Performance of university technology transfer offices: evidence from Europe and Japan

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to improve the understanding of the factors that influence the performance of universities' technology transfer offices (TTOs), units charged with the responsibility for aiding the commercialization of research innovations.Design/methodology/approachTo empirically test the link between factors affecting TTO performance and whether these effects are contingent on a country-specific environment, survey data were collected from 187 TTO stakeholders (TTO heads, TTO employees and university researchers) in 18 countries of Europe and Japan, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used.FindingsThe results show that the internal embeddedness of a TTO within a university is the most important factor in determining a TTO's performance. A TTO's performance is positively affected by its marketing capabilities and social embeddedness. Strict patent portfolio management has no significant impact on TTO performance in Japan and has a negative effect on European TTOs' performance.Originality/valueThis study highlights the role of organizational and interorganizational factors in TTO performance; moreover, this is one of the few multi-continent (Europe and Asia) studies in the domain of university–industry collaborations, expanding the current understanding of the contingent roles of the region of operation, which has remained unexplored, as extant studies were typically conducted in only one country.

Sustaining the Path for Innovation Capability from a Developing Country Perspective: A Conceptual Framework

“…Finally, innovation efforts and collaboration are mirrored in the scientific performance of the innovation participants [34,84,98]. Hence, SCIEN_PTNT is among the widespread measurements for innovation capability performance [102,108], linked to 10.6% of the studied publications, in contrast with the remaining innovation outputs under examination (UTI_MDEL 4.6%, CO_INV 4.6%, and TRADEMARK 1.4%).…”

“…Moreover, GERD_UNI is supported by both public and private sources due to the role of universities in generating and spreading knowledge as part of their core mission, which shows the entrusted position that universities have gained as R&D agents [89,170,174]. Through GERD_UNI, these institutions prompt research and innovation capabilities in the environment where they interact, leading to improve innovativeness at a country level [104,108,168]. In this regard, interviewed academics and practitioners remarked on the need for a leading program to direct public and private investments to achieve public and private R&D goals where the industry contributes to its market knowledge, labor force and the university provides the expertise on research and innovative mechanisms to solve the needs of productive and public sectors.…”

“…Nevertheless, it requires financial funding, human capital, and technology [81]. Hence, public policies protecting and promoting intellectual property (IP_PROTEC) have a positive impact on investing in innovation and R&D undertakings [108,123,130,161]. For example, Nhemachena et al [95] found a robust relationship between strengthening IP_PROTEC systems and releasing new varieties and wheat productivity in South Africa.…”

“…Patents comprise novelty, invention, and non-obviousness, and the process to register a patent might result exhaustive and expensive. Further, SCIEN_PTNT quality depends on well-organized UNI_IND_COL [34,42,98,127] and on access to R&D funding to support innovation and R&D processes necessary to achieve innovation outputs [81,89,102,108]. Further, UTI_MDELs are a particular form of invention patent that is more affordable and flexible than granting a regular patent [169].…”

Mensuração Do Desempenho Dos Escritórios De Transferência De Tecnologia (Nit): Uma Revisão Sistemática

“…da engenharia de produção para desenvolvimento sustentável das organizações: Cadeias Circulares, sustentabilidade e tecnologias" Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil, 17 a 20 de outubro de 2023.Em relação a pessoas que foram entrevistadas em alguns dos artigos, pôde-se verificar que existem sugestões de pesquisas de performance sob a ótica dos stakeholders, que pode ser totalmente diferente da perspectiva do gerente ou do funcionário, conforme mencionado porPronay et al (2022).Alguns dos estudos foram feitos com uma amostra pequena, o que leva os autores a sugerirem que haja uma expansão desta amostra, para melhor generalização dos resultados, conforme citam os artigos dos autores Sutopo, Astuti e Suryandari (2019) eRahim et al (2019).…”