University-industry Collaboration Research Articles

Deciphering the determinants of firm’s engagement with universities: An insight into the Thai industrial landscape

The burgeoning interest in university-industry collaborations (UIC) has sparked significant attention in both management practice and research. However, despite extensive efforts to identify the determinants of UIC, the majority of studies have predominantly focused on the motivations of academic researchers and limited UIC channels. This study aims to delve deeper into the influence of five factors—structural, behavioral, motivational, attitudinal and policy-related on firms' decisions to collaborate with universities across five collaboration forms: research partnership, researcher service, technology transfer, utilization of university facilities, and human resource transfer. The research draws upon original microdata from the Thai Community Innovation survey, encompassing 8701 firms and spanning the years 2015, 2017, and 2018. By employing a multivariate probit model, the results unveil that Thai firms perceiving universities as innovation sources are inclined to engage with them irrespective of the UIC channels. However, the effects of structural, behavioral, and motivational factors differ when influencing industry participation in various UIC modes. Thus, this research significantly contributes to the UIC literature by offering both theoretical and practical insights. The nuanced understanding of the factors influencing collaborative decisions can inform policymakers and managers seeking to foster effective university-industry partnerships. The identified implications underscore the need for a more tailored approach, recognizing the diversity of influences on UIC, thereby advancing both academic discourse and practical strategies in the field.

Sustaining University-Industry Collaborations in Nanotechnology Research: The Malaysian Case

University-Industry (U-I) collaborations during the course of technology development – commercialization cycle needs to be “symbiotically mutual” to both academia and industry. Based on this principle, this paper aims to determine the obstacles in sustaining U-I collaborations. By referring to the qualitative case study of nanotechnology research in Malaysia, it is evident that the two-way opposite directional priorities are what disables the mere fortification of U-I collaborations. Results from ten in-depth interview sessions have highlighted five main barriers to U-I collaborations, namely the issues of distinct logics and priorities, patent and commercialization, time factor, product safety, and product functionality and capabilities. The findings also suggest that the expected yield derived from U-I collaborations are to be the product of continuous re-engineering performed iteratively rather than “fast track” results.

Measuring science and innovation linkage using text mining of research papers and patent information

In this study, the text information of academic papers published by Japanese authors (about 1.7 million papers) and patents filed with the Japan Patent Office (about 12.3 million patents) since 1991 are used for analyzing the inter-relationship between science and technology. Specifically, a distributed representation vector using the title and abstract of each document is created, then neighboring documents to each are identified using the cosine similarity. A time trend and sector specific linkages within science and technology are identified by using the count of neighbor patents (papers) for each paper (patent). It is found that the science intensity of inventions (the number of neighbor papers for patents) increases over time, particularly for university/PRI patents and university–industry collaboration patents over the 30 years studied. As for university/PRI patents, the institutional reforms for the science sector (government laboratory incorporation in 2001 and national university incorporation in 2004) contributed to the interactions between science and technology. In contrast, the technology intensity of science (the number of neighbor patents by paper) decreases over time. It is also found that the technology intensity of life science papers is rather low, although they have a significant impact on subsequent patents. However, there are some scientific fields which are affected by technological developments, so that the state of science and innovation interactions is heterogeneous across the fields.

Concluded project of the Ministry of Education’s University-Industry Collaborative Education Program: Construction of practical courses for humanities and social science majors under the background of new liberal arts

The University-Industry Collaborative Education Programt conforms to the rapid development of the industry, giving full play to the advantages of universities and enterprises in talent training and industry practice, and achieving win-win cooperation between practice and theory integrated teaching, talent training and teachers, and university talent training and enterprise development. Based on the requirements of the new liberal arts construction, this project carries out research on the optimization and improvement of the international business professional practical course system. It follows the research ideas of discovering problems, analyzing problems and solving problems. Based on the investigation of the implementation of universities in this field, a series of A generalizable and practical reform and optimization plan for the practical curriculum system of humanities and social science majors in the context of the new liberal arts.

