Nurture over nature: How do European universities support their collaboration with business?

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been placed at the core of regional innovation ecosystems and encouraged to contribute to the social and economic development of the communities where they operate. In response to this change in the environment, HEIs have faced the need to adapt their organi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of technology transfer 2017-02, Vol.42 (1), p.184-205
Main Authors: Galán-Muros, Victoria, van der Sijde, Peter, Groenewegen, Peter, Baaken, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business
Business and Management
Collaboration
Colleges & universities
Commercial Law
Communities
Cooperation
Corporate culture
Culture
Economic development
Economic Growth
Environmental changes
Higher education
Higher education institutions
Incentives
Industrial Organization
Innovation/Technology Management
Management
Public private partnerships
Recognition
Regional development
Studies
Technology transfer
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been placed at the core of regional innovation ecosystems and encouraged to contribute to the social and economic development of the communities where they operate. In response to this change in the environment, HEIs have faced the need to adapt their organisational culture, practices and structures. In spite of the acknowledged relevance of university-business cooperation (UBC) as a source of HEI competitive advantage, and the recognition that appropriate interventions or supporting mechanisms can effectively foster UBC, there is still little systematic understanding of organizational mechanisms in the HEI management of UBC. In order to fill this gap, this paper identifies and evaluates the mechanisms that European HEIs are using to nurture industry collaboration at strategic and operational level and assess their relationship with seven UBC activities. With a sample of 2.157 HEI managers in 33 countries, the main results highlight the importance of the combination of support at both strategic and operational levels and the core role of the management commitment for all UBC activities. The paper concludes with the contribution to theory and the relevant implications for UBC managers and policy makers.
ISSN:0892-9912
0892-9912
1573-7047
DOI:10.1007/s10961-015-9451-6