University research and knowledge transfer: A dynamic view of ambidexterity in british universities

Abstract

This paper examines the dynamic interlinkages between the two pillars of ambidexterity in universities, research and knowledge transfer. We propose a theoretical model linking these two pillars at the organisational level. The model is tested using the longitudinal HE-BCI survey data juxtaposed against two consecutive rounds of research evaluation in the UK higher education sector. Results indicate that a university's past performance along the research pillar strengthens the knowledge transfer pillar over time, through both commercialisation and academic engagement channels. This positive impact is negatively moderated by the university's size and reputation, in the sense that in larger or more reputed universities, the marginal impact of research on knowledge transfer declines significantly. Additionally, we find that knowledge transfer reinforces the research pillar through positive mediation between past and future research, but only through academic engagement channels. The results also indicate that contract research routes provide the maximum benefit for most universities in enhancing their ambidexterity framework, both in the short and the long run. For the relatively more reputed universities, it is the collaboration route which provides the maximum benefit. Interestingly, no such reinforcement could be detected in the case of the research commercialisation channels.

The innovation value chain of patents: Breakthrough in the patent commercialization trap in Chinese universities

“…The new knowledge generated by the interaction with the industry in the process of patent commercialization can use this channel to feedback to the stage of original knowledge innovation, so that it can form a dynamic cycle, which is conducive to promoting the level of university knowledge innovation. Sengupta and Ray (2017) believe that patent commercialization can play a mediating effect at the organizational level, linking past knowledge innovation with future knowledge innovation [27]. Therefore, we use the mediating effect to test the feedback effect of university patent commercialization on university knowledge innovation.…”

“…Furthermore, to test whether the patent commercialization of the previous stage can be used as a mediator variable to feedback university knowledge innovation in next stage, the regression model is constructed as follows [27]:…”

Academic Engagement, Commercialization, and Scholarship: Empirical Evidence from Agricultural and Life Scientists at U.S. Land-grant Universities

“…Of note, most all of the recent studies of individual faculty behavior with respect to UIR focus on European universities, especially in England and Italy. Sengupta and Ray (2017) offer a broad and dynamic framing of the relationship between UIR (what they call Knowledge Transfer) and research outputs at UK research universities. They ex-plore the potential for dynamic feedbacks between past and current research performance, covering related UIR activities.…”

“…Academic commercialization (AC) is the other, defined as faculty participation in private intellectual property creation (via invention disclosures, patents, and licensing) and entrepreneurship (e.g., start-ups). These definitions are used in other recent articles that examine UIR among university faculty in Europe (D'Este and Perkmann, 2011;Perkmann et al, 2011;Tartari et al, 2014;Tartari and Salter, 2015;Sengupta and Ray, 2017).…”

Intensity of Involvement of Teachers and Researchers from Romanian Universities in Bioeconomy Knowledge Flows

“…personnel movement play the role of knowledge dissemination among actors. For example, universities have been traditionally educational and new knowledge creation centres, although this traditional view has been abandoned in the last decade becoming key players in the entrepreneurship or innovation ecosystem (Sengupta and Ray, 2017). "Knowledge sharing used in different ways constitute the best method for increasing the operational intellectual capital as a result of the increase of the average level of knowledge in university.…”