Concluded project of the Ministry of Education University-Industry Collaborative Education Program: Cultivation of the Technological Innovation Ability for Young Backbone Teachers

Artificial intelligence and other new technologies not only have a wide application prospect in civil field, but also have very important application value in national defense and military field, especially in electronic countermeasures. In order to adapt the teaching ability and scientific research and innovation ability of young backbone teachers to the development of new technology, with the help of the Ministry of Education industry-university cooperation and collaborative innovation platform, local superior companies and enterprises to adopt the school-enterprise cooperation mode of industry-education integration, carry out the training of young backbone teachers in technological innovation ability. This project can improve the team members' scientific research and innovation ability and professional teaching level, and achieve a virtuous circle of joint improvement of the level of teachers, scientific research ability and talent cultivation.

Factors Influencing Entrepreneurial Intention: The Mediating Role of Access to Finance and Incubation Center

This study investigates the factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions, including the mediating role of incubation centers and access to finance. A quantitative survey-based research design was used to collect data from 364 business studies students studying across the province, from a total of 6173 students, with the help of a closed-ended questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale. The study employed a proportionate sample strategy to account for the disparity in university enrollment. Researchers used this strategy by treating each university as a distinct stratum to ensure the correctness of the sample size. The sample size was determined to be 364 by utilizing the Raosoft online sampling calculator. Descriptive and inferential statistical approaches were applied, and statistical techniques frequency, percentage, and regression analysis were utilized. In addition, the Hayes Process Macro was used to investigate the mediation. The result of the study shows that Attitude Towards Entrepreneurship has a positive influence on entrepreneurial intention, a positive influence on entrepreneurial intention and that incubation centers play a role in mediating the relationship between Attitude Towards Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. All of these factors have a positive influence on entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, the findings suggest that finance mediates the relationship between Attitude towards Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. The study recommended, in the light of findings, that the university may strengthen incubation center engagement, provide financial literacy and access enhancement, student community engagement and social norms shift through education training workshops, and universities make proper university-industry collaboration, curriculum enhancement for perceived behavioral control, take initiative for strategic financial planning for social entrepreneurship and may adopt proper and continuous monitoring.

The relationship between the agriculture and agro-industrial complex' development and the rural areas' sustainable development, including the social infrastructure's development

Vertinova A.A. [Methodology for assessing the level of co-development of universities and the region as an ecosystem]. Regional'naya ekonomika i upravlenie: elektronnyi nauchnyi zhurnal, 2021, no. 2. (In Russ.) URL: Link Navrotski A.V., Shakhovskaya L.S., Matcovskaya J.S. [The role of supporting regional universities in socio-economic development of Russian territories]. Izvestiya Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta = Izvestia Volgograd State Technical University, 2017, no. 2, pp. 8–15. URL: Link%20-%202017.pdf (In Russ.) Baeva O.N. [Evaluating return on education at regional level]. Upravlenets = The Manager, 2013, no. 2, pp. 64–69. URL: Link (In Russ.) Nikitina E.V., Chistnikova I.V., Orlova A.V. [Economic potential of regions and assesment of efficiency of its use]. Nauchnye vedomosti Belgorodskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya. Politologiya. Ekonomika. Informatika = Belgorod State University Scientific Bulletin. History. Political Science. Economics. Information Technologies, 2012, no. 13, pp. 60–65. URL: Link (In Russ.) Ogurtsova E.V., Perfileva O.V., Firsova A.A. [Indicators of the university’s contribution to the innovative development of the region]. Universitetskoe upravlenie: praktika i analiz = University Management: Practice and Analysis, 2017, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 53–62. (In Russ.) URL: Link Trencher G., Nagao M., Chen C. et al. Implementing Sustainability Co-Creation between Universities and Society: A Typology-Based Understanding. Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, iss. 4. URL: Link Uyarra E. Conceptualizing the Regional Roles of Universities, Implications and Contradictions. European Planning Studies, 2010, vol. 18, iss. 8, pp. 1227–1246. URL: Link Bramwell A., Wolfe D.A. Universities and Regional Economic Development: The Entrepreneurial University of Waterloo. Research Policy, 2008, vol. 37, iss. 8, pp. 1175–1187. URL: Link Ponds R., Van Oort F., Frenken K. Innovation, Spillovers and University–Industry Collaboration: An Extended Knowledge Production Function Approach. Journal of Economic Geography, 2010, vol. 10, iss. 2, pp. 231–255. URL: Link Nechaeva M.L., Zhdankina I.Yu., Udalov F.E. [Inter-municipal cooperation as a tool for the development of regional municipal entities]. Regional'naya ekonomika: teoriya i praktika = Regional Economics: Theory and Practice, 2022, vol. 20, iss. 6, pp. 1052–1077. (In Russ.) URL: Link Sibiryaev A.S. [Rural development: results and methodology of ongoing scientific research]. Vestnik NGIEI = Bulletin NGIEI, 2023, no. 6, pp. 129–137. URL: Link (In Russ.) Shamin A.E., Zueva S.V. [Sustainable development of rural areas in the regional economy of the country]. Vestnik NGIEI = Bulletin NGIEI, 2022, no. 1, pp. 101–111. (In Russ.) URL: Link

