Science-industry Collaboration Research Articles

Initiation of knowledge and technology transfer from academia to industry: opportunity recognition and transfer channel choice

Abstract Transferring knowledge and technology from academia to industry is usually understood as a process. While previous research focuses on phenomena along the process and its outcomes, the starting point of the process—the initiation of a transfer activity—remains unstudied. We conceptualize this initiation as a simultaneous recognition of a transfer opportunity and the choice of a transfer channel and provide first empirical insights into the initiation of the transfer process. We use survey data from 1149 scientists from the German state of Thuringia and their activities in science–industry collaboration, intellectual property rights, and spin-off creation. We employ seemingly unrelated regressions to account for selection and multiple channel choices in our econometric approach. Our results show a positive relationship between scientists’ different kinds of prior knowledge and the probability of recognizing a transfer opportunity. Contrary to our expectations, scientific impact reduces the likelihood of recognizing a transfer opportunity. For the choice of the transfer channel, the results show a positive relationship between choosing the spin-off channel and risk willingness, as well as basic research. Applied research increases the likelihood of choosing intellectual property rights as a channel. Furthermore, role models are positively associated with these two channels.

A new era for science-industry research collaboration – a view towards the future

Direct engagement of the fishing industry in the provision and co-creation of knowledge and data for research and management is increasingly prevalent. In both the North Atlantic and North Pacific, enhanced and targeted engagement is evident. More is needed. Science-Industry collaborative approaches to developing questions, collecting data, interpreting data, and sharing knowledge create opportunities for information transfer and improved understanding of ecosystem interactions, stock dynamics, economic incentives, and response to management. These collaborations require clear communication and awareness of objectives and outcomes. These initiatives also require careful attention to conditions and interactions that foster respect, trust, and communication. Respect is critical and entails acknowledging the respective skills and expertise of both scientists and fishers. Trust is needed to build confidence in the information developed and its use. Communication is essential to maintain relationships and leverage shared insights. To assess current trends and future opportunities related to this type of engagement, we convened a networking session of research scientists, industry scientists, industry leaders, and fishers at the Annual Science Meeting of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) to address the following questions: (1) What are scientific needs that could be addressed with industry-collected data or knowledge? And (2) How can science-industry collaboration be made sustainable? Here we identify opportunities and acknowledge challenges, outline necessary conditions for respectful and sustainable collaborative research, and highlight ways to promote stakeholder involvement in developing science. We address industry concerns and solicit industry advice. We also address challenges to scientists in ensuring standards for scientific data, conflict of interest, and applying information to advise management. The discussions in this session and subsequent correspondence have led to a set of guidelines and best practices that provide a framework to advance further collaboration between industry and research science. We identify opportunities for directed engagement. We also detail potential approaches to clarify expectations and develop avenues for iterative communication and engagement to sustain collaborative efforts over time. The intent is to improve and expand data streams and contextual understanding of ecosystem processes, stock assessment, and socio-economic dynamics to the benefits of science and industry alike.

