Współpraca przedsiębiorstw turystycznych z uczelniami - wyniki badania empirycznego

Abstract

The growing importance of the cooperation between enterprises and universities stems from the continuous search for new development sources and the need to ensure sustainable competitive advantages. However, research on the partnership between the universities and service enterprises is still relatively rare. The study presented in this article aimed to recognize the scope and character of cooperation between universities and service enterprises represented by the tourism businesses, as well as the attitudes of entrepreneurs towards such collaboration. The research was carried out on a sample of 383 enterprises. Its results revealed a relatively high level of cooperation (declared by 54.6% of entities) mainly in two simple forms: students’ internships and participation of business representatives in conferences organized by academia. They also allowed identifying that the size and operating time significantly differentiate the use of academic knowledge in enterprises. The results show that the overall perception of cooperation between the tourist businesses and universities is positive, and its advantages are well recognized. The most important among them is the increase in the employees’ competences and improving the company image due to contacts with academia. However, the more significant benefits of such cooperation may be achieved only when more advanced knowledge transfer mechanisms are applied, such as commissioned research or spin-off companies.