University-Industry joint undertakings with high societal impact: A micro-processes approach

Abstract

University-Industry collaboration (UIC) literature is largely documented with Western European or North-American evidence, where universities are rich in resources and have well-developed R&D infrastructure. Likewise, our knowledge remains limited about UIC in emerging countries, where research resources and R&D are scarce. In this article, we address the research question “What are the individual micro-processes involved in UICs with social impact in emerging economies” and argue that uncovering the individual micro-processes involved in university-industry joint undertakings contribute to understanding how entrepreneurial universities promote social impact in emerging economies. The ideas presented in this paper are based on exploratory qualitative research consisting of 33 semi-structured interviews, eight focus groups, and six participatory observations in Bolivia and Colombia. Our findings suggest that UICs in emerging economies are driven by the need to solve major social challenges and are often a consequence of the individual micro-processes of low subjective norm, pro-social behavior, deontic justice, social identity, entrepreneurial culture, and championing of social welfare.