THE ROLE OF SCIENCE-INDUSTRY RELATIONS IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE KARABAKH REGION

Karabakh region, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, is a disputed territory located in the South Caucasus region. The region has been the subject of a long-standing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which resulted in a war in the early 1990s. The conflict was finally resolved in November 2020, with the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the two countries. The economic development of the Karabakh region has been a major challenge, given the ongoing conflict and the lack of recognition of the region by the international community. The relationship between science and industry has been recognized as an important factor in promoting economic growth and development. The Karabakh region, located in the South Caucasus, is a region with great economic potential, but also with a complex geopolitical situation. The role of science-industry relations in the economic development of the region has been discussed in recent years, but there is a need for a more comprehensive analysis of the topic. This article aims to explore the role of science-industry relations in the economic development of the Karabakh region. The article first provides an overview of the current state of science-industry relations in the region. It then identifies the main factors that hinder the development of science-industry relations, including lack of investment, inadequate infrastructure, and limited access to knowledge and technology. The study also proposes measures that can be taken to improve science-industry relations and stimulate economic growth in the region. These measures include increasing investment in research and development, improving infrastructure, promoting knowledge transfer and technology transfer, and fostering collaboration between academia and industry. To achieve these goals, there are some key steps that need to be taken. First, the development of a strong and supportive policy framework is essential. This should include policies that encourage investment in research and development, as well as initiatives that support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, measures should be taken to strengthen the regulatory environment and protect intellectual property rights. It is important to establish a strong network of research institutions and industries in the region. This can be achieved through the creation of science parks, incubators, and other collaborative spaces that bring together researchers, entrepreneurs, and businesses. Such networks can promote knowledge exchange, foster innovation, and provide opportunities for training and skill development. It is crucial to ensure that the benefits of science-industry collaborations are shared equitably across the region. This means promoting inclusive growth and ensuring that marginalized groups, such as women and minorities, are not left behind. Efforts should also be made to ensure that the economic benefits of these partnerships are sustainable in the long term. In conclusion, science-industry relations can play a significant role in the economic development of the Karabakh region. By promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration, this partnership can lead to sustainable and inclusive growth that benefits the region's population. However, achieving these goals will require a concerted effort on the part of policymakers, researchers, and business leaders to establish a supportive policy framework, foster collaboration, and promote equitable growth. This article highlights the importance of science-industry relations in the economic development of the Karabakh region and provides insights into the current state of science-industry relations in the region. The proposed measures can help to create a more conducive environment for science-industry collaboration, which can ultimately contribute to the economic growth and development of the region. Keywords: science-industry relations, economic development, Karabakh region, innovation, technology transfer.

Outcomes of science-industry collaboration: factors and interdependencies

AbstractWe analyse the outcomes for scientists from science-industry collaboration projects and study the conditions under which these outcomes emerge. While previous research analyses the motivations for scientists to collaborate and the characteristics of such collaborations, we focus on the generated outcomes. We provide a new conceptualisation of collaboration outcomes and distinguish three different types: scientific outcomes, commercialisable outcomes, and follow-up cooperation. We argue that scientific factors influence the generation of scientific outcomes, and economic factors the generation of commercialisable outcomes, accordingly; interaction factors are proposed to influence the emergence of follow-up cooperation. We further propose that these outcomes depend on each other and hence are co-generated. We test our propositions with survey data from scientists in the German state of Thuringia. We develop novel survey items about characteristics of scientists’ last collaboration with an industry partner and its outcomes. Multivariate probit estimations show that scientific factors positively relate to scientific outcomes, and interaction factors are relevant for follow-up cooperation. However, when it comes to economic factors, we find mixed evidence of their relation to commercialisable outcomes. The outcome interdependence exists between scientific outcomes and the other two types of outcomes but not between commercialisable outcomes and follow-up cooperation. Our results can be used by policymakers and science managers to design and strengthen the support for collaboration projects.

Academic, Сommercialization and Societal Effects of Joint Research

The work investigates the effects that a specific science industry collaboration scheme, joint research, generates in three areas, such as: production of academic activities, scientific knowledge commercialization and society at large. It is an in-depth work on joint research in a developing country that covers three different types of effects. The work highlights the specific industrial contributions that make it possible such effects to be verified, with special attention to societal effects, an aspect rarely present in the literature. Based on some dimensions that recent literature has identified and where more empirical evidence is needed, a multiple case study has been carried out through the selection of three public private collaborations in Argentine biopharmaceutical sector responding to joint research characteristics. Among the main findings, the identification of the different ways in which relationship with industry allows science: to intensify its publication activity, by having more resources and identifying new thematic niches to publish; to improve teaching, using co-generated knowledge and shared equipment; to expand its research agenda both towards applied topics and towards more basic ones. Likewise, relationship with industry allows knowledge generation that, in addition to being central in the creation of start-ups and patents, also contribute to perform new services of commercial nature. Finally, joint research generates effects that benefit society in general, through cheaper domestic diagnostic or therapeutic solutions improving public health.

