Collaboration between Public Research Institutes and Universities: A Study of Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan

Abstract

This study examines the linkages between Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and universities. It employs the government-university (G-U) relation of triple helix framework to assess collaboration patterns between ITRI and the top universities of Taiwan over two phases of economic development, that is, the catching-up phase in the 1990s and the subsequent post catchingup phase over the 2000s. We highlight the collaborative dynamics in terms of ITRI's (a) (co-) evolving knowledge capital, (b) strategic collaboration mode, (c) co-publication in scientific papers, (d) co-owned patents, (e) forward and backward citations and (f ) science-based patents.Our systematic review of the role of ITRI in both catching-up and post catching-up phases will provide a useful guide for policy makers in other economies (such as Malaysia and Hong Kong) that aspire to define a similar role for their public research institutions.

Why is Growth More Difficult to Achieve for Biopharmaceutical Latecomer Firms? Evidence from Taiwan

“…Indeed, the success of Taiwan's ICT industry illustrates that 3Ls networks have been created and formulated through the purposive action of supra-firm administrative institutions, such as the Industry Technology Research Institute (ITRI). This has helped establish an ICT ecosystem that is able to adopt and adapt knowledge from the international market, including knowledge learning and acquisition, absorptive capabilities, and knowledge diffusion and internalisation, making them available to Taiwan's ICT firms (Amsden & Chu, 2003;Hu & Mathews, 2005;Wong et al, 2015). In contrast, our empirical results demonstrate that the driving forces in Taiwan's public and non-public biopharmaceutical firms-firms which remain in the emerging and early growth stages-overwhelmingly rely on internal institutional factors, namely 'leadership and governance' (informal), followed by the 'organisational support mechanism' (formal), while they have been weak in terms of adaptation to the external environment and utilisation of resource-based 3Ls, as summarised in Figure 6.…”

“…On the other hand, Taiwan's ICT industry has been recognised as a world-class mass producer for the past three decades, especially in the fields of IC design, semiconductors and information and communications devices (Amsden & Chu, 2003). To avoid fierce competition and paper-thin margins, newly emergent ICT companies have transited their business focus into niche-based entrepreneurial activities (Wong, Hu & Shiu, 2015). While both biopharmaceutical and ICT industries in Taiwan are taken as national strategic foci, their performance and growth patterns have been exerted differently in the global market.…”

Universities in the National Innovation Systems: Emerging Innovation Landscapes in Asia-Pacific

“…From 1985, private universities were given permission, and by 2000, there were 1300 private universities in China. As Wu draws attention to and implies, until about the 1980s, universities in China had not come to occupy a major part in China's NIS [34].…”

“…The National Space Organization, the Industry and Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and other public research institutions are located within the close radius of Hsinchu Science Park, which is now spread over 653 hectares of land area. The significance of the innovation complex involving Hsinchu Science Park (HSP) and two universities led Taiwan to register as the world's leading country in the field of semiconductor technology from design, fabrication, packaging, and sales since the 1990s [34]. HSP houses some 570 firms mainly in the semiconductor-related technologies but is currently extended to biosciences, ICT, and other new technologies.…”

“…In the science park, the applied and development research is organized in collaboration with ITRI through overwhelming focus on semiconductor devices, and the relevant basic research and skilled manpower are supported by the academic sector of two universities (NTHU and NCTU). The university, industry, and government linkages in the Hsinchu innovation region have been rapidly growing since the 2000s through the establishment of technology licensing offices and incubation centers in the NTHU, the NCTU, and the ITRI [34]. Hsinchu Science Park in the 21st Century has emerged as one of the model science parks in Asia.…”