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11 – 20 of over 52000Somchai Ruangpermpool, Barbara Igel and Sununta Siengthai
This paper aims to examine how the dynamic interplay of governance mechanisms of the university-firm R&D alliance reduces obstacles and enables the successful commercialization of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how the dynamic interplay of governance mechanisms of the university-firm R&D alliance reduces obstacles and enables the successful commercialization of research collaboration output.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal case research and retrospective strategy were used to collect relevant data and information in the four university-and-firm alliance teams collaborating on R&D projects in Thailand during 2008-2014. In-depth interviews and meetings were conducted with representatives of all partners and R&D project teams.
Findings
The authors found that formal and informal control mechanisms act as complementary forms of governance. The informal control (trust) serves as the frame of intentions whether the formal control is interpreted as a guideline or a commitment. Both formal and informal control mechanisms must be put in place to successfully and sustainably develop collaborative research into a commercial product.
Research limitations/implications
This study investigated four Thai government-funded research collaboration teams from a single industry. It would be worth investigating such research collaboration in other industries and those without any government funding.
Originality/value
This study applied an exploratory case research method which is rarely used in research on R&D alliance teams. It generates cross-functional insights on how to build trust in such R&D context, especially in an emerging economy.
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Jun Jin, Shanchao Wu and Jin Chen
The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues of integrating R&D globalization, national innovation system, university‐industry (U‐I) knowledge transfer, and international…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues of integrating R&D globalization, national innovation system, university‐industry (U‐I) knowledge transfer, and international U‐I collaboration.
Design/methodology/approach
A framework for research on internationalization of U‐I collaboration is proposed and the process of international U‐I collaboration could be categorized Processes A (including A1‐A2‐A3), B, C and D. The framework is applied to explore the process and contribution of international U‐I collaboration in China based on the cases studies of Philips' Brainbridge program and institute for the study of the ancient world (ISAW) international cooperation.
Findings
Processes A and B are confirmed in this research. Through the international U‐I collaboration, foreign universities contribute to the development of innovative capabilities of industries in China, while the foreign companies could play roles in the China's national innovation system. The research suggests that the international U‐I collaboration could be used as a bridge to connect strategies of R&D globalization to the improvement of national innovation system. With the internationalization of U‐I collaboration, the national innovation system would be developing to global innovation system. Moreover, this paper provides a method of technological internationalization and practical suggestions to the management of U‐I collaboration.
Research limitations/implications
More empirical research is necessary to further examine this framework.
Originality/value
This paper provides a framework to analyse the process of international U‐I collaboration. Additionally, it enriches the research on R&D globalization from the industrial fields to the academics and the research on national innovation system. The findings will contribute to the practice and diffusion of international U‐I collaboration from the industrial and governmental levels.
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Maral Mahdad, Marcel Bogers, Andrea Piccaluga and Alberto Di Minin
University–industry collaborations are an important driver of innovation that highlights the benefits of collaborative processes across organizational boundaries. However, like in…
Abstract
University–industry collaborations are an important driver of innovation that highlights the benefits of collaborative processes across organizational boundaries. However, like in most collaborative processes, many challenges remain when trying to manage the process of knowledge sharing and interaction in university–industry partnerships. In this chapter, the authors specifically investigate how leadership as a managerial dimension facilitates collaboration within university–industry joint laboratories. The authors present an explorative and inductive case study of eight joint laboratories set up by Telecom Italia within five major Italian universities. The results show that the laboratory directors play a crucial role in providing a dynamic and socially active working environment, which is enabled through a process of sensemaking and sensegiving. The authors, moreover, find that this process plays a crucial role by shaping effective communication channels that facilitate knowledge sharing and transfer of information. The authors find that this process ultimately acts as a mediator between charismatic leadership on the individual level and distributed leadership on the collective level.
