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1 – 10 of over 58000Monica Mensah Danquah, Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha and Bright Kwaku Avuglah
The ranking of universities and other research-intensive institutions in global ranking systems is based on numerous indicators, including number of articles with external…
Abstract
Purpose
The ranking of universities and other research-intensive institutions in global ranking systems is based on numerous indicators, including number of articles with external collaboration, number of articles with international collaboration, number of articles with industry collaboration as well as co-patents with industry. The purpose of this paper is to examine university–industry research collaboration in Ghana, with the aim of exploring the relationship between the research output collaborations in the top four universities in Ghana and industry across different geographical scales.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s data was obtained from the SciVal database, which drawn its data from the Scopus bibliographic and citation database. The bibliographic and citation data were extracted using a search of the publications affiliated to the University of Ghana, for the period 2011–2020.
Findings
Key findings demonstrate a constant rise in the number of research publications by the selected universities over time. Research collaboration intensity in the selected universities in terms of co-authored publications was higher as compared to single-authored publications. University–industry research co-authorships were, however, lower when compared to university–university research co-authorships. The university–industry research co-authorships occurred mostly with Europe, Asia-Pacific and North American-based institutions as opposed to African-based institutions. In Ghana, four industry-based institutions were engaged in intensive research with the selected universities.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates that, for each selected university, it is possible to measure the performance of individual universities in both intra-regional and international collaboration. Such results may be useful in informing policy as well as merit-based public funding of universities in Ghana.
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Weiqiao Xu and Ruifeng Hu
The academic experience of top management team (TMT) has a positive impact on firms' innovation performance. However, existing studies predominantly focus on the educational…
Abstract
Purpose
The academic experience of top management team (TMT) has a positive impact on firms' innovation performance. However, existing studies predominantly focus on the educational qualifications and institutional prestige of TMT, failing to comprehensively evaluate whether TMT possess genuine academic experience and the role of academic competence. This article aims to examine whether TMT academic competence has a potential influence on firm innovation performance and to understand the mechanisms behind this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Using firm-level metrics of Chinese listed firms and TMT scholarly publication data spanning 2000–2021, this paper investigates whether TMT academic competence can promote firms' innovation performance and conducts a moderated mediating effect analysis.
Findings
(1) Academic competence of TMT can contribute positively to firms’ innovation performance; (2) university–industry collaboration partially mediates this relationship; (3) the mediating effect is enhanced by cognitive proximity and (4) distance proximity does not diminish the mediating effect.
Research limitations/implications
Outcome of this study can assist academia in further understanding the impacts of TMT on firm innovation and aid government in promoting university–industry collaboration. Simultaneously, it can help firms adjust their TMT selection and training strategies to enhance innovation performance.
Originality/value
This article, as the first to construct an index of academic competence and to explore whether it has an impact on firms' innovation performance and its inherent mechanism, can provide a new research perspective for the study of the impact of TMT's characteristics on firms' innovation.
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Gabriela Fernandes, David O' Sullivan, Eduardo B. Pinto, Madalena Araújo and Ricardo J. Machado
University–industry projects provide special challenges in understanding and expressing the values required of project management (PM) in delivering stakeholder benefits. This…
Abstract
Purpose
University–industry projects provide special challenges in understanding and expressing the values required of project management (PM) in delivering stakeholder benefits. This paper presents a framework for understanding, identifying and managing the values of PM in major university–industry R&D projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The value framework identifies for each of the key stakeholders, the key PM values that may require to be managed and are largely derived from research literature. Empirical research then explores, prioritises and selects key PM values that need to be managed for a specific project. A large case study is used involving one university and one industry collaborating on a multi-million Euro initiative over six years. Empirical research was conducted by researchers who observed at close quarters, the challenges and successes of managing the competing values of key stakeholders.
Findings
The value framework takes a stakeholders' perspective by identifying the respective PM values for each of six stakeholders: university–industry consortium, university, industry, R&D external entities, funding entity and society.
Research limitations/implications
The research was performed using only one case study which limits the generalisability of its findings; however, the findings are presented as a decision support aid for project consortia in developing values for their own collaboration.
Practical implications
Guidance and decision support are provided to multi-stakeholder research consortia when selecting values that need to be managed for achieving tangible and intangible project benefits.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates a proposed framework for designing and managing the value of PM in large multi-stakeholder university–industry R&D projects.
