Determinants of the university technology transfer policy-mix: a cross-national analysis of gap-funding instruments

Federico Munari, Einar Rasmussen, Laura Toschi () and Elisa Villani
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Federico Munari: Università degli Studi di Bologna
Einar Rasmussen: University of Nordland Business School
Laura Toschi: Università degli Studi di Bologna
Elisa Villani: Free University of Bolzano

The Journal of Technology Transfer, 2016, vol. 41, issue 6, No 7, 1377-1405

Abstract: Abstract University–industry technology transfer (TT) has become increasingly institutionalized and is supported by numerous reforms and initiatives at the national, regional and university levels. Most countries have implemented a policy mix involving a range of instruments to support the commercialization of research. Still, there is no systematic evidence indicating why the mix of policy instruments differs between countries. This study offers a novel cross-national investigation of the policy mix emphasizing the level of centralization and decentralization of policy instruments. We map and analyze two specific types of public instruments aimed at addressing the so-called funding gap in TT: proof of concept programs (POCs) and university-oriented seed funds (USFs). Based on a survey across 21 European countries, we find that such instruments are widely used but are organized differently depending on the level of implementation of TT practices in the country and the specific type of instrument considered. More precisely, we find a U-shaped relationship between the use of centralized gap-funding instruments and the country’s implementation of TT practices. Moreover, the type of gap-funding instrument (POC or USF) moderates this relationship. We discuss the implications of our findings and suggest that the policy mix of gap-funding instruments evolve with the maturity of the national TT infrastructure.

Keywords: Cross-country analysis; Gap-funding instruments; Policy mix; Proof of concept programs; Technology transfer university seed funds (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G24 G28 L26 M13 O38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10961-015-9448-1

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