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Raoni Barros Bagno and Jonathan Simões Freitas
The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to start industry–university (I-U) collaboration through a stepped process aimed at building a portfolio of research and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to start industry–university (I-U) collaboration through a stepped process aimed at building a portfolio of research and development (R&D) projects.
Design/methodology/approach
It devises from an 18-month action-research program held between a multinational automotive manufacturer and the a top-ranked Brazilian university.
Findings
The three-stage R&D shared portfolio methodology results from a combined application of quality function deployment-like correlation matrices and roadmapping. A first matrix tackles industry interests and correlates product performance dimensions and components to reveal broad research areas of interest. A second matrix correlates research areas and engineering competences, highlighting the types of the required know-how from the university standpoint. Thirdly, academic experts help to fill a roadmap-like layer with possible collaborative R&D deliverables over time.
Research limitations/implications
Since the study lies on a single experience, extensions to other contexts should be made with care. However, the proposal offers robust rationale and a set of supporting tools to nurture new applications.
Practical implications
Theoretical and methodological reflections help managers tackling the long-standing problem of setting a shared R&D agenda.
Originality/value
Literature on I-U collaboration tends or to over-emphasize the role of technology transfer offices in promoting the partnerships or to seek implications for public policy. This research offers a valuable approach to build shared R&D project portfolio from a managerial viewpoint, filling an academic gap and offering guidance for managers in both sides.
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Hazem Aldabbas, Ashly Pinnington and Abdelmounaim Lahrech
This study aims to investigate the relationship between university–industry collaboration (U-I-C) in research and development (R&D) and quality management and explore how the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between university–industry collaboration (U-I-C) in research and development (R&D) and quality management and explore how the relationship is mediated by innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on panel data consisting of 109 countries spanning over a five year period (2013-2017) this study investigates, through structural equation modelling, how this relationship is mediated by innovation.
Findings
The main finding is that there are positive significant direct effects between U-I-C and innovation and between innovation and international organization for standardization (ISO) 9001. Furthermore, the strength and significance of these relations are highly affected by the classification of income in these countries, which ranges from high and upper-middle to lower-middle categories. This paper concludes that countries in the high-income category have higher achievement in U-I-C in R&D, innovation and ISO 9001 when compared to the upper and lower-middle-income categories.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates in the empirical study the value of collaboration in R&D between government, industry and academia, as it can encourage scientific research and contribute to quality management and innovation. This research is one of the very few studies to assess the country’s income classification effect on U-I-C in R&D, innovation and ISO 9001. It is recommended that more research is conducted on how countries not ranked in the high-income category could benefit from U-I-C in R&D to enhance innovation and quality management.
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Monty Sutrisna, Dewi Tjia and Peng Wu
This paper aims to identify and examine the factors that influence construction industry-university (IU) collaboration and develop the likelihood model of a potential industry…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify and examine the factors that influence construction industry-university (IU) collaboration and develop the likelihood model of a potential industry partner within the construction industry to collaborate with universities.
Design/methodology/approach
Mix method data collection including questionnaire survey and focus groups were used for data collection. The collected data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods to identify and examine factors. These findings were then used to develop the likelihood predictive model of IU collaboration. A well-known artificial neural network (ANN) model, was trained and cross-validated to develop the predictive model.
Findings
The study identified company size (number of employees and approximate annual turnover), the length of experience in the construction industry, previous IU collaboration, the importance of innovation and motivation of innovation for short term showed statistically significant influence on the likelihood of collaboration. The study also revealed there was an increase in interest amongst companies to engage the university in collaborative research. The ANN model successfully predicted the likelihood of a potential construction partner to collaborate with universities at the accuracy of 85.5%, which was considered as a reasonably good model.
Originality/value
The study investigated the nature of collaboration and the factors that can have an impact on the potential IU collaborations and based on that, introduced the implementation of machine learning approach to examine the likelihood of IU collaboration. While the developed model was derived from analysing data set from Western Australian construction industry, the methodology proposed here can be used as the basis of predictive developing models for construction industry elsewhere to help universities in assessing the likelihood for collaborating and partnering with the targeted construction companies.
