Managing and incentivizing research commercialization in Chinese Universities

Research shows that there are important institutional underpinnings for building university–industry linkages. This paper aims to understand how China is developing the relevant organizational structures and incentives in its universities. What academic institutions shape the scope and channels of university–industry linkages? What incentives do universities provide to encourage and facilitate faculty engagement with industry? My analysis is accomplished through content analysis of university documents and in-depth interviews with personnel in two top institutions—Fudan University and Shanghai Jiaotong University, supplemented by official statistics. It shows that the hybrid organizational structure to manage technology transfer is a product of historical legacy and institutional learning—parts uniquely Chinese and parts adapted from the West. Faculty incentives also have varied effects. In spite of being enticed to disclose inventions and pursue commercialization, faculty remains keener on scholarly publications.     

Transfer of advanced manufacturing technology from Canadian universities to industry

Although advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) is a key factor in improving North America's industrial competitiveness, there is a problem in transferring it from university to industry. This study, conducted for a Canadian governmental agency, addresses the problem by querying Canadian professors, university-liaison officers, and administrators of intermediary (broker) organizations in order to uncover the processes of AMT transfer; that is, the ways in which technical knowledge embodied in inventions is converted into outputs used by companies. Four processes, in which the critical entities are professors, universities, intermediary organizations, and spinoffs, account for what has been transferred While the first is by far the most significant currently, the third has a high future potential. An analysis of barriers suggests that while some probably inhibit all four transfer processes, others have their impacts on only one specific process. If we are going to raise the number of transfers, we must work more diligently to pinpoint the causes for low levels of transfer. Studying the barriers to university transfer in general should therefore yield information on which barriers are associated with which processes.     

Researchers’ Industry Experience and Productivity in University–Industry Research Centers: A “Scientific and Technical Human Capital” Explanation

We examine the impact of researchers’ previous industry experience on the research outputs and outcomes of university faculty affiliated with NSF and DOE research centers. Using a dataset combining curriculum vita and surveys, our results indicate significant differences between the researchers who have previous industry experience and those who do not. Using a simple model of research productivity, we found that academic researchers who had prior industry exposure produce fewer total career publications, but they support more students. Most important, and perhaps surprising, we could not establish any difference between the two groups’ publication activity when focusing on a five-year cross-section (years 1996–2000) rather than total career publications. We found statistical evidence that previous industry experience raised the annual publication productivity of junior faculty members and women researchers in our sample of research center personnel. We believe the unique blend of research center affiliation, academic post, and past industry experience gives an individual who embodies or possesses all three characteristics a diverse source of scientific and technical human capital and particular advantages over those who have no industry experience (though the “academic-only” set also has particular advantages in cumulative publishing productivity).     

Who is the academic entrepreneur? The role of graduate students in the development of university spinoffs

Academic entrepreneurship, the establishment of new companies based on technologies derived from university research, is a well-recognized driver of regional and national economic development. For more than a decade, scholars have conceptualized individual university faculty as the primary agents of academic entrepreneurship. Recent research suggests that graduate students also play a critical role in the establishment and early development of university spinoff companies, but the nature of their involvement through the entrepreneurial process is not yet fully understood. Employing a case study approach, this paper investigates the role of graduate students in early-stage university spinoff companies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We find that graduate students play role similar to that of individual faculty entrepreneurs in university spinoffs, both in terms of making the initial establishment decision and in reconfiguring the organization for marketable technology development. We also find that student entrepreneurs face unique challenges involving conflicts with faculty advisors and other students.     

Becoming an entrepreneurial university? A case study of knowledge exchange relationships and faculty attitudes in a medium-sized,research-oriented university

This paper seeks to contribute to the growing literature on the entrepreneurial university by mapping knowledge exchange relationships of entrepreneurial faculty in a comprehensive manner and also capturing faculty attitudes towards measures taken by the university administration to promote entrepreneurship. We report on an exploratory study of Sussex University, a medium-sized, research-oriented university, which launched technology transfer activities in the mid-1990s. Our results show that, in spite of a comparatively late start, a considerable number of researchers engage in knowledge exchange processes with industry and other non-academic partners. We present evidence that suggests faculty in the social sciences and humanities as well as natural sciences and engineering maintain links to industrial partners, including multinational corporations. Furthermore, our observations indicate that schools differ in the way their faculty engage in university–industry collaborations. Further differences can be observed with respect to faculty attitudes towards technology transfer and awareness of the university’s respective codes of practice.