Enhancing Management Capacities for Rural Tourism Development: A Perspective from University-Industry Collaboration

Introduction: Municipal autonomy in crafting and executing local development strategies is pivotal for reducing reliance on central authority and fostering solutions to economic, social, and environmental challenges at the grassroots level. Strengthening management capacities within each municipality is therefore crucial for driving local initiatives that effectively address these issues. Objective: To identify, through university-industry collaboration, strategies for expanding management capacities for rural tourism as a catalyst for local development at the municipal level. Methodology: This research adopts a descriptive, qualitative approach. Methods such as documentary analysis, scientific observation, and interviews were employed to underpin the proposal, drawing from experiences in the Avileño municipalities of Florencia, Chambas, and Bolivia. Results: Several integrated actions and workshops have been structured within the university-industry-municipality framework, offering a suite of tools that enhance learning and foster innovative management capacities at the municipal level, with a focus on leveraging tourism activity for local development. Conclusions: The proposed actions and workshops represent a significant stride in rural tourism management within these municipalities. Establishing structures and operational systems is crucial for driving the local economy and organizing knowledge in tourism, thus facilitating a direct impact on local development.

Mapping the evolution of university-industry collaboration: A systematic literature review from 2000 to 2022

This research aims to improve knowledge exchange and innovation through collaborations between universities and industries in South-East European Countries (SEECs). The region benefits from better collaboration, and understanding factors such as proximity, motivations, and challenges is crucial. The study begins by suggesting that geographical closeness may influence the strength of university-industry ties and that specific conditions in SEECs may either support or impede these relationships. The paper proposes a new University-Industry Collaboration (UIC) model tailored for SEECs, built upon a review of literature from 2000 to 2022. This review examines factors like location, organizational approaches, types of knowledge exchange, key motivators and barriers, and the evolving role of universities in the region. The study introduces a specialized UIC model that could enhance regional cooperation, emphasizing strategies to overcome barriers and align university and industry goals. By extensively reviewing existing research, the paper contributes valuable insights into UIC in SEECs, aiming to deepen the understanding of these collaborations in the region.

Ushering in industrial forces for teaching-focused university-industry collaboration in China: a resource-dependence perspective

ABSTRACT This study explores the large-scale involvement of Chinese enterprises in teaching-focused university-industry collaboration (TFUIC), drawing upon the theoretical perspective of resource dependency. Based upon content analysis of Ministry of Education-selected exemplary cases and semi-structured interviews with corporate insiders, the study not only delineates multiple approaches companies take to boost higher education quality, but also unravel the role of economic resources, technological and professional resources in underpinning the implementation of TFUIC. Resources underpinning enterprises’ long-term incentives for participation and the primacy issue between the university sector and industry sector remain challenges to TFUIC.