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Yunlong Duan, Meng Yang, Hanxiao Liu and Tachia Chin
Firms are driven to ride on the digital wave in today’s open innovation ecosystem. This study aims to explore the effect of digital transformation (DT) on knowledge-intensive…
Abstract
Purpose
Firms are driven to ride on the digital wave in today’s open innovation ecosystem. This study aims to explore the effect of digital transformation (DT) on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) firms’ innovation ambidexterity, namely, radical versus incremental innovation, respectively. Meanwhile, the authors evaluated the moderating role of the complexity of R&D collaboration portfolio (i.e. organizational diversity and geographic diversity) in the above relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a panel data set of 171 Chinese listed firms in the information and communications technology services industry from 2010 to 2018, the proposed hypotheses were empirically attested.
Findings
It is found that DT has a positive relationship with radical innovation and an inverted U-shaped relationship with incremental innovation. In terms of the R&D collaboration portfolio, organizational diversity positively moderates the relationships between DT and innovation ambidexterity, respectively. The geographic diversity weakens the inverted U-shaped effect of DT on incremental innovation; however, its moderating role in the link between DT and radical innovation is not empirically verified.
Originality/value
Extant scholars mainly addressed the interplay between KIBS firms and their manufacturing clients, while this study reveals the different consequences of DT on KIBS firms’ innovation ambidexterity to highlight the role of KIBS firms is an independent and essential innovator in a knowledge-driven economy. Notably, the findings contribute to knowledge management (KM) and R&D literature by confirming the diversity of the R&D collaboration portfolio is a critical KM strategy for KIBS firms to develop and promote external knowledge resources.
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Olav Jull Sørensen and Yimei Hu
– The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize and make sense of the internationalization of the triple helix (TH) model.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize and make sense of the internationalization of the triple helix (TH) model.
Design/methodology/approach
As this study is exploitative in nature, an inductive approach is adopted in data collection and data analysis. The Danish TH's experiences in China are used as empirical evidences. Primary data are collected from in-depth interviews and discussions, filed observations, and personal experiences. Secondary data such as the government policies and documents, companies’ annual reports, and reliable web sites are also included.
Findings
The paper conceptualizes the internationalization of the TH into three stages: pioneering stage, exploration stage, and integration stage. In the pioneering stage, the authors see the establishment of each of the three helix spheres abroad, i.e. internationalization of companies, universities and governments; in the exploration stage, the three spheres start to interact abroad and collaborate with their counterparts in the host country; in the integration stage, helix to helix collaboration is emerging.
Originality/value
This study has both theoretical and practical significance. It expands the existing TH theory by proposing a model for the internationalization of it. On the other hand, this study gives implications regarding utilizing global knowledge resources and enhancing innovation performances overseas.
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Firms are increasingly organizing cross-regional R&D collaborations among different units. Such collaborations should promote knowledge flows across distance and bring new…
Abstract
Firms are increasingly organizing cross-regional R&D collaborations among different units. Such collaborations should promote knowledge flows across distance and bring new knowledge to the local communities. However, the nature of cross-regional collaborations varies widely depending on the organizations within which they are organized. Compared with collaborations within small firms, collaborations in large firms tend to be routinized, which reduces the need for interpersonal interactions and increases the dependence on organizational structure. As a result, additional spillover from cross-regional collaboration is likely to be lower if the collaboration is within large firms. We extend this argument to the regional level and hypothesize that regions with a higher level of cross-regional collaborations tend to generate more valuable technologies, but when large firms dominate the formation of such collaborations, the marginal benefits of cross-regional collaboration are significantly reduced. Using a data set from the pharmaceutical industry between 1975 and 2001, we find support for our hypotheses. We conduct a series of robustness tests to check the consistency of our results.
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Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects…
Abstract
Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.
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