Why do Beijing Universities play important roles in regional innovation systems? Based on resource-based view

Abstract

Universities are not only the pool that generates graduates and technologies, but they are also important actors in industry by carrying out university-industry collaborations or creating new firms. Since Chinese openness and economic reform started in 1978, Beijing has achieved large successes in terms of knowledge creation, technology diffusion and university spin-offs (USOs), such as Tsinghua Tongfang of Tsinghua University and Founder Group of Peking University. The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the relationships between universities and regional innovation systems (RIS), based on the case of Beijing, China. Consequently, the authors discussed how and why Beijing universities might affect RIS in terms of academic resources, industrial resources, political resources, geographical proximity and academic entrepreneurship. Furthermore, several policy implications for universities and regional governments were drawn from the experience of Beijing. Key words: University, regional innovation systems (RIS), university spin-offs (USOs), university-industry collaborations, Beijing.