The Sustainability of University-Industry Research Collaboration: An Empirical Assessment

The concept of university-industry collaboration is an important social experiment in the nation's innovation system. This study examines the sustainability of this collaborative experience by focusing on the actual give-and-take outcomes between university faculty members and industrial firms. Based on two separate but similar surveys conducted in 1997, one for faculty members and another for industry technology managers, the study reports that participants in research collaboration appear to realize significant benefits, some expected and others unexpected. The most significant benefit realized by firms is an increased access to new university research and discoveries, and the most significant benefits by faculty members is complementing their own academic research by securing funds for graduate students and lab equipment, and by seeking insights into their own research. Reflecting on their collaborative experience, an overwhelming majority of these participants say that in the future they would expand or at least sustain the present level of collaboration.     

Sea Grant — The MIT Sea Grant Marine Industry collegium: A partnership of industry,government and academia

The Collegium has fostered interaction and technology transfer between MIT and the Marine Industry for five years, resulting in early utilization of the fruits of marine research at MIT and valuable guidance for MIT Sea Grant in addressing needs of industry. For maximum technology transfer to take place effectively in an academic/industry program, a number of conditions have to be met. This paper discusses three of the most important conditions. First, industry people must be aware of the interests and research capabilities of the faculty and of the resources available to the university. Second, successful technology transfer is a person to person interaction between people of common interest and roughly equivalent technical background. Third, and very important, technology transfer is communication from the recipient, or user, to the source of technology. Along with these three conditions is the need for early involvement of industry and government user in the research activity. The Collegium is a unique arrangement to accomplish these conditions. This paper describes the program at MIT.     

Industry/university licenses: A negotiating strategy

A lament often heard from U.S. industry licensing executives about their university (“university” refers to universities, not-for-profit research institutions, and hospitals) counterparts is, “they (university technology licensing officers) just don't understand business.” Conversely, university licensing managers criticize their industry counterparts for not understanding (or even trying to understand) the mission and constraints of university technology transfer. University licensing managers also accuse their industry counterparts as being predatory and seeking to take unfair advantage of university technology licensing opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the dialog between university licensors and industry licensees. This paper reviews the basis of university licensing, decries the focus on financial considerations, suggests references for further study of valuation and pricing issues, delineates companies' and universities' needs in licensing embryonic university technologies, and proposes a negotiation strategy.     

Entrepreneurship, Secrecy, and Productivity: A Comparison of Clinical and Non-Clinical Life Sciences Faculty

This paper addresses research in the life sciences, responsible for significant national expenditures for scientific investigations funded by both the federal government and industry. Our investigation examines faculty members' involvement with industry in entrepreneurial ways that is, involved in translating their research into potentially marketable knowledge or products. First, this study examines whether there are differences in entrepreneurial behaviour between clinical and non-clinical faculty in the life sciences with industry relationships, and, second, to discover any linkage between entrepreneurship and secrecy or productivity in different ways for clinical and non-clinical faculty. The study is based on survey responses of a national sample of 4,000 clinical and non-clinical life sciences faculty in 49 U.S. research universities. The results show non-clinical faculty as more involved at the back end. The more entrepreneurial end of commercialization while clinical faculty are involved at the back end. The more entrepreneurial faculty (non-clinical) are more likely to be secretive about their research. Clinical faculty are less likely to have been denied access to research results or products. Entrepreneurial faculty are not less productive in their faculty roles. This investigation is preliminary in that it addresses one large area of academic research but excludes fields with longer historical relationships with industry.     

Database considerations in a technology-transfer network

A computer-based network to support technology transfer between campuses of the California State University and local industry is described. Options associated with designing the database and configuring the hardware are evaluated. The TECHNET system involves 20 campuses of the state university system and is designed to support 1,000 industrial firms. The database consists of faculty expertise in the forms of resumes and company products and capabilities. Member companies may query the database to identify faculty (preferably at a local campus) and/or another company that can help them solve technological and business problems. The benefit of TECHNET to companies in addition to problem solving is new business opportunities and to faculty is consulting opportunities. The work is supported by the California Competitive Technology Project office of the California Department of Commerce.     

Copyright or Copy Wrong: An Analysis of University Claims to Faculty Work

Most universities claim to own at least some faculty-created works. An examination of copyright cases touching on faculty ownership of their intellectual property, of the teacher exception to the work-for-hire doctrine and its relationship to academic freedom, and of university copyright policies demonstrates that faculty have little protection for their intellectual property. Indeed, the greatest protection for faculty who stake claims on their work may be university copyright policies that do not alter the traditional work-for-hire arrangement set up by the Copyright Act.     

The commercialization of academic patents: black boxes,pipelines, and Rubik’s cubes

Drawing on histories of technological innovation originating from research by faculty at The Pennsylvania State University and Johns Hopkins University, this paper presents evidence for a “technology” as well as an “intellectual property rights” research approach to the commercialization of academic patents. By describing how inventor and firm activities and strategies affect the technical development and commercial positioning of university patents, a technology focus adds depth to the general proposition that university patents are embryonic technologies. It likewise serves as an analytical probe to reconsider other mainstream propositions about university technology transfer.     