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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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The purpose of this paper is to explicate how the processual third context learning approach provides new understandings and dimensions to the well-established terminology within…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explicate how the processual third context learning approach provides new understandings and dimensions to the well-established terminology within the fields of inter-organizational learning and university–industry collaboration. These understandings and dimensions are empirically informed by an analysis of a collaboration between Aalborg University and Bang & Olufsen, a Danish loudspeaker manufacturer.
Design/methodology/approach
To fulfill the research purpose, a case study based on a participatory data collection strategy was applied in the collaboration between Aalborg University and Bang & Olufsen. Data were collected through a qualitative multimethod approach, comprising semi-structured interviews, field observations and field notes. Phenomenologically inspired content analysis revealed the themes outlined and discussed.
Findings
The third context framework was useful in outlining the complexity of a bidirectional collaboration. The inter-organizational learning processes were, for example, influenced by the actors’ recurrent inquiry of perplexities regarding the purpose and content of the collaboration. The extracted empirical findings are discussed and related to the fields of inter-organizational learning and university–industry collaboration, thereby explicating how a processual learning perspective provides new understandings and dimensions to collaboration across organizations.
Originality/value
The paper contributes empirically informed processual-learning dimensions to the literature on inter-organizational learning and university–industry collaboration.
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Richa Awasthy, Shayne Flint, Ramesh Sankarnarayana and Richard L. Jones
The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework to improve the effectiveness of university–industry collaboration (UIC). This work enhances the existing body of literature and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework to improve the effectiveness of university–industry collaboration (UIC). This work enhances the existing body of literature and knowledge regarding collaboration and offers concrete steps to be taken for effective collaboration between universities and industries.
Research Methodology
A literature review to study the best practices, impediments to collaboration and the various models proposed in the past for successful UIC was conducted. A workshop and focus-group meetings of practitioners and academic researchers was designed and organised to explore the current state of the university–industry engagement within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) region and gather inputs regarding possible approaches to improve collaboration. The findings from the literature review and the results from this qualitative research regarding the approaches to improve the effectiveness of the collaboration were analysed.
Results and implications
The study discovers that various measures have been proposed in the form of best practices or models to improve the effectiveness of UIC. However, these measures often address a specific concern such as technology transfer, intellectual property (IP), etc. There is a scope for a comprehensive holistic framework to address many aspects of UIC in order to improve effectiveness and achieve success. A framework for improving the effectiveness of collaboration considering a comprehensive list of factors operating in a broad context within the collaboration system was proposed.
Originality/value
The framework builds on previous literature dealing with measures for successful UIC. However, it is the first of its kind, in the researcher's knowledge, in terms of comprehensiveness of the factors contributing to establishing and sustaining successful collaboration. The value of the individual experience of the participants in this qualitative research, which is on average more than 10 years in the software engineering field, validates the importance and quality of the data collected. The addition of these results to the framework increases its validity.The framework can be utilised by universities and industry practitioners to foster successful and effective collaboration. The results have significant relevance, particularly within the Australian context as the government has intensified the adoption of measures to encourage and improve collaboration between universities and the industry.
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Frida Lind, Alexander Styhre and Lise Aaboen
The purpose of this paper is to explore university‐industry collaboration in research centres.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore university‐industry collaboration in research centres.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on an explorative study of three research centres at a technical university in Sweden, using in‐depth interviews. The three research centres, Alpha, Beta and Gamma, have various degrees of involvement with industry.
Findings
A total of four broad forms of collaboration are suggested: distanced, translational, specified and developed collaboration.
Research limitations/implications
The paper shows that the different institutional logics of academic actors, industry actors and funding agencies can be present in collaborations in (at least) four different ways resulting in four different types of research processes. Since not all actors are likely to be equally satisfied in all types of collaborations, the continued development of the research centres will be at risk.
Practical implications
If the role of the research centre is to be a forum for collaboration, the research centre has to be a good mediator between the actors in order to ensure their satisfaction with the research centre within and between projects. If, in contrast, the role of the research centre is to be a facilitator of collaboration, the research centre needs to enable the actors to learn how to interact with each other in order for the distanced, translational, specified collaboration to evolve into developed collaboration.
Originality/value
Few studies have focused on the collaborations per se in research centres, taking the different institutional logics of the actors involved in the collaboration into account.
