter in methodological issues and practical aims They tend to focus on issues of production and organization of knowledge (Martin et al, 2012). They use indicators to examine the formal and semantic aspects of scientific literature (van Raan, 1988), and numerical data from censuses, large-scale surveys, organizational data sources and, more recently, the analysis and visualization of Big Data from the digital world (Borgman, 2015)

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