Title: How proximity matters in Industry–University knowledge transfer

Authors: Sandra Kliknaite

Addresses: Kalmar Baltic Business School, Kalmar Nyckel, SE-39182, Kalmar, Sweden

Abstract: Industry–University (I–U) collaboration, is becoming recognised as a critical form of learning alliance, and an essential instrument to gain speed and flexibility in innovation, while reducing cost in R&D. A key question emerging in this context is: How can the different organisational requirements for exploration vs. exploitation be addressed in I–U collaborations to secure creation, transfer and implementation of innovation? In this paper, I will and propose a theoretical framework to enhance our understanding of how to organise the balance between exploration and exploitation in I–U collaborations to allow for public to private sector knowledge/technology transfer.

Keywords: industry–university collaboration; innovation; exploration; exploitation; open networks; closed networks; strong ties; weak ties; structural holes; proximity; knowledge transfer; industrial collaboration; universities; R&D; research and development; collaborative research; public to private sector technology transfer.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTTC.2009.024388

International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, 2009 Vol.8 No.2/3, pp.246 - 269

Published online: 02 Apr 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article