Development of university–industry partnership in Armenia: university perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate university–industry partnerships in Armenia from the viewpoint of universities. By doing so, it contributes to the existing literature on university–industry collaboration by identifying and addressing the specific challenges that impede the establishment of successful university–industry partnerships in Armenia and other post-Soviet countries.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive literature review was conducted to examine the barriers, benefits and institutional, functional framework of collaboration. Additionally, this study used a survey methodology to gather data from faculty managing staff members at six Armenian higher educational institutions on various aspects of university–industry collaboration as well as the perceptions and experiences of the participants.FindingsThe results show that the effectiveness and applicability of the university–industry collaboration channels and institutional structures in six higher educational institutions are limited. Specifically, the channels that rely on academic entrepreneurship and innovation were found to be currently unviable. Moreover, the existence of spin-offs and start-ups is notably absent. Furthermore, limited access to funding and inadequate entrepreneurial support systems pose significant barriers to developing university–industry partnerships in Armenian reality.Originality/valueThis study represents a pioneering effort within the context of Armenian higher educational institutions, as it is the first time a survey has been organized to specifically investigate the topic of university–industry partnerships. Before this study, there was a lack of empirical research and data collection on this topic in Armenian higher education settings. Therefore, this research holds significant originality and contributes to filling the existing gap in knowledge regarding university–industry partnerships in Armenia. The research is shedding light on a previously unexplored area and providing a valuable contribution to the field of university–industry collaboration research in Armenia and other post-Soviet countries.

What Influences Innovation Score for Countries at Different Levels of Development? Examining the Effects of Teaching, Research and Knowledge Transfer

We examine whether all three roles of universities (education, research and development, and collaboration with industry for knowledge transfer) are essential for a country’s innovation relative to other countries and its peers. The study employs OLS and path analysis to determine the significant indicators affecting the global innovation score of 131 countries, with details for each quartile of countries (by income). The study used expenses on education, government funding of secondary education, tertiary enrolment, graduates in science and technology, number of researchers, expenditures on R&D, university ranking, and university–industry collaborations as the eight explanatory variables, proxies for the three roles. At a global level, the findings reveal that a country’s innovation rank is based on all these three roles but only six of the explanatory variables. An income quartile-wise analysis indicates that innovation scores may not include the three functions. The negative impact of primary and secondary education is significant only for upper-middle-income countries. Knowledge transfer influences innovation scores mainly in very high-income countries. Within low-middle-income countries, primarily tertiary enrolment (education) affects the innovation score. Therefore, the study recommends that policymakers who seek to improve their country’s innovation scores should look at what their peer group countries are doing.

Academics’ perceived space in negotiating university-industry collaboration: a case study in two universities in Mainland China

ABSTRACT The Chinese government promulgated several policies to encourage academics to participate in applied projects. As collaboration with industry on applied projects consequently increased, previous research found that the external funders placed constraints on the applied projects in which the academics were involved. Academics have tried to find a negotiated space to balance the demands of external funding and academic concerns. Using a qualitative research method, this study interviewed 32 academic informants at one first-tier university and one second-tier university in Mainland China. Our study found that, first, funders had strong determination to control the applied research topic, agenda and outputs. Second, academics found it hard to incorporate academic considerations into the research agenda as the process of applied projects was under funders’ tight control. They needed to spend time to persuade funders to lower their expectations and lessen the gap between their existing practices to ensure affordable risk. Third, the negotiated space involved individual agency, disciplinary characteristics, university reputation and exploitation of graduate students. The funder's practical needs compressed the negotiated space to a very limited size. Only academics who worked at reputed universities or those eager to try protecting limited research boundaries could earn more negotiated space.

Policy-induced cooperative knowledge network, university-industry collaboration and firm innovation: Evidence from the Greater Bay Area

The major goal of this paper is to analyze the interactive impact of China's high-tech policies on university-industry (UI) collaboration and firm innovation by a network-based approach. Introducing high-tech policy to traditional innovative networks, we constructed a policy-induced UI collaboration network and applied social network analysis (SNA) method to empirically study the role of high-tech policies and the underlying mechanisms in firm innovation in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). This policy-induced innovative network consists of over 2000 innovative entities in GBA from 2012 to 2021, which reflects dynamic characteristics of innovative activities in this region. Based on this network, we find that high-tech policies play a positive and key role in regional innovation and we also clarify some potential mechanisms and routes in the effect of policies on UI collaboration and firm innovation. This paper advances our understanding of innovative networks and policy-induced regional innovation, which has implications for innovation policymaking in world-class innovative centers.

