University technology transfer office success factors: a comparative case study

Abstract

This study reviews the literature involving critical factors contributing to university technology transfer office success and then examines those factors within a stratified sample of four comparative case studies of peer university technology transfer offices. Two models of relative success and failure emerged, based on similarities and differences along the eight factors identified in the literature. Two additional success factors emerged during the course of the research. The ways in which technology transfer offices organised the commercialisation process, along with the degree of focus on both internal and external website utility, also seemed to play a significant role in university technology transfer office success.