Chapter 12 Boundary spanners enabling knowledge integration for sustainable innovations in university–industry research centres

As the forest products industry evolves into a modern industry based on cutting-edge industrial and management research, the prevalence and importance of university research centres have gained importance. Although there has been increased funding and attention given to university–industry research centres from policy makers and researchers, little is still known about the benefits or value that these collaborations provide and create for firms. Applied academic research requires the active participation of researchers and practitioners. In the Canadian forest products industry, there are other important actors that need to be considered, the federal and provincial governments as owners and regulators of the resource and funders of research and development projects and intermediary organisations who are often charged with transforming academic results into tools and methods able to be implemented into industry firms. This paper presents the results of three comparative case studies of university–industry research centres operating in the Canadian forest products industry through an exploration of their knowledge and technology transfer processes. The goal is to better understand the value that has been created for the four main groups of actors involved though informal and formal transfer processes and which processes are best suited for different types of knowledge.

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Measuring value in the innovation processes of university-industry research centres

International Journal of Technology Policy and Management ◽

10.1504/ijtpm.2010.032858 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 10 (1/2) ◽

pp. 116 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Constance Van Horne ◽

Diane Poulin ◽

Jean Marc Frayret

Keyword(s):

Industry Research ◽

University Industry ◽

Innovation Processes ◽

Research Centres

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The adoption of knowledge integration mechanisms in an interdisciplinary research project

Management Research Review ◽

10.1108/mrr-04-2016-0099 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 40 (5) ◽

pp. 604-622 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Paolo Canonico ◽

Ernesto De Nito ◽

Vincenza Esposito ◽

Marcello Martinez ◽

Mario Pezzillo Iacono

Keyword(s):

Interdisciplinary Research ◽

Knowledge Integration ◽

Future Research ◽

Research Project ◽

Content Type ◽

Industry Research ◽

Interdisciplinary Research Project ◽

Integration Mechanisms ◽

The University ◽

University Industry

Purpose This paper aims to study knowledge integration mechanisms in an interdisciplinary research project. It develops the theoretical literature on the concept of knowledge integration, particularly the adoption of different organizational mechanisms. The research helps to explain how to adopt different integration mechanisms in the various steps of a typical university industry research project. Design/methodology/approach This research relies on a case study. The authors used three data collection techniques: internal document analysis, observation/site visits and semi-structured interviews. Documentary analysis was used to understand the organizational structure and to identify knowledge integration issues. Observation and site visits at university research laboratories were used to increase understanding on particular issues. Staff interviewed included managers and academic researchers. Findings Findings are primarily related to a better understanding of choices of knowledge integration mechanisms in a university industry research project. A crucial aspect was the level of mutual understanding of specialist knowledge. When project members were derived from different sides of the university-industry border, there was a major need for recurring to more structured knowledge integration mechanisms, even if the scientific background of participants was homogeneous. Originality/value Previous studies on the relationships between university and industry deals with the issue of governing the knowledge exchange on the border at a macro level; conversely, an interesting research gap is represented by knowledge integration mechanisms to be deployed on the university-industry border, especially at micro level. In this paper, the authors do not cope explicitly with university-industry coordination mechanisms but use the University-Industry border to study knowledge integration in interdisciplinary setting. The study is exploratory, which may be useful in generating future research hypotheses, connecting the features of research projects with the need to achieve knowledge integration.

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Asymmetries between partners and the success of university-industry research collaborations

Research Policy ◽

10.1016/j.respol.2021.104356 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 50 (10) ◽

pp. 104356

Author(s):

Vivianna Fang He ◽

Georg von Krogh ◽

Charlotta Sirén ◽

Thomas Gersdorf

Keyword(s):

Research Collaborations ◽

Industry Research ◽

University Industry

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University–Industry Research and Training Partnerships

Industry and Higher Education ◽

10.1177/095042229701100307 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 164-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael Shattock

Keyword(s):

International Markets ◽

Industry Research ◽

Considerable Success ◽

Institutional Strategies ◽

Training Programmes ◽

The University ◽

University Industry ◽

And Training

The author examines the case of the University of Warwick and its institutional strategies for partnership with a variety of external organizations. He argues that universities need to change their missions, and to show strong leadership and an enterpreneurial approach to adapt to their local, national and international markets. In particular, the paper looks at the considerable success of the Warwick Manufacturing Group in developing training programmes and research in partnership with industry.

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The Impact of International Collaboration on UK University—Industry Links

Industry and Higher Education ◽

10.1177/095042229500900502 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 264-276 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Andy Pike ◽

David Charles

Keyword(s):

International Collaboration ◽

Collaborative Research ◽

Collaboration Networks ◽

Industry Research ◽

Research Programmes ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact ◽

University Industry ◽

International Collaborative Research ◽

University Industry Linkages

The authors examine the impact of international collaborative research programmes on university—industry links in the UK, with particular reference to the relations involved in the European Union's Framework Programme research. The evidence presented in the paper suggests that international collaboration has generated benefits as well as significant costs for UK university—industry linkages. More importantly, it is argued that the alleged general convergence in university and industry research needs has been somewhat illusory in the UK due to the rationalization of its R&D activity. In addition, these tendencies have been supported to a degree by EU funding rules, the internationalization of UK universities and the ‘repeat’ nature of international collaboration networks. In conclusion, the authors suggest that many of the problems may be specific to the UK and that policies are needed to strengthen links between UK universities and industry within such collaborative projects.

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