University- Creative Industry Linkages in Art and Design Higher Education: Insights From Indonesia and Taiwan

This article presents a study of the university-industry linkages in art and design higher education, focusing on the collaborative efforts between universities and the creative sector in Indonesia and Taiwan. Using a qualitative approach, in-depth interviews and literature reviews were conducted. An automated content analysis of seven semi-structured interviews with lecturers, designers, and the government stressed the importance of university and industry linkages. This study found that despite the prevalent practice of industrial cooperation with universities in the Indonesian higher education system, challenges persist in effectively connecting graduates with employment opportunities in the creative industry sectors. In response, the Indonesian government and universities have implemented policies to support collaboration programs to address these challenges. Conversely, Taiwan has recognized the potential of its creative industry assets to create a promising market and has placed significant value on the benefits derived from industry-university collaboration. Consequently, Taiwan has proactively developed its creative industries, receiving substantial encouragement and support from the local government.

Does university-industry collaboration improve firm productivity? Evidence from China.

China's high-quality development cannot be achieved without high-quality research. As the university is an indispensable source of advanced research, analyzing the impact of university-industry collaboration (UIC) on firm performance helps us understand the significance of universities for China's economic development and innovation activities. As existing research does not pay attention to the impact of UIC on the productivity of Chinese firms, we examine the impact of such collaboration on firm productivity using natural language processing and by matching China's intellectual property and listed firms' operations databases. The empirical results show that UIC can promote firm productivity by improving the quality of their innovations, strengthening internalization efficiency, and broadening their research horizons. Moreover, the UIC process has a pronounced effect on promoting firm productivity in technology- and intellectual property-intensive industries. From the UIC perspective, we interpret China's economic development and provide new insights for developing countries regarding using universities to alleviate the insufficiency of private R&D investments.

Quality culture, university-industry collaboration, and perceived employability among vocational students in China: a Yanpei Huang perspective.

Students' perceived employability (SPE) can be seen as one of the indicators of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) quality. However, less is known about the determining factors of SPE in vocational education. As the founder of modern vocational education in China, Yanpei Huang has written a large volume on ensuring students' employability and the quality culture of TVET. Nowadays, as the feature and nature of TVET, university-industry collaboration (UIC) has been promoted worldwide. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the influence of quality culture from Yanpei Huang's perspective (YHQC) on the SPE and the UIC role in the relationship between YHQC and SPE in a TVET university in China. Data were collected by questionnaire from 341 students from one vocational education university in China. The questionnaire included measures of quality culture, perceived employability, and UIC. The Structural Equation Modelling by AMOS 25 was used to test the proposed hypothesis. The results indicate that YHQC acts as a significant factor in enhancing SPE, and UIC is found to act as a partial mediator in this relationship. This study has contributed to the literature and practices by presenting a comprehensive quality culture from Yanpei Huang's perspective, confirming the above relationship, and providing practical suggestions for stakeholders to develop a quality culture in TVET institutes, promote UIC, and enhance SPE.

Energy policy to overcome energy efficiency barriers: A Literature Review

This paper examines the pervasive barriers hindering the widespread adoption of energy efficiency measures across various sectors. It categorizes these barriers into economic barriers, high upfront costs, organizational challenges, such as technical expertise and behavioral barriers, namely risk aversion and framing. To address these barriers, a comprehensive review of energy efficiency policies is conducted. These policies include incentives, coercive instruments, award systems, university industry collaboration, and technical support. To review energy efficiency barriers and policies, a methodological approach integrating non-structured snowball sampling with targeted literature review techniques was devised. Finally, the paper underlines that the success of these policies is contingent upon the active involvement, the collaboration, and the feedback of businesses, ensuring the feasibility of these policies. Their proactive engagement is indispensable in tackling energy efficiency barriers and driving the implementation of energy-efficient technologies, thus paving the way for a more sustainable and competitive businesses.

Looking Back to Move Forward: Bibliometric and Visual Analysis of Knowledge Transfer in University-Industry Collaboration

Looking Back to Move Forward: Bibliometric and Visual Analysis of Knowledge Transfer in University-Industry Collaboration

How does product innovation affect the performance of university-industry collaboration A dynamic knowledge transfer perspective

How does product innovation affect the performance of university-industry collaboration A dynamic knowledge transfer perspective