Hand in hand to Nowhereland? How the resource dependence of research institutes influences their co-evolution with industry

The linkages between science and industry have long been of interest to scholars studying technological change. Recent studies demonstrate that resource exchange between science and industry may lead to patterns of co-evolution, with major implications for the rate and direction of innovation. However, we currently know very little about how the dynamics of co-evolution between research institutes and industry are influenced by organizational characteristics. To address this shortcoming, in this paper we draw on a comparative case study of the world's two largest research institutes for solar photovoltaic power and study how differences in their financial resource dependence influence patterns of co-evolution. We demonstrate that when a research institute is heavily reliant on industry funding, it leads to close co-evolution of science and industry, thereby raising the risk of a mutual lock-in into specific technologies. A heavy reliance on public funding, on the other hand, contributes to the decoupling of science and industry evolution, which entails the risk of research having limited impact on practice. By developing a framework that shows how co-evolution between science and industry is affected by resource dependence, our study contributes to the literature on science-industry collaboration, co-evolution, and technological paradigms. Moreover, our study bears important implications for policy makers and managers of research institutes interested in spurring technological change.

The ecology of infrastructure decommissioning in the North Sea: what we need to know and how to achieve it

AbstractAs decommissioning of oil and gas (O&G) installations intensifies in the North Sea, and worldwide, debate rages regarding the fate of these novel habitats and their associated biota—a debate that has important implications for future decommissioning of offshore wind farms (OWFs). Calls to relax complete removal requirements in some circumstances and allow part of an O&G installation to be left in the marine environment are increasing. Yet knowledge regarding the biological communities that develop on these structures and their ecological role in the North Sea is currently insufficient to inform such decommissioning decisions. To focus debate regarding decommissioning policy and guide ecological research, we review environmental policy objectives in the region, summarize existing knowledge regarding ecological aspects of decommissioning for both O&G and OWF installations, and identify approaches to address knowledge gaps through science–industry collaboration. We find that in some cases complete removal will conflict with other policies regarding protection and restoration of reefs, as well as the conservation of species within the region. Key ecological considerations that are rarely considered during decommissioning decisions are: (i) provision of reef habitat, (ii) productivity of offshore ecosystems, (iii) enhancement of biodiversity, (iv) protection of the seabed from trawling, and (v) enhancement of connectivity. Knowledge gaps within these areas will best be addressed using industry infrastructure and vessels for scientific investigations, re-analysis of historical data held by industry, scientific training of industry personnel, joint research funding opportunities, and trial decommissioning projects.

A stepwise science-industry collaboration to optimize the calculation of energy expenditure during walking and running with a consumer-based activity device

Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) have important implications for health benefits. A growing number of people use consumer available wearables such as activity trackers, which claim to objectively monitor PA and SB in free-living conditions. These devices could provide essential information to understand the influence of behavior on health. This understanding assumes that available consumer products correctly monitor PA in the everyday life. A general approach in science is to validate such activity devices in a controlled environment. The classical procedure to investigate criterion validity is to examine new devices based on the gold standard. To our knowledge, the resulting validation data are not often analyzed and shared with manufacturers to further develop and improve the activity device. The current study can be seen as a validation study to check the criterion validity of a consumer-level activity device. The novelty of this study was the application of a stepwise approach to optimize the calculations of a consumer available activity device (i.e., Activ8; www.activ8all.com/product/activ8-professional-activity-monitor/) for estimating energy expenditure (EE) in walking and running.Forty adults (27 males and 13 females) participated in three substudies. Each substudy consisted of several walking and running activities in which EE was simultaneously measured with indirect calorimetry (as reference value) and the Activ8 activity device. EE values at each walking and running speed were compared to identify the accuracy of the Activ8 device. After completion of the first and second substudies, the results were shared and discussed with the manufacturer of Activ8. Next, the calculations for EE were adapted to the indirect calorimetry values to improve accuracy. In the second and third substudies, the modifications were tested, and results were used to further optimize the calculation of EE.The results of this study show an improved correlation between EE measured by indirect calorimetry and the Activ8 activity device (R2 from 0.91 to 0.95); a decrease in differences between substudy A and substudy B considering EE measured (indirect calorimetry) and calculated (Activ8 calculation) was observed. The second modification in the calculation showed a further increase in correlation (R2 from 0.95 to 0.97) between the measured and calculated EE; however, the absolute difference between the two values increased. The results from a validation study are valuable to use for further adaptation of accelerometer device calculations. A stepwise science-industry collaboration can improve the calculation accuracy and may be a practical approach for validation studies in which human movement scientists and technology manufacturers work together to successfully improve the validity and accuracy of consumer-based activity devices.

