The open innovation perspective offers a powerful framework which can be used in developing an understanding of the relationships that are established between academia and industry in the process of technology transfer. This paper develops a fourfold classification of technology transfer activities based on consultancy and the protection…

Entrepreneurial activity at universities, especially spin-off formation, has emerged as an important mechanism for accelerating the transfer of technology and knowledge to commercial markets. With some exceptions, such as China, studies on university entrepreneurship have tended to concentrate on the experiences of developed countries. Perhaps…

Using the results of an empirical study in the State of Sonora, Mexico, this paper reports on an attempt to identify trends and transformations that have taken place in the way knowledge transfer activities are organized and structured in higher education institutions and research centres. The research was designed to provide a characterization of…

The authors investigate how Third Mission activities at universities, such as the outreach and technology transfer functions, are anchored in organizational structures and practices, and discuss the implications of this relationship for the success of the activities. They draw on case studies of two Swedish university colleges to illustrate the…

This paper introduces the concept of Triple Helix systems as an analytical construct that synthesizes the key features of university--industry--government (Triple Helix) interactions into an "innovation system" format, defined according to systems theory as a set of components, relationships and functions. Among the components of Triple…

Research on sustainability and innovation-driven economic growth has exposed a lack of sufficient knowledge in the governance literature about the appropriate extent of government involvement. This paper focuses on the governance of innovation and the intermediary role of the state. The author synthesizes the literature on governance and…

This paper presents a tool for the indicator-based analysis of national innovation systems (ANIS). ANIS identifies the economic strengths and weaknesses of a country-wide, regional or local system and includes a comprehensive examination and evaluation of the status of existing innovation systems. The use of a particular form of expert interviews…

The Brazilian government has been fostering innovation through policies aimed at transferring technology from publicly funded science and technology organizations to the market. One response to this initiative has been an attempt by some universities to transform themselves into entrepreneurial institutions. In this paper the authors use a…

This article considers the effects of the Leahy--Smith America Invents Act, signed into law in September 2011, on the US patent system and its potential negative implications for US patent activities and patent culture. (Contains 2 notes.)

In this paper the concept of knowledge circulation is explored and placed in a social systems approach that distinguishes four types of "capital": cultural, strategic, network and economic. Knowledge circulation is a form of university-industry interaction that accommodates the objectives of what are, in many respects, unequal partners and…

The transfer of academic technologies to industry is an important process underpinning innovation and economic development. Various approaches have been adopted by universities to encourage academics to participate in commercial activities. Many have implemented revenue sharing policies, through which the revenues generated from university-owned…

Knowledge transfer (KT) between higher education institutions (HEIs) and businesses is seen as a key element of innovation in knowledge-driven economies: HEIs generate knowledge that can be adopted in the regional economy. This process of valorization has been studied extensively, mainly with a focus on universities. In the Netherlands, there is a…

This paper contributes to the literature on innovation brokerage by analysing the effects of brokerage activities on the innovation and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The authors provide a detailed description of the Technology Transfer Service (TTS), credited as a European best-practice innovation broker, at Area Science…

This empirical study investigates the hypothesized relationship between US federally funded university research and development (R&D) and its resulting economic impact, as measured by the level of licensing revenue generated by US universities. The author also examines the key operating statistics of the top-ten licensing income-producing…

The process of knowledge transfer has been extensively studied in the context of a variety of theoretical considerations. In this paper the authors adopt a communication theory perspective and focus on capacity for dissemination. Many studies assume that universities are able to disseminate and commercialize their knowledge (and technology).…