University-industry linkages in nanotechnology and biotechnology: evidence on collaborative patterns for new methods of inventing

The nanotechnology and biotechnology “revolutions” are so-called because their enabling technological breakthroughs were not simply inventions, but discoveries of entirely new methods of inventing. We hypothesize that university participants in either or both of these areas will exhibit greater collaboration with industry than researchers in other areas. We explore this hypothesis for 454 faculty members who conducted research that was patented during the period 1994–1999. Because our data include patents, publications, and funding at the individual level, we are able to examine the industry interaction of faculty who participated in the nanotechnology and biotechnology revolutions, as well as the interaction of faculty contributing to other areas of patentable science. We examine a variety of linkages, including sponsored research, consulting, publication with firm employees and measures of the potential for cross-campus collaboration. The results are striking in that they show significant differences in collaborative behavior across patent types and across the major program areas biological sciences, physical sciences and engineering. The results are consistent with a greater degree of tacit knowledge within the new methods of inventing. We also find significant differences in the embryonic nature and importance of patents across areas.     

大学基层学术组织建设的法律基础探析

大学不仅承担着为社会培养人才的职能,而且更是一个学术组织,承担着传承文化,创新科技等科学研究的重要功能。为了能够更好地完成这些功能,必须调动高校内部发挥核心作用的广大教师的积极性。建立和完善高校内部基层学术组织,保证其合法性,明确其法律地位,是激发高校教师科研动力,提高科研水平的基础性保证。     

The transition from defense contractor to commercial company: The Huntsville, Alabama case

Studies have documented the historic failure of defense contractors in commercial markets. Yet some defense firms make this transition successfully. Based on a survey of Department of Defense contractors located in Huntsville, Alabama, this paper compares the characteristics and business strategies of firms that were successful in commercialization with those firms that were not. Characteristics of firms gaining employees during the defense funding downturns of the early 1990s included: (1) being an 8A vendor; (2) being a manufacturer or technical services provider rather than a research and design firm; and (3) spending a higher proportion of total revenue on internal research and development and marketing.     

Never mind the quality feel the width: University–industry links and government financial support for innovation in small high-technology businesses in the UK and the USA

In this paper we use a size and industry matched sample of over 1,900 UK and US businesses for the period 2004–05 in the manufacturing and business services sectors to analyse the relative “strength” of the university–industry ecosystems in which these firms operate in the two economies. Our analysis shows that in both countries universities per se play a quantitatively smaller role as a source of knowledge for business innovation than either the business sector itself or a variety of organisations intermediating between the university and business sectors. Our analysis reveals a much more diffuse university–industry ecosystem in the UK in which a higher proportion of businesses claim links external to themselves in their pursuit of knowledge for innovation and a higher proportion report directly connecting with universities. US firms are more likely to access knowledge through a combination of business and intermediary sources and are less likely to have established formal collaborative or partnership agreements in the 3 years prior to the survey. We also find, however, that a higher proportion of US firms place a very high value on the connections they have with universities and are much more likely to commit resources to support such innovation related university interactions. A similar pattern of diffuse but weaker links characterise the supply of public sector financial assistance for innovation in our sample firms. UK firms are more likely to be in receipt of assistance, but receive far less per firm in absolute terms and relative to their R&D expenditures. It appears that the UK university–industry ecosystem is characterised by a greater width than quality of interaction.     

What drives the university use of technology transfer offices? Evidence from Italy

Over the last 20 years, universities have made steady progress in their efforts to foster the process of technology transfer through collaboration with industry. The establishment of technology transfer offices (TTO) has become routine for supporting the commercialization of academic research. However, the literature shows that there are many factors that affect the efficiency and effectiveness of these offices. Based on original data from interviews with 197 university departments in Italy, this paper investigates the determinants of universities university use of TTOs. We take account of the effects of universities’ and TTOs characteristics, of research and geographic indicators.     

Patenting and Invention Activity of U.S. Scientists and Engineers in the Academic Sector: Comparisons with Industry

Analyses have been performed of the patenting and invention activity of U.S. scientists and engineers (S&Es) in the academic sector and comparisons have been made with their counterparts in industry. The analyses are based upon survey questions concerning patent applications, grant awards and commercialization outcomes from two 1995 National Science Foundation (NSF) nationally representative workforce surveys. A series of new indicators – patent activity rates, patent activity shares and patent success rates – has been defined and utilized to examine patent activity by employment sector, educational field, demographic variables, status and location of university faculty, technological area, and selected S&E job characteristics. It is recommended that NSF collect data on patenting activity, including commercialization outcomes, in its surveys of the S&E workforce at least every four years. Data should also be collected on university-industry collaboration in patent activity in the U.S., and between S&Es in the U.S. and other countries.