Can Grants to Consortia Spur Innovation and Science-Industry Collaboration? Regression- Discontinuity Evidence from Poland

Abstract Innovation policy aims to foster collaborations between science and industry in many countries, but there is little evidence for the effectiveness of such efforts in developing countries. We use regression discontinuity to measure the impact of funding from Poland’s In-Tech program on innovation activities carried out by consortia of firms and research entities. A detailed follow-up survey of applicants enables us to measure a wider variety of outcomes than typically used in the literature. We find that the grants increase the probability of a project being completed by almost 60 percentage points, lead to more science-industry collaboration, and increase the probability of domestic patents and publications related to the proposed project. We also find early effects on commercialization of products related to the proposed project.

Role of government funding in fostering collaboration between knowledge-based organizations: Evidence from the solar PV industry in China

As a knowledge-based industry, the structure of the solar photovoltaic industry is influenced continuously by transformations which originate from technosciences. This paper adopts the notion of the ‘science’ community to include universities and research institutes to examine government funding impact on science–industry collaboration in the Chinese solar photovoltaic industry. The triple helix model of university–industry–government relations for explaining structural developments in knowledge-based economies is often used to depict integration among functions of knowledge creation, business production and governance control at the interfaces in these knowledge-based organizations. Through comparisons between subsidized and nonsubsidised R&D activities, based on 10,366 scientific publications derived from the databases of Web of Science during the period from 2003 to 2013, the impact of government funding on their research collaboration is examined in the solar photovoltaic industry take-off phase and acceleration phase. The findings show that the three helices interact to foster collaboration between the knowledge-based organizations where the government–science link and the government–industry link are fairly strong, but the science–industry link is relatively weak. In consequence, policy-makers should develop more effective mechanisms to foster knowledge diffusion between science and industry.

Science industry collaboration in Australia: a case study in failure.

Given Australia’s ‘outstanding’ position at the bottom of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) scale for collaboration between science and industry, and the fact that that level of performance is not echoed in the more traditional analyses, involving Australia’s contribution to basic science for example, this note has been designed to achieve two objectives: first, acknowledge and describe one example of a failure at collaboration between science and industry in Australia, and, second, reflect on a sample of the systemic issues that facilitated, and compromised, collaboration in this case. The challenge involved the discovery of the wrecks of two World War II warships. The engineering, maritime and industrial expertise was provided by a private entity, the FSF (Finding Sydney Foundation), in a context that honoured contributions from the RAN (Royal Australian Navy), the WAMM (West Australian Maritime Museum), and the state and federal governments. The collaboration originally involved two senior scientists from UWA (University of Western Australia), scientists with strong track records including in excess of 150 published articles in refereed journals. By mid-2005, three years before the in-water search, the scientists had created the following: a database comprising more than 120 records from archives in Australia, the UK and the USA indicating the absolute or relative locations of the wrecks; two 2004 analyses involving semi-independent procedures specifying the location of the wreck of the German raider Kormoran, each accurate to approximately 3 NM (i.e., Nautical Miles) from the now known position of that wreck; an accurate and efficient search box of 400 SNM (Square Nautical Miles) for the German wreck; one analysis specifying the position of the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney, accurate to 9 NM; and an accurate and efficient search quadrant for that wreck. Four years later, the scientists were utterly invisible. The wreck-hunter, hired by the FSF on the recommendation of the Chief of Navy, re-assigned the scientists to a new position never recommended by them, and the FSF and the WAMM failed to acknowledge the accuracy of the scientist’s early recommendations, all of which passed through their hands.

