Cooperation between higher education institutions and companies from a spatial perspective: An empirical analysis of Germany using Bayesian logistic multilevel models

Christian Warnecke and Daniel Weller

No 701, Ruhr Economic Papers from RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen

Abstract: This research paper aims at highlighting factors which influence the spatial focus of interactions between higher education institutions (HEIs) and the economic system in Germany. In the pursuit of this goal, our research work employs a Bayesian statistical analysis of empirical data gathered from a German-wide online survey of professors (7,500 participants) focused on the extent of knowledge diffusion with respect to their institutions of origin. The results provided by our statistical analysis indicate that some fields of research are favourable in facilitating cooperation between companies and University professors in the region, while others are more prone to cooperate supraregional. In the case of professors at Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS), the results reveal only a low influence concerning the research discipline. These findings are not surprising because of the narrow spectrum of research disciplines at UAS. Beyond these results, the time budget allocated for research poses as a major factor of influence for the cooperation activities of professors at UAS. These findings have been expected since UAS professors have less allocated time for research leading to a more regional focus of cooperation with companies. Surprisingly across all models, only a very few categories in total are credible for the "Application relevance of research" and the "Cooperation intensity".

Keywords: university-industry links; knowledge transfer; collaborative research; Bayesian multilevel analysis; spatial analysis; German-wide survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 I25 O31 O32 O33 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-eur and nep-geo
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:rwirep:701

DOI: 10.4419/86788815

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