When do firms benefit from university–industry R&D collaborations? The implications of firm R&D focus on scientific research and technological recombination

Pek-Hooi Soh and Annapoornima M. Subramanian

Journal of Business Venturing, 2014, vol. 29, issue 6, 807-821

Abstract: Firms' access to academic discoveries through R&D collaborations has been shown to enhance their patent performance. However, increasing both internal and external R&D activities can lead to high knowledge redundancy and coordination costs. This paper examines what kind of R&D focus inside the firm will improve or reduce the benefits of R&D collaborations with universities. Our results show that technological recombination focus strengthens the relationship between university collaborations and patent performance, whereas scientific research focus weakens the relationship. These results also differ between young and old firms, implying that firms may shift their R&D focus according to their collaborative objectives.

Keywords: Technological recombination; R&D; University–industry collaboration; Patent; Biotechnology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (43)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:29:y:2014:i:6:p:807-821

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2013.11.001

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