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Sew Huey Ting, Sofri Yahya and Cheng Ling Tan
This study aims to discover the influence of researcher competence on University-Industry collaboration via researcher’s domain knowledge.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to discover the influence of researcher competence on University-Industry collaboration via researcher’s domain knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative data were collected via survey questionnaire by using purposive sampling technique from a total of 121 academicians from all five research universities in Malaysia. PLS-SEM is used to examine multiple structural relationships between the researcher competence, domain knowledge transfers and spillovers and university-industry collaboration.
Findings
Researcher’s competence serves as a success booster to initiate the collaborative endeavour, and the University-Industry collaboration is found to be substantially influenced by the domain knowledge transfers and spillovers.
Research limitations/implications
The size of the sample in this study was however constrained by the characteristics and background of the targeted pool of respondents to be generalised to the population of all universities in Malaysia.
Practical implications
Researcher competence is found to be significant drive to the University-Industry collaboration formation through the development and deployment of domain knowledge transfers and spillovers. Thus, it requires the desire and need for continuous competence development for researchers, and a step change is called for individual principal investigators about extending their leadership across the field of studies and appearing as critical business partners in the University-Industry collaboration.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature by empirically investigating the influence of researcher competence on the University-Industry collaboration via researcher’s domain knowledge. It attempts to show the researcher’s ability to leverage their competencies in increasing the collaborative endeavour in making out business opportunities, which will eventually influence the public university’s sustainability development. In addition, it proves the importance of researcher’s competence and domain knowledge within the entrepreneurial activities, which serves as the significant drivers to ensure successful University-Industry collaboration.
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Khaleel Malik, Tariq Bashir and Tariq Mahmood Ali
This paper aims to identify current challenges that hinder university–industry (U-I) collaboration in Pakistan and presents future opportunities for promoting such collaborations…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify current challenges that hinder university–industry (U-I) collaboration in Pakistan and presents future opportunities for promoting such collaborations in developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study presents new empirical evidence obtained from Pakistan via a questionnaire survey of 24 universities, 25 interviews with key stakeholders including industry managers and outputs from a high level workshop event.
Findings
Although there is limited evidence of U-I engagement in Pakistan, the findings show that a lack of coordination between government, universities and industrial firms has hindered knowledge transfer between universities and industry. Such steps as utilising intermediaries to help broker effective collaborations and building trust-based relationships can help in socialising these types of scientific activities.
Research limitations/implications
Any overall conclusions drawn from this exploratory study can only be tentative, as the findings represent a snapshot of current U-I collaboration initiatives in Pakistan.
Practical implications
Less stringent policy interventions from government entities, as well as more universities willing to invite industry input on their board of studies might enable co-development of some university curriculums with industry partners. U-I collaborations could also help to boost innovation efforts in developing country firms.
Originality/value
This paper also offers awareness into benefits of teaching activity collaboration with industry partners, which has been an under explored area of past U-I collaboration studies. The findings should be of interest for both innovation policy and higher education policy researchers.
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Hassan Mirza, Hamed Al Sinawi, Naser Al-Balushi, Mohammed Al-Alawi and Sathiya Murthi Panchatcharam
University-industry collaboration yields numerous advantages resulting in potential benefits in funding research and innovation. Despite the numerous benefits, there are various…
Abstract
Purpose
University-industry collaboration yields numerous advantages resulting in potential benefits in funding research and innovation. Despite the numerous benefits, there are various perceived disadvantages of such collaboration especially in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry in prominent academic institutes in London, UK. The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes of the academics and clinicians in an academic university department towards industry collaboration.
Design/methodology/approach
Two methods were applied, quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative method used an online questionnaire of four-point Likert-Scale, the link of which was emailed to 80 members of the department with a response rate of 32%. The qualitative method included a one-to-one interview with eight researchers from the department to garner in-depth information on the attitude of researchers in child and adolescent psychiatry towards industry collaboration.
Findings
The online questionnaire was completed by 26 researchers, the vast majority perceived industry as biased to favour their product and as having a bad or mixed reputation. One-on-one interviews with eight prominent researchers allowed us to share their perception and attitude towards industry collaboration, although the researchers believe that availability of funding was the major advantage of working in collaboration with industry, many did not know how to access such grants and some raised concerns about industry’s record of presenting partial results.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.
Practical implications
This paper will shed light on how prominent researchers perceive collaboration with industry.
Originality/value
Although researchers are very reluctant to collaborate with industry because of its public opinion and sometimes unethical and lack of integrity among the industry, with rigorous ethical guidelines and policies, the pharmaceutical industry can be a potential and significant source of funding of high-quality research and innovation.
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