The influence of science–industry collaboration on firms’ innovative performance – evidence from the Republic of Croatia

The theory of National Innovation System emphasizes innovation as a source of economic and productivity growth and stresses the importance of collaboration between science and industry. The basic objective of this paper was to research whether there is an interaction between Croatian companies and scientific institutions, and whether it affects an increase of innovativeness of economic entities. The results of the performed empirical research and their econometric analysis indicate a conclusion that a positive impact of the collaboration on intensity of innovation in Croatian companies is still absent. The results indicate that the system of innovation in the Republic of Croatia, when compared to developed countries, is still in a transition and that commercialisation of academic knowledge is a phenomenon paid somewhat greater attention only recently.

Twenty-five years of science-industry collaboration: the emergence and evolution of policy-driven research networks across Europe

This paper aims at examining the collaborative networks established during the seven Framework Programmes on Research and Technological Development (1984–2009). These networks are the result of self-organized partnering by different participating entities (industry, universities, research centers and technology users) in subsidized research joint ventures selected on a competitive basis under the thematic priorities and funding rules imposed by the European Union. Social network analysis tools are employed in order to describe and assess the architecture, and the dynamics of the networks that were developed in the context of each Framework Programme. Analysis of organizations’ positioning in the network space will show whether there are some pivotal actors with significant policy implications for knowledge and technology transfer. Last but not least, understanding how these network are formed and how they have evolved over time may provide useful policy implications for the design and structure of the current and future EU Programmes aimed at shaping and creating a unified European Research Area.

The impact of collaboration on the technological performance of regions: time invariant or driven by life cycle dynamics?

Increasingly, collaboration between firms as well as science-industry interactions are being considered as important for technology development. Yet, few attempts have been made to analyze the contribution of collaboration, taking into account different stages of the technology life cycle. Our analysis, based on a panel of 197 regions in the EU-15 and Switzerland (time period 1978–2001), provides evidence that, in the field of biotechnology, science-industry collaboration contributes to better technological performance of regions both during the emerging phases (1978–1990) and the growth stages (1991–1999) of the life cycle. Collaboration between industrial partners also contributes to the technological performance of regions during the first phase but is less pronounced during later phases of the technology life cycle. Moreover, the analysis reveals that, as technologies develop over time, the impact of local collaboration is mitigated in favor of collaboration that has an international dimension. This holds true for both science-industry interactions and for collaboration between firms. In consequence, our findings underscore the relevance of incorporating life cycle dynamics (of technologies) when studying the nature and impact of collaboration on the technological performance of regions.

A resource-based view on the interactions of university researchers

The high value of collaboration among scientists and of interactions of university researchers with industry is generally acknowledged. In this study we explain the use of different knowledge networks at the individual level from a resource-based perspective. This involves viewing networks as a resource that offers competitive advantages to an individual university researcher in terms of career development. Our results show that networking and career development are strongly related, but it is important to distinguish between different types of networks. Although networks on various levels (faculty, university, scientific, industrial) show strong correlations, we found three significant differences. First, networking within one's own faculty and with researchers from other universities stimulates careers, while interactions with industry do not. Second, during the course of an academic career a researcher's scientific network activity first rises, but then declines after about 20 years. Science–industry collaboration, however, continuously increases. Third, the personality trait ‘global innovativeness’ positively influences science–science interactions, but not science–industry interactions.