Sustainable Idea Development Mechanism in University Technology Commercialization (UTC): Perspectives from Dynamic Capabilities Framework

Universities pays a lot of attention and investment in the technology commercialization for its sustainable development and social contribution under Korean government-driven policies. However, when compared to US or European universities, the outcomes of the technology commercialization in universities are relatively inactive. Therefore, this study aims to propose a new idea-oriented framework of University-Technology Commercialization (UTC). To achieve this, this study explores the sustainable mechanism from idea to technology commercialization in the volatile environment by employing dynamic capabilities framework. This study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to identify causal relationships among the variables with a 2014 to 2016 dataset from ‘Higher Education in KOREA’. This study collected national and cross-sectional data from different time periods to design our longitudinal study. Our study examines UTC activities related to sustainable idea development mechanism from dynamic capability framework. The results show the importance of start-up clubs as a first step for idea exploration in university technology commercialization and patents as important for both technology transfers and start-ups. Our findings offer new UTC directions for university policy makers.

University Technology Commercialization

For decades researchers have studied various aspects of the technology transfer and commercialization process in universities in hopes of discovering effective methods for enabling more research to leave the university as technologies that benefit society. However, this effort has fallen short, as only a very small percentage of applied research finds its way to the marketplace through licenses to large companies or to new ventures. Furthermore, the reasons for this failure have yet to be completely explained. In some respects, this appears to be an ontological problem. In their effort to understand the phenomenon of university commercialization, researchers tend to reduce the process into its component parts and study each part in isolation. The result is conclusions that ignore a host of variables that interact with the part being studied and frameworks that describe a linear process from invention to market rather than a complex system. To understand how individuals in the technology commercialization system make strategic choices around outcomes, studies have been successful in identifying some units of analysis (the tech transfer office, the laboratory, the investment community, the entrepreneurship community); but they have been less effective at integrating the commercialization process, contexts, behaviors, and potential outcomes to explain the forces and reciprocal interactions that might alter those outcomes. The technology commercialization process that leads to new technology products and entrepreneurial ventures needs to be viewed as a complex adaptive system that operates under conditions of risk and uncertainty with nonlinear inputs and outputs such that the system is in a constant state of change and reorganization. There is no overall project manager managing tasks and relationships; therefore, the individuals in the system act independently and codependently. No single individual is aware of what is going on in any other part of the system at any point in time, and each individual has a different agenda with different metrics on which their performance is judged. What this means is that a small number of decision makers in the university commercialization system can have a disproportionate impact on the effectiveness and success of the entire system and its research outcomes. Critics of reductionist research propose that understanding complex adaptive systems, such as university technology commercialization, requires a different mode of thinking—systems thinking—which looks at the interrelationships and dependencies among all the parts of the system. Combined with real options reasoning, which enables resilience in the system to mitigate uncertainty and improve decision-making, it may hold the key to better understanding the complexity of the university technology commercialization process and why it has not been as effective as it could be.

Incubator policy to support entrepreneurial development, technology transfer and commercialization

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the incubator policy to support entrepreneurial development. In particular, the study reviews the incubation programs and strategies of technology transfer and commercialization as well as the innovation policies to support innovation commercialization in Thailand, based on the Triple Helix model. Design/methodology/approach – This study employs the use of case study methodology to understand in-depth the operations of major university business incubators (UBIs) and technology business incubators in enhancing the process of technology commercialization. The study examines case studies of leading UBIs (Mahidol University, Chulalongkorn University and King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi) and science and technology incubators of the National Science and Technology Agency (NSTDA) and the National Innovation Agency (NIA). The operations and incubating policies are analyzed through the lens of Triple Helix model. The interviews were carried out using the semi-structured questionnaire to understand the views of trilateral parties (the government, university and industry) related to the concept of Triple Helix model. The interviews were carried out with major stakeholders including policy makers, policy analysts, government officials, managers running incubators, incubates, university professors, research managers. Interview data were supported by an examination of secondary data so as to provide a cross check on internal validity. Findings – The results have shown that the incubation program is one of the major policy mechanisms to support innovation and suggested that UBIs should act as an intermediary between the spheres of university and industry to provide interactive linkages and promote effective utilization of university research. The empirical study provides insightful implications on the move toward the entrepreneurial university and the dynamics of the Triple Helix system in stimulating innovation development and diffusion. Originality/value – By focussing on the major UBIs and technology business incubators in one of the Asian Tigers – Thailand, the study offers the model of university technology commercialization which could be applied to other developing economies. The study provides useful lessons and insights on the process of technology transfer and commercialization through the university incubation mechanism (university technology commercialization).