Title: The role of personal networks in the migration of research projects

Authors: Anna S. Nilsson

Addresses: Unit of BioEntrepreneurship, Institution of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: The paper develops a conceptual model that links personal networks with the process of migration of research projects to commercial settings. The model is based on patterns that emerged from case studies of how the commercial application of a research project was identified and how the project was transferred and integrated into another organisation in order to be developed commercially. The findings provide insights to the causes and forms of migration as well as decision processes involved. The findings suggest that personal networks are not only key to the recognition of a commercial opportunity, but also to the transfer and integration of a project into a company.

Keywords: research and development; R&D commercialisation; personal networks; opportunity recognition; technology transfer; project migration; mobility; biotechnology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTTC.2010.030211

International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, 2010 Vol.9 No.3, pp.200 - 216

Published online: 11 Dec 2009 *

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