Title: The roles of universities in knowledge-based urban development: a critical review

Authors: Andrew Johnston

Addresses: International Business and Economics Research Group (IBERG), Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

Abstract: Universities are increasingly recognised as key actors in the knowledge-based urban development process, occupying a crucial role of knowledge creators and transmitters. This paper takes a critical view of these roles and reviews the extant literature to present a synopsis of relevant work examining universities and open innovation, the uncertainties involved in the process of knowledge transfer, and the spatial scope of university-industry links. The paper proposes a number of areas for future development: understanding the heterogeneity of universities and how this influences their potential roles in knowledge-based urban development; a better understanding of how uncertainties in the partner selection process may prevent efficient university-industry collaboration to promote knowledge-based urban development; further exploration of the micro-level processes involved in knowledge transfer between universities and firms; and a broader understanding of the roles of proximities in facilitating these links.

Keywords: university-industry links; knowledge-based urban development; innovation; collaboration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKBD.2019.103205

International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, 2019 Vol.10 No.3, pp.213 - 231

Received: 06 Nov 2018
Accepted: 20 Nov 2018
Published online: 22